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# Automating Procedures

Once you know how to use the Python tab to type in a sequence of Python statements, you probably want to learn how to automate the procedure. All you need to do is save your statements, and when you want to use them again later, import them into the Python tab.

## Importing and Executing a Python Script

To import and execute a Python script in the Python tab:

| 1. | On the top of the Python tab, click the Script > Source File menu option.

The Run a Script dialog opens.

| 2. | Navigate to the Python module that contains the script you want to open, or type in the file path to the module, and click Open.

OR

In the input pane, enter:

import module

Where module represents the name of your Python module without the file extension, for example:

import firstmodule

Katana imports the Python module and performs the procedure defined in the module.

Note: The statement does not appear in the input pane either before or after it's executed.

Note: Importing the module is done according to Python’s default rules. During the import, the module is searched in the following locations and order:
1. In the current directory.
2. In the directories contained in the PYTHONPATH environment variable, if this has been defined. To view these directories, enter echo $PYTHONPATH in a command shell.
3. In an installation-dependent default directory.
During the search, the variable sys.path is initialized from these directories. Modules are then searched in the directories listed by the sys.path variable. To see these directories, execute the statement print sys.path in the Python tab.