25.5. IDLE — Python 2.7.3 documentation (2025)

25.5.1.1. File menu (Shell and Editor)¶

New window

Create a new editing window

Open...

Open an existing file

Open module...

Open an existing module (searches sys.path)

Recent Files

Open a list of recent files

Class browser

Show classes and methods in current file

Path browser

Show sys.path directories, modules, classes and methods

Save

Save current window to the associated file (unsaved windows have a* before and after the window title)

Save As...

Save current window to new file, which becomes the associated file

Save Copy As...

Save current window to different file without changing the associated file

Print Window

Print the current window

Close

Close current window (asks to save if unsaved)

Exit

Close all windows and quit IDLE (asks to save if unsaved)

25.5.1.2. Edit menu (Shell and Editor)¶

Undo

Undo last change to current window (a maximum of 1000 changes may be undone)

Redo

Redo last undone change to current window

Cut

Copy selection into system-wide clipboard; then delete the selection

Copy

Copy selection into system-wide clipboard

Paste

Insert system-wide clipboard into window

Select All

Select the entire contents of the edit buffer

Find...

Open a search dialog box with many options

Find again

Repeat last search

Find selection

Search for the string in the selection

Find in Files...

Open a search dialog box for searching files

Replace...

Open a search-and-replace dialog box

Go to line

Ask for a line number and show that line

Expand word

Expand the word you have typed to match another word in the same buffer;repeat to get a different expansion

Show call tip

After an unclosed parenthesis for a function, open a small window withfunction parameter hints

Show surrounding parens

Highlight the surrounding parenthesis

Show Completions

Open a scroll window allowing selection keywords and attributes. SeeCompletions below.

25.5.1.3. Format menu (Editor window only)¶

Indent region

Shift selected lines right by the indent width (default 4 spaces)

Dedent region

Shift selected lines left by the indent width (default 4 spaces)

Comment out region

Insert ## in front of selected lines

Uncomment region

Remove leading # or ## from selected lines

Tabify region

Turns leading stretches of spaces into tabs. (Note: We recommend using4 space blocks to indent Python code.)

Untabify region

Turn all tabs into the correct number of spaces

Toggle tabs

Open a dialog to switch between indenting with spaces and tabs.

New Indent Width

Open a dialog to change indent width. The accepted default by the Pythoncommunity is 4 spaces.

Format Paragraph

Reformat the current blank-line-separated paragraph. All lines in theparagraph will be formatted to less than 80 columns.

Strip trailing whitespace

Removes any space characters after the end of the last non-space character

25.5.1.4. Run menu (Editor window only)¶

Python Shell

Open or wake up the Python Shell window

Check module

Check the syntax of the module currently open in the Editor window. If themodule has not been saved IDLE will prompt the user to save the code.

Run module

Restart the shell to clean the environment, then execute the currentlyopen module. If the module has not been saved IDLE will prompt the userto save the code.

25.5.1.5. Shell menu (Shell window only)¶

View Last Restart

Scroll the shell window to the last Shell restart

Restart Shell

Restart the shell to clean the environment

25.5.1.6. Debug menu (Shell window only)¶

Go to file/line

Look around the insert point for a filename and line number, open the file,and show the line. Useful to view the source lines referenced in anexception traceback. Available in the context menu of the Shell window.

Debugger (toggle)

This feature is not complete and considered experimental. Run commands inthe shell under the debugger

Stack viewer

Show the stack traceback of the last exception

Auto-open Stack Viewer

Toggle automatically opening the stack viewer on unhandled exception

25.5.1.7. Options menu (Shell and Editor)¶

Configure IDLE

Open a configuration dialog. Fonts, indentation, keybindings, and colorthemes may be altered. Startup Preferences may be set, and additionalhelp sources can be specified.

Code Context (toggle)(Editor Window only)

Open a pane at the top of the edit window which shows the block contextof the section of code which is scrolling off the top of the window.

25.5.1.8. Windows menu (Shell and Editor)¶

Zoom Height

Toggles the window between normal size (40x80 initial setting) and maximumheight. The initial size is in the Configure IDLE dialog under the generaltab.

The rest of this menu lists the names of all open windows; select one to bringit to the foreground (deiconifying it if necessary).

25.5.1.9. Help menu (Shell and Editor)¶

About IDLE

Version, copyright, license, credits

IDLE Help

Display a help file for IDLE detailing the menu options, basic editing andnavigation, and other tips.

