[Chicago] Python Tools for Visual Studio… 2012 Express?

[Brian Curtin]

On Wed, Jan 9, 2013 at 10:35 PM, Chad Glendenin <chad at glendenin.com> wrote:
> I hope this isn't a stupid question, but I've spent some time googling it
> already, and I'm not finding a good answer. Do the Python Tools for Visual
> Studio (PTVS) work with Visual Studio 2012 Express?
>
> I already installed Visual Studio 2012 "Express for Web" in a Windows 7 VM
> to play around with VS's TypeScript support. Then I wanted to try PTVS (with
> IronPython), but the installer says something like "Visual Studio 2012 is
> required" and refuses to install.
>
> I thought I already had VS 2012. :-/ Does PTVS require a *non-Express*
> version of VS 2012?
>
> I found some docs about installing PTVS in VS 2010 "integrated shell,"
> whatever the heck that is, but I've already spent a bunch of time installing
> VS 2012, so I'm nervous about mucking around with it too much and breaking
> what's already working.
>
> I appreciate any pointers or advice.

Express does not support plugins, extensions, or whatever they call
things like PTVS these days. You should be able to just install the
integrated shell alongside your current setup and then try PTVS again.
I did something like this a few years back with an IDE project that
came before PTVS that *required* the integrated shell and couldn't
work inside the full VS.