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1. Workspace and Environment Set up on VS Code

1a. Create Workspace Folder

  1. Create a folder with your preferred name on your Desktop. For example, let's assume the folder is named mf_excel_package.
  2. Open VS Code and choose File > Open Folder and select your folder (See Figure 1).
Figure 1: VS Code new file
Figure 1

1b. Create Python Virtual Environment

If already installed Python version 3.12.7 on your system, proceed to step 8.

  1. Create an empty Python file file.py and open it (See Figure 2).
    2. Figure 2: Create an empty file.py
    Figure 2
  2. Select Interpreter > choose conda base environment (See Figure 3).
    3. Figure 3: Select Python Interpreter
    Figure 3
  3. Open a new terminal (Ctrl+Shift+').
  4. Select Git Bash if not default (See Figure 4).
    5. Figure 4: Select Git Bash Terminal
    Figure 4
  5. To install Python 3.12.7 using conda:
conda create -n "name" python=3.12.7 ipython
  1. Select Python 3.12.7 Interpreter following step 1b2.
  2. Close the Bash Terminal and open a new one following step 1b3.
  3. Create a virtual environment:
python -m venv .venv
  1. Activate the virtual environment in Git Bash:
. .venv/Scripts/activate

1c. Install Jupyter Notebook

  1. In VS Code, go to Extensions > search for Jupyter and install the Microsoft extension.
  2. Create a Jupyter Notebook file named run.ipynb, open it, click Select Kernel > Python Environment .. > and select the .venv kernel. (see Figure 5)
Figure 5: Jupyter extension screenshot placeholder
Figure 5