Jason R Briggs

If you are...

1. running an older version of Mac OS X (perhaps one no longer supported by Apple), and
2. experience issues with IDLE hanging after you start it

...you may need to use a script to launch IDLE. Follow these steps to setup the script:

1. Click the Spotlight icon (the small magnifying glass at the top-right corner of the screen)
2. In the box that appears, enter Automator.
3. Click the application that looks like a robot when it appears in the menu. It will either be in the section labeled Top Hit or in Applications.
4. Once Automator starts, select the Application template:
   
5. Click Choose to continue.
6. In the list of actions, find Run Shell Script, and drag it to the empty panel on the right. You’ll see something like this:
   
7. In the text box, you’ll see the word cat. Select the word and replace it with the following text (everything from open to -n): open -a "/Applications/Python 3.2/IDLE.app" --args -n
   (you may need to change the directory depending on the version of Python you installed).
8. Select File>Save, and enter IDLE as the name.
9. Select Desktop from the Where dialog, and then click Save.

When you double-click on this icon you should hopefully get a working version of IDLE.