Merge pull request conda#9453 from rrigdon/dll-loading-verification

DLL loading verification in Activate an Env

docs/source/user-guide/tasks/manage-environments.rst

@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ command used to activate environments created by name::
   conda activate ./envs
  
 Specifying a path to a subdirectory of your project directory when
-creating an environment has the following benefits: 
+creating an environment has the following benefits:
 
   * It makes it easy to tell if your project uses an isolated environment
     by including the environment as a subdirectory.
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ Anaconda for Just Me, we add it to the user PATH. When you install
 for All Users, we add it to the system PATH. In the former case,
 you can end up with system PATH values taking precedence over
 our entries. In the latter case, you do not. We do not recommend
-All Users installs.
+`multi-user installs <https://docs.anaconda.com/anaconda/install/multi-user/>`_.
 
 Activation prepends to PATH. This only takes effect
 when you have the environment active so it is local to a terminal session,
@@ -426,15 +426,15 @@ By default, ``conda activate`` will deactivate the current environment
 before activating the new environment and reactivate it when
 deactivating the new environment. Sometimes you may want to leave
 the current environment PATH entries in place so that you can continue
-to easily access command line programs from the first environment. 
+to easily access command line programs from the first environment.
 This is most commonly encountered when common command-line utilities
 are installed in the base environment. To retain the current environment
 in the PATH, you can activate the new environment using:
 
 ``conda activate --stack myenv``
 
-If you wish to always stack when going from the outermost environment, 
-which is typically the base environment, you can set the ``auto_stack`` 
+If you wish to always stack when going from the outermost environment,
+which is typically the base environment, you can set the ``auto_stack``
 configuration option:
 
 ``conda config --set auto_stack 1``
@@ -443,6 +443,18 @@ You may specify a larger number for a deeper level of automatic stacking,
 but this is not recommended since deeper levels of stacking are more likely
 to lead to confusion.
 
+Environment variable for DLL loading verification
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+If you don't want to activate your environment and you want Python
+to work for DLL loading verification, then follow the
+:ref:`troubleshooting directions <mkl_library>`.
+
+.. warning::
+   If you choose not to activate your environment, then
+   loading and setting environment variables to activate
+   scripts will not happen. We only support activation.
+
 Deactivating an environment
 ===========================
 

docs/source/user-guide/troubleshooting.rst

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Neither the activation, nor the echo will happen. You must write this in your ba
 
 This is known behavior with cmd.exe, and we have not found any way to change it.  https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4798879/how-do-i-run-a-batch-script-from-within-a-batch-script/4798965
 
+.. _mkl_library:
 
 NumPy MKL library load failed
 =============================
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ If you are not activating your environments, start with doing that. There's more
 info at :ref:`Activating environments <activate-env>`. If you are still stuck, you need to consider
 more drastic measures.
 
-  1. Remove any MKL-related files from C:\\Windows\\System32. We recommend
+  #. Remove any MKL-related files from C:\\Windows\\System32. We recommend
      renaming them to add .bak to the filename to effectively hide them. Observe
      if any other software breaks. Try moving the DLL files alongside the .exe of
      the software that broke. If it works again, you can keep things in the
@@ -70,10 +71,10 @@ more drastic measures.
      creators of that software. Inform them that their practice of installing
      MKL to a global location is fragile and is breaking other people's software
      and wasting a lot of time. See the list of guilty parties below.
-  2. You may try a special DLL loading mode that Anaconda builds into Python.
-     This changes the DLL search path from system32 first to system32 as another
+  #. You may try a special DLL loading mode that Anaconda builds into Python.
+     This changes the DLL search path from System32 first to System32 as another
      entry on PATH, allowing libraries in your conda environment to be found
-     before the libraries in system32. Control of this feature is done with
+     before the libraries in System32. Control of this feature is done with
      environment variables. Only Python builds beyond these builds will react to
      these environment variables:
 
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ more drastic measures.
        * CLI: https://superuser.com/questions/79612/setting-and-getting-windows-environment-variables-from-the-command-prompt/79614
        * GUI: http://www.dowdandassociates.com/blog/content/howto-set-an-environment-variable-in-windows-gui/
 
-     These should be set to a value of ``1`` to enable them.  For example, in an anaconda prompt terminal::
+     These should be set to a value of ``1`` to enable them.  For example, in an Anaconda Prompt terminal::
 
        set CONDA_DLL_SEARCH_MODIFICATION_ENABLE=1