title: Use WinPython distro in Eclipse + Pydev?
body: <p>I've used python in Eclipse+Pydev for about one month.  (32-bit Win 7) I recently installed WinPython (<a href="https://code.google.com/p/winpython/" rel="noreferrer">https://code.google.com/p/winpython/</a>) because I wanted several interdependent packages for data analysis, and this was an easy solution for Python 3.</p>
  
  <p>Winpython is nice in the sense that it doesn't modify system settings -- it is self-contained and can be run from an external drive.  It also has the Spyder IDE built-in, but I'm not yet convinced that this is the IDE I want to use.</p>
  
  <p>Can anyone explain how I can point Eclipse/Pydev to the Winpython distribution without "registering" the WinPython distribution using the WinPython Control Panel? </p>
  
  <p>By the way: I think WinPython would have been the right tag for this, but it doesn't exist and I don't have rep to create it...</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>
  
  <p>UPDATE WITH DETAILED ANSWER</p>
  
  <p>Thanks to enginefree (in comments below) I figured it out.  This is exactly how I got WinPython working in Eclipse+ PyDev on 32-bit Windows 7.  This assumes that you already have PyDev working with a standard Python distribution prior doing this.  This also assumes that you don't "register" the WinPython distribution using the WinPython Control Panel.  That probably enables the AutoConfig in PyDev to work, but I didn't do it.</p>
  
  <p>This turns out to be quite easy, but I'm describing in detail to help other people like myself:</p>
  
  <p>1) Find out the path to where you extracted WinPython.  For me it was in:
  C:\WinPython-32bit-3.3.2.1</p>
  
  <p>2) Find the python exe located within the WinPython distribution.  For me it was:
  C:\WinPython-32bit-3.3.2.1\python-3.3.2\python.exe (NOT pythonw.exe or any of the other EXEs in that directory)</p>
  
  <p>3) Start Eclipse + Pydev and navigate to where the interpreter is defined:
  Window -> Preferences -> PyDev -> Interpreter - Python</p>
  
  <p>4) Select New... in the Python Interpreters section on the top pane of the window.  NOTE THAT I DONT USE AUTO CONFIG ANYWHERE HERE.</p>
  
  <p>5) In the popup, give whatever name you want (I used winpython, but I probably should have called it winpython3d3 or something for when I install another version).  Then select Browse... and navigate to the python.exe file from step 2 above, select it, and click OK.</p>
  
  <p>6) Select the newly named interpreter in the top pane of the Python Interpreters window, click Up to move it to the top of the list of interpreters you have defined.  (I think this will make it the default for new projects.)</p>
  
  <p>7) On the bottom of the Python Interpreters window, (while the newly named interpreter is still highlighted in the top pane), click Apply.  If all goes well, the System PYTHONPATH pane on the bottom shows pointers to all of the WinPython libraries.  This took quite few seconds.</p>
  
  <p>8) Click OK to close the Python Interpreters Window.</p>
  
  <p>9) Make sure you are in the PyDev perspective (Ctrl-F8 until PyDev is highlighted OR Window -> Navigation -> Next Perspective and click on PyDev)</p>
  
  <p>10) Right-click on your project, select Properties, then select PyDev - Interpreter/Grammar.  Make sure that the newly named python interpreter (from step 5 above) is selected in the Interpreter box.  (I also selected Python as the project type and Grammar Version as 3.0 since I was using Python 3.3)</p>
  
  <p>11) Select OK.  At that point, at the bottom of the Package Explorer, you should see a folder with the name you gave to the python interpreter.  If you expand that folder, you should see the paths defined by the PyDev python interpreter.  In particular, I verified that I was picking up the right libraries by finding matplotlib when I expanded that folder in the PyDev Package Explorer:
  InterpreterName -> System Libs -> lib/site-packages -> matplotlib</p>
  
  <p>12) Right-click on your project and select Refresh</p>
  
  <p>13) CLOSE and RESTART ECLIPSE!  Nothing worked until I restarted.</p>
  
  <p>I hope this helps someone.  </p>