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Please give the option for a Python Install Manager (or similar) Start menu item / Desktop item to be created, that is an HTML link to the help pages #241
Description
When installing the Python Install Manager, it is not stated anywhere in the install that this is a command line only tool. And once its installed, and the windows close, there is no reference to it anywhere in the Start menus etc.
I appreciate that the fact its command line is by design, and that's certainly your choice to make.
But by not dropping even the MEREST of Start menu items with a link to a help page, you are making this tool undiscoverable to new coders etc. It creates an unnecessary barrier to people who are not experienced in these environments.
I also appreciate that coders even a few steps further along probably don't want such links cluttering their menus. Fair enough. Hence, make it an option to install the link to the help file.
This would immediately help new people to get to a help page. It might be useful to make that initial page have some items of detail on it like, this always runs in a command /powershell prompt. The initial help page that opens after an install does have helpful iniital commands on it.
My point is, think a little about very new people, especially those very used to window managers etc. Give them the option for that little discoverability leg up.
Activity
AraHaan commentedon Dec 31, 2025
Or better yet a GUI interface version of the basic commands like installing, updating, and uninstalling its managed python runtimes as needed as well as a way to change the default python from within said tool as well for those who do not prefer the command line (or simple does not know how to do it).
zooba commentedon Jan 14, 2026
There's a "Python Install Manager" item that will open a console, re-run the startup checks, and eventually shows the basic help and offers to open the online help for you. Is this not enough?
Yeah, this is way outside of our scope. We don't have the resources to develop and maintain it. But someone else is more than welcome to do it, and can embed a copy of our install manager to do all the actual work if they like. (More likely I expect/hope that the IDEs and development tools will start bundling a copy of the install manager to install runtimes, so that users only need to use the one app for editing and running.)