How to fix 'ImportError: DLL load failed' in Visual Studio Code (packages installed with Anaconda)

Question

I have installed Anaconda (with the packages that come with it) and VS Code (from within the Anaconda Navigator). If I open VS Code from the Anaconda Navigator or from The Anaconda Prompt, every import works well. But if I open VS Code directly, it throws an ImportError.

For example:

from PIL import Image

Gives the following error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "c:\MyPrograms\Coding\Scripts\imageOperations.py", line 7, in 
    <module>
        from PIL import Image
    File "C:\MyPrograms\Coding\Software\Python\lib\site- 
    packages\PIL\Image.py", line 93, in <module>
        from . import _imaging as core
ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.

How do I fix this problem?

Answer 1

1. (type) CTRL + SHIFT + P
2. (search for:) open settings
3. (click:) Preferences: Open Settings (JSON)

Then add three line configuration:

{
    ... # any other settings you have already added (remove this line)

    "terminal.integrated.shell.windows": "C:\\WINDOWS\\System32\\cmd.exe",
    "terminal.integrated.shellArgs.windows": ["/K", "C:\\Anaconda3\\Scripts\\activate.bat C:\\Anaconda3"],
    "python.condaPath": "C:\\Anaconda3\\Scripts\\conda.exe"
}

Finally, Restart your VScode