Using NumPy in Visual Studio

Question

I downloaded http://pytools.codeplex.com/ (Python Tools for Visual Studio) so that I could write Python in Visual Studio.

The problem is when I try to use the most basic package "numpy" like so:

import numpy

It says "No module named 'numpy'."

How can I use NumPy and SciPy in Visual Studio?

Note: I am using Canopy Express on another machine which works perfectly; however, I don't want to install it on this machine since I already have Visual Studio installed.

I added the Python 3.3 environment to my Python "solution" by right-clicking Python environments and clicking add an environment. But, after right-clicking my environment and clicking install Python package, I typed in "numpy" and got this error when trying to install it:

...
creating build
creating build\src.win32-3.3
creating build\src.win32-3.3\numpy
creating build\src.win32-3.3\numpy\distutils
building library "npymath" sources
No module named 'numpy.distutils.msvccompiler' in numpy.distutils; trying from distutils
error: Unable to find vcvarsall.bat
----------------------------------------
Cleaning up...
Command python setup.py egg_info failed with error code 1 in c:\users\dom\appdata\local\temp\pip_build_Dom\numpy
Storing complete log in C:\Users\Dom\pip\pip.log
'numpy' failed to install. Exit code: 1

How can I install NumPy?

Answer 1

In Visual Studio 2013 Community Edition with a Python 2.7 environment, the following worked for me:

Open the Python Environments menu in Solution Explorer, and click on "Install Python Package..."

Then write "numpy":

Answer 2

Two solutions worked for me:

1. Going directly to my Python folder and installing the packages using pip.
2. Creating a virtual environment in my project and installing packages from within Visual Studio.

Answer 3

Consider using a more feature-rich Windows distribution of Python, like Anaconda. It comes with a boatload of packages included into the installer. This is quite handy for those who are new to Python, especially when they are using Windows.

Edit:

As of 2020, I would suggest using the python.org distribution of Python. Compiler issues on ms-windows have finally been fixed, so a lot of projects now provide binary packages (wheels) for ms-windows. Among others numpy, pandas, matplotlib, pillow, Cython and PyNaCl.

Note that wheel names ending in:

• win_amd64.whl are for 64-bit versions of ms-windows, and
• win32.whl are for 32-bit.