From fellow classmates I have been asked to show how to install PyQT5 on a Windows 10 system for use in Python 3 in our programming classes. Coming from Linux I initially just said "Well, install it" but it turns out to be a little more involved than that. The PyQT homepage, seems to no longer have Windows binaries available for download, there are other sources, but I wanted to find something that was as reliable as installing the package on a Linux system.
There are probably easier ways of achieving this, but this is the method I settled on:
Find your Python 3 directory
Python will install itself under your user directory. My Windows user name is
olebole, and Python 3.6 is at:
C:\Users\olebole\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36
When using the Windows Explorer you will have to enable showing hidden folders
and files to see the AppData folder in your home directory.
You need to find your Python location since this is where pip is installed. Pip is used to install packages from PyPI - the Python Package Index.
Install PyQT5
Now that you have your Python installation path, proceed to start a command shell (Win+R, cmd, Enter) and change into the
Scripts directory in the Python
installation directory and use pip.exe to install PyQT5.
cd c:\Users\oblivion\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36\Scripts
pip install PyQT5
Setting the PATH
If you expect on doing this a lot it would be a good idea to add the path of pip.exe to the PATH environment variable. I leave this as an exercise to the reader, while I hurry back to my trusted terminal window.