Python folder structure

Python's folder structure holds more than just the Python Interpreter. Within the subfolders reside a number of important scripts, digital link libraries, and even C language modules. Not all of the scripts are used all the time, but each has a role in making the Python programming environment possible. The most important folder to know about is the site-packages folder, where most modules that will be imported in Python scripts are contained.

Where modules reside

Within every Python folder is a folder called Lib, and within that folder is a folder called site-packages. On my machine, the folder sits at C:\Python27\ArcGIS10.2\Lib\site-packages. Almost all third-party modules are copied into this folder to be imported as needed. The main exception to this rule, for our purposes, is the ArcPy module, which is stored within the ArcGIS folder in the Program Files folder (for example, C:\Program Files (x86)\ArcGIS\Desktop10.2\arcpy). To make that possible, the ArcGIS...