Python Docs

Access local Python documentation, if installed. Or will start a web browserand open docs.python.org showing the latest Python documentation.

Additional help sources may be added here with the Configure IDLE dialog underthe General tab.

25.5.1.10. Editor Window context menu¶

• Right-click in Editor window (Control-click on OS X)

Cut

Copy selection into system-wide clipboard; then delete selection

Copy

Copy selection into system-wide clipboard

Paste

Insert system-wide clipboard into window

Set Breakpoint

Sets a breakpoint. Breakpoints are only enabled when the debugger is open.

Clear Breakpoint

Clears the breakpoint on that line.

25.5.1.11. Shell Window context menu¶

• Right-click in Python Shell window (Control-click on OS X)

Cut

Copy selection into system-wide clipboard; then delete selection

Copy

Copy selection into system-wide clipboard

Paste

Insert system-wide clipboard into window

Go to file/line

Same as in Debug menu.

25.5.2.1. Automatic indentation¶

After a block-opening statement, the next line is indented by 4 spaces (in thePython Shell window by one tab). After certain keywords (break, return etc.)the next line is dedented. In leading indentation, Backspace deletes upto 4 spaces if they are there. Tab inserts spaces (in the PythonShell window one tab), number depends on Indent width. Currently tabsare restricted to four spaces due to Tcl/Tk limitations.

See also the indent/dedent region commands in the edit menu.

25.5.2.2. Completions¶

Completions are supplied for functions, classes, and attributes of classes,both built-in and user-defined. Completions are also provided forfilenames.

The AutoCompleteWindow (ACW) will open after a predefined delay (default istwo seconds) after a ‘.’ or (in a string) an os.sep is typed. If after oneof those characters (plus zero or more other characters) a tab is typedthe ACW will open immediately if a possible continuation is found.

If there is only one possible completion for the characters entered, aTab will supply that completion without opening the ACW.

‘Show Completions’ will force open a completions window, by default theC-space will open a completions window. In an emptystring, this will contain the files in the current directory. On ablank line, it will contain the built-in and user-defined functions andclasses in the current name spaces, plus any modules imported. If somecharacters have been entered, the ACW will attempt to be more specific.

If a string of characters is typed, the ACW selection will jump to theentry most closely matching those characters. Entering a tab willcause the longest non-ambiguous match to be entered in the Editor window orShell. Two tab in a row will supply the current ACW selection, aswill return or a double click. Cursor keys, Page Up/Down, mouse selection,and the scroll wheel all operate on the ACW.

“Hidden” attributes can be accessed by typing the beginning of hiddenname after a ‘.’, e.g. ‘_’. This allows access to modules with__all__ set, or to class-private attributes.

Completions and the ‘Expand Word’ facility can save a lot of typing!

Completions are currently limited to those in the namespaces. Names inan Editor window which are not via __main__ and sys.modules willnot be found. Run the module once with your imports to correct this situation.Note that IDLE itself places quite a few modules in sys.modules, somuch can be found by default, e.g. the re module.

If you don’t like the ACW popping up unbidden, simply make the delaylonger or disable the extension. Or another option is the delay couldbe set to zero. Another alternative to preventing ACW popups is todisable the call tips extension.

25.5.2.3. Python Shell window¶

• C-c interrupts executing command

• C-d sends end-of-file; closes window if typed at a >>> prompt(this is C-z on Windows).

• Alt-/ (Expand word) is also useful to reduce typing

  Command history

  • Alt-p retrieves previous command matching what you have typed. OnOS X use C-p.
  • Alt-n retrieves next. On OS X use C-n.
  • Return while on any previous command retrieves that command

25.5.4.1. Command line usage¶

idle.py [-c command] [-d] [-e] [-s] [-t title] [arg] ...-c command run this command-d enable debugger-e edit mode; arguments are files to be edited-s run $IDLESTARTUP or $PYTHONSTARTUP first-t title set title of shell window

If there are arguments:

1. If -e is used, arguments are files opened for editing andsys.argv reflects the arguments passed to IDLE itself.
2. Otherwise, if -c is used, all arguments are placed insys.argv[1:...], with sys.argv[0] set to '-c'.
3. Otherwise, if neither -e nor -c is used, the firstargument is a script which is executed with the remaining arguments insys.argv[1:...] and sys.argv[0] set to the script name. If the scriptname is ‘-‘, no script is executed but an interactive Python session is started;the arguments are still available in sys.argv.