verify operations along the way you do not need to reboot your machine after thisbut be sure to restart python if it' open so that it picks up your changes--it configures its import search path at startup time only if you're working in windows command prompt windowyou'll probably need to restart that to pick up your changes as well windows registry if you are an experienced windows useryou may also be able to configure the module search path by using the windows registry editor to open this tooltype regedit in the start-run interface on some windowsin the search field at the bottom of the start button display on windows and in command prompt window on windows and others (among other routesassuming the typical registry tool is available on your machineyou can then navigate to python' entries and make your changes this is delicate and error-prone procedurethoughso unless you're familiar with the registryi suggest using other options (indeedthis is akin to performing brain surgery on your computerso be careful!path files finallyif you choose to extend the module search path with pth path file instead of the pythonpath variableyou might instead code text file that looks like the following on windows ( file :\python \mypath pth) :\pycode\utilities :\pycode\package its contents will differ per platformand its container directory may differ per both platform and python release python locates this file automatically when it starts up directory names in path files may be absoluteor relative to the directory containing the path filemultiple pth files can be used (all their directories are added)and pth files may appear in various automatically checked directories that are platformand version-specific in generala python release numbered python typically looks for path files in :\pythonnm and :\pythonnm\lib\site-packages on windowsand in usr/local/lib/pythonn /site-packages and /usr/local/lib/site-python on unix and linux see for more on using path files to configure the sys path import search path because environment settings are often optionaland because this isn' book on operating system shellsi'll defer to other sources for further details consult your system shell' manpages or other documentation for more informationand if you have trouble figuring out what your settings should beask your system administrator or another local expert for help configuring python