PyInstaller does not recognize downloaded pywin32

Question

I have downloaded Python 2.7.3, PyInstaller (compatible with 2.7) and pywin32 (compatible with 2.7) and restarted my machine, but when I enter the prompt:

pyinstaller.py [opts] nameofscript.py

The prompt then tells me:

Error: PyInstaller for Python 2.6+ on windows needs pywin32. Please install from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pywin32/

Why is it that PyInstaller can't "see" that I have already downloaded pywin32?

Answer 1

If you are using Python 2.7, the compat.py in the C:/Python27/Lib/site-packages/PyInstaller file need to be changed to:

if is_win:
try:
    #from win32ctypes.pywin32 import pywintypes  # noqa: F401
    #from win32ctypes.pywin32 import win32api
    import pywintypes
    import win32api
except ImportError:
    # This environment variable is set by seutp.py
    # - It's not an error for pywin32 to not be installed at that point
    if not os.environ.get('PYINSTALLER_NO_PYWIN32_FAILURE'):
        raise SystemExit('PyInstaller cannot check for assembly dependencies.\n'
                         'Please install PyWin32 or pywin32-ctypes.\n\n'
                         'pip install pypiwin32\n')

in order to work.