06.05.2010, 00:00

Installing Leo Editor on Windows

This is for a virgin system without python etc installed. Skip any step not needed. Consider this a placeholder. Eventually this page or something like it will be folded into the Leo docs and this will be irrelevant.

lightly updated April 2013

Install Python 2.x - There are many sources, but from http://www.python.org/download/releases/ is good.
Install PyQt - acquire and run Binary Package from http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/software/pyqt/download which matches installed Python version (so for python 2.7 scan for the Py2.7 in filename)
Install Leo
Head to http://sourceforge.net/projects/leo/ and slap [Download Now]
You can unpack the .zip file anywhere, including Python’s site-packages folder, for example, C:\Python27\Lib\site-packages\leo-4-10-final
[optional] Generate/update a junction link from unpacked leo-4-10-final to …\site-packages\leo:
```
cd C:\Python27\Lib\site-packages
mklink /j leo leo-4-6-2-final
```
Create windows shortcut with following properties (edit paths as necessary; change leo to leo-4-10-final if you didn't create a junction):
- r-click on Desktop > New > Shortcut > Target: c:\Python27\pythonw.exe > Name: Leo Editor > ok, ok
- Select shortcut > Properties:
```
 Target = C:\Python27\pythonw.exe C:\Python27\Lib\site-packages\leo\launchLeo.py

 Start in = "%userprofile%\My Documents"
```
  (change to wherever you like to save your work)

Tell Windows how to handle .leo files:

ftype LeoFile=C:\Python27\pythonw.exe C:\Python27\Lib\site-packages\leo\launchLeo.py "%1"
assoc .leo=LeoFile

Optional

Put this leo.bat in %PATH%:

@start /b "Leo" C:\Python27\python.exe -i C:\Python27\Lib\site-packages\leo\launchLeo.py %*

Add to r-click-->new context menu:
- save this empty template leofile.leo to %windir%\ShellNew\ (alternatively, from a command prompt run leo %windir%\ShellNew\leofile.leo, save and exit)
- merge leo-shell-new.reg.txt to your registry.