Re: Environmental Path Variable

[David Wright]

On Tue 05 Jun 2018 at 07:24:36 (-0700), Aaron Hill wrote:
> On 2018-06-05 06:56, Zvonimir Nagy wrote:
> >Aaron,
> >Many thanks for your reply and advice. I provide a brief feedback
> >below.
> >
> >dir /s /b C:lilypond.exe
> >
> >⇨ “File not Found”
> >
> >The PowerShell command didn’t result in a message or a prompt.
> >
> >Just in case, here’s the path that’s indicated when I navigate to the
> >Lilypond folder directory:
> >
> >This PC > Windows(C:) > Program Files (x86) > Lilypond > usr > bin
> >Once again, this path work just fine with Frescobaldi.
> >
> >Thank you so much for your help with this. Let me know if you have any
> >other suggestions.
> 
> (cc-ing the mailing list for visibility)
> 
> Hi Zvony,
> 
> That is rather peculiar, that you can find the files via Explorer
> but not the command-line.  I am honestly not sure how the filesystem
> could fail in that way.  What version of Windows are you running?
> (You can run `winver` to get the exact build number.)
> 
> Next thing to try... go ahead and navigate to the `bin` folder from
> Explorer and first just verify for sanity's sake that lilypond.exe
> is there.  It should be, otherwise I am going to recommend an
> exorcist for your computer demons.  (Actually, that would most
> likely indicate a faulty installation, so maybe just go ahead and
> uninstall and reinstall LilyPond.)
> 
> Now providing lilypond.exe is there, you should be able to hold down
> SHIFT and right-click in the whitespace of the folder (that is not
> on any of the files) and select "Open PowerShell window here".  (If
> PowerShell is not your main CLI, the menu option may read "Open
> command window here".)  At this point, you should have a console
> that is in the very same folder as lilypond.exe.  So, run something
> like `lilypond --version` to see if works.  If this fails, then your
> computer might actually need that religious intervention.
> 
> Presumably, though, this will work.  But then the mystery remains
> why the pathing is wrong.  From another console window, print out
> the current path: `path` (for cmd.exe) or `echo $env:Path` (for PS).
> Make sure that the full path of the `bin` folder appears in the list
> exactly.  There could simply be an errant character that you have
> overlooked.  A handy trick, by the by, is to SHIFT right-click a
> file or folder in Explorer to select the option "Copy as path".
> Remember, though, that you will need to re-open any console windows
> in order for them to inherit the new environment if you make any
> changes.
> 
> Hopefully that all is enough to help you track down the issue.

Forgive me for commenting: any DOS skills I had will have
atrophied by now. IIRC and AIUI:

Writing   dir /s /b C:lilypond.exe   will search subdirectories
starting at the directory you have to be in (your current working
directory).

OTOH   dir /s /b C:\lilypond.exe   will start the search at C:\,
ie from top level.

Stretchng the brain cells somewhat, I think that each drive
letter maintains a current working directory even when you're
working on another drive. So I see no evidence for demons here.
It's also not clear to me what the filename is that you are
searching for: lilypond.exe or lilypond-windows.exe.
It might be more helpful to post directory listings of the
pertinent folders.

Cheers,
David.