.. _ref-pil:

Installing PIL
==============

To be able to run the ``social_project`` or any photo support provided with
Pinax you will need the `Python Imaging Library`_ (aka PIL). We don't install
this for you because its installation will vary and requires compilation.
First, check with your OS package manager (if applicable) to see if it can
provide PIL for you. Windows users can simply use the binaries provided on the
PIL website.

This command has worked for some users; it installs a tweaked version::

    (pinax-env)$ pip install PIL

Of course you'll need a C compiler `libjpeg`_ and `libz`_ libraries upon which
PIL depends.

.. note::

    PIL will install *without* `libjpeg`_ and `libz`_. It simply won't support
    JPEGs or PNGs.

.. _`Python Imaging Library`: http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/
.. _`libjpeg`: http://freshmeat.net/projects/libjpeg/
.. _`libz`: http://www.zlib.net/