title: How to import modules from alternate locations when using Python IDLE?
body: <p>I've been trying to figure this out for more than 2 days, screening the internet and the tutorial, but yet I don't have solved my problem. I'm a real newb and don't yet really know what I'm doing..</p>
  
  <p>Software I use:
  Mac OS X 10.6 
  Python v3.2.2
  Interactive interpreter (IDLE)</p>
  
  <p>Problem:
  IDLE's default directory is /Users/ME/Documents/. Files with the extention .py can only be opened when located in this directory. However, I made a folder where I would like to save all the .py files etc that have to do with this software. Currently, IDLE cannot load .py files from the chosen directory by me.</p>
  
  <p>What I did first was I added to IDLE:
  import sys.
  sys.path.append('Users/Mydir/')
  sys.path</p>
  
  <p>However, in an already existing thread from 2010 I read sys.path is for the Interpreter ONLY, and that if I am to change this I need to modify the PYTHONPATH environment variable:</p>
  
  <p><strong>PYTHONPATH="/Me/Documents/mydir:$PYTHONPATH"
  export PYTHONPATH</strong></p>
  
  <p>However, I'm confused how to use this and cannot find answers to my following questions:
  1) PYTHONPATH (.py?) is already existing on my computer when I installed the program?
  If YES, where is it? I cannot find it anywhere.
  If NO, I need to create one. But where and what should be the content so that IDLE can load files from a non-default directory? Should it contain only the words in bold? </p>
  
  <p>I hope I made my problem clear.</p>
  
  <p>Cheers</p>