In http://docs.python.org/devguide/setup.html#windows the devguide mentions that the user must go to the "Build" menu to run "Build Solution". When I tried doing that with Visual C++ 2010 per the instructions, I discovered that there is no "Build" menu and the menu item is actually under the "Debug" menu. I have attached my first attempt at a patch in the hopes that this might be fixed.

Would you mind taking a screenshot of where "Build Solution" appears? You'll probably need to hold CTRL+print screen to make sure the menu doesn't retract. As seen in http://i.imgur.com/XvXa5.png I have the menu as described in the guide and it's the one I've seen others have as well.

The guide used to mention everything by keyboard shortcuts which can be different for everyone depending on the keyboard layout they choose at install time (or through the options later on).

@Brian - Sorry I didn't include a screenshot earlier. I was running it on a machine without good screen capturing software. I've rectified that and attached a screenshot for you. I suspect that there's a difference between the VC++ 2010 Express Edition and a full suite.

Weird that they would do that. Given that there is a difference, we should probably list both. Something like "choose the Build Solution option from either the Build or Debug menu depending on your Visual Studio version."

Your patch seems to solve something different than you've been mentioning. That drop-down is technically the "Solution Configuration" so we could name it as that, but I figured "build configuration" worked because it's a configuration of how the build will be done.

Yeah, my patch didn't turn out the way I expected. I replaced "Build" with "Debug" and then noticed that it also referred to some kind of "build" drop-down that didn't seem like the right term. I couldn't figure out what the right term was though. Would you like me to fix those two items using your wording? Or we could just leave it as it is in the original and just fix the the part I mentioned originally.

May as well fix them both.

Here's a new patch that I think addresses both issues. Thanks for your insights.

Nitpicking: the drop down (in both VC++ 2008 & 2010 express) is named "Solution Configurations" [note the 's' in the end]

But this name does now appear anywhere - only if you hover on the dropbox. I don't mind either way - either leave it what it was, or change "build" to "Solution Configurations", but do spell it correctly :)

@ Eli - Sorry about that. I just went with Brian's wording on that. I didn't realize it was plural. My experience with Visual Studio is limited, although I hope to rectify that at some point. Anyway, I corrected the patch and attached it. Thanks!

LGTM. Brian, any objections to commit?

P.S. Michael: I usually like numbering successive versions of a patch (like setup.1.patch, setup.2.patch, or a similar scheme) - this makes it easier to refer to more than one version in a discussion without getting confused. This is just a tip for future patches.

Looks good to me. Feel free to commit it, Eli.

Thanks for the tip Eli. I'll try to remember to number my patches next time. This is my first time doing this.

New changeset e55c65fc3cb4 by Eli Bendersky in branch 'default':
Issue #14884: fixed a couple of typos in the Windows build instructions. Patch by Michael Driscoll
http://hg.python.org/devguide/rev/e55c65fc3cb4

Done (with a tiny fix inserting parens to avoid ambiguity in a sentence).

Thanks for the contribution!