Running old FDLog on Python 2 after installing Python 3

or any other python 2 program after Python 3

After installing Python 3 the old Python 2 apps usually quit working because they bring up the new Python 3 package. Here are some instructions for making the old Python 2 applications continue to use the old Python 2 installation. This only works if the old Python 2 installation is still intact. Python 3 installs into a different place, so it won't usually affect the old Python 2 setup.

The process is to create a shortcut and configure it to run the old Python 2 interpreter and the old app. Here are the steps:

Create a shortcut on the desktop by right clicking and selecting new / shortcut
Browse to the fdlog directory and select the fdlog.py file
Select next
Name the shortcut fdlog2
Click finish
This will create shortcut, but it is not yet correct

Right click on this shortcut and select properties
So you can fix it
The target line needs the path to python 2.7 added in front of what is already there:

C:\Python27\python.exe <space> "......."

After that what is already there should be ok:
"C:\Users\AlanB\Dropbox\fdlog devel\_archive\fdlog-1-149-2\fdlog\fdlog.py"

Or whatever the path is to fdlog.py on your system

The start in line that is already there should be ok
If not, put the path to the home directory where the fdlog files are and where the databases will be, in "..."

If this doesn't work we need to see the error messages
Hold windows key down and hit r
Type cmd <return>
Type cd desktop (assuming the fdlog2 shortcut is on your desktop)
Run it by typing fdlog2.lnk
Then you should see the error messages...
This also works for seeing fdlog error messages

A version of this was put into the FDLog3 manual.