PyCon intro to open source/OSX text editor

Our recommendation

On Mac OS, we suggest the Smultron text editor. You'll have to first download it, then install it.

To download Smultron:

• Click this link and download the ZIP file
• The ZIP file will expand into an application called Smultron.
• Open Finder from the bar at the bottom.

To install Smultron:

• Start Finder
• On the left side of the Finder, under "Places", click on "Applications".
• Drag the Smultron icon to any blank space in that window.

To run Smultron:

• Start Finder
• On the left side of the Finder, under "Places", click on "Applications".
• In the middle column, scroll down to to find Smultron.
• Double-click Smultron to launch the editor.

If you run into trouble with Smultron

If you can't run the version of Smultron we recommend, try the older version 3.1.2 of Smultron. We've tested that it runs properly on Mac OS 10.4 on PowerPC and Intel.

Configure Smultron to indent with spaces

• Start up Smultron, and click Smultron -> Preferences. This will pop up a preferences window.
• Click on the Advanced tab, and then on the Really Advanced tab within that tab.
• Check the "Indent with spaces, not tabs" checkbox
• Close the Preferences window.

That's it! Now, you can hit tab to indent your code, and that indentation will actually be made of spaces. This change will help you use spaces consistently, so that Python doesn't get confused about whitespace.

Success!

Now you have an editor that you can use to open any text file, including Python programs.

If you prefer a different editor for text, check with an instructor before moving on to make sure it will work for the weekend.

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