django-admin.py and virtualenv issue on Windows

Question

In my system there is Django 1.2.3 installed system wide:

C:\>python -c "import django; print django.get_version()"
1.2.3
C:\>django-admin.py --version
1.2.3

Then there is a virtual environment called venv in C:\dev where I installed Django 1.2.4:

C:\> dev\venv\Scripts\activate.bat
(venv) C:\> python -c "import django; print django.get_version()"
1.2.4
(venv) C:\> django-admin.py --version
1.2.3

My questions:

1. Why django-admin.py reports version 1.2.3, if the current Python (virtual) environment has django 1.2.4 installed?
2. How can I use Django's 1.2.4 django-admin.py automatically when venv is active?

Additional info:

• virtualenv version: 1.5.1, Python version 2.7
• command used to create venv: C:\dev\> virtualenv --no-site-packages venv

• (venv) C:\> echo %PATH%

  C:\dev\venv\Scripts; ...other paths...

• shebang of django-admin.py in venv: #!C:\dev\Scripts\python.exe

Hope you can help, many thanks.

Answer 1

This is because your windows has associated .py extension with the globally installed python.exe. Therefore when you type django-admin.py, even though you're in a virtualenv, the global python is invoked, and it in turn finds your global django installation in its own site-packages. Try python django-admin.py to circumvent the association.