build pandas documentation from source using installed pandas rather than an inplace build

Question

My question is: How can I use my up to date pandas installation to build the pandas documentation?

I read the pandas/doc/README.rst, which says to navigate to the pandas/doc directory and run python make.py html. Unfortunately, this does not work for me as it seems to require having first done an inplace build of pandas. My (windows) computer does not have the necessary prerequisites for doing a development build, and it seems to be an unnecessary burden when I just want to add some notes that improve the documentation.

The background for why I am asking this question is that earlier this week I posted a SO question about pandas hdf5 output. In discussing the answer with Jeff, he encouraged me to add some commentary to the documentation. So I forked the pandas repository and began to think about how I would add to the documentation. I am not interested in setting up a development build of the complete pandas installation. I would like to be able to modify the documentation, build it, and see my changes before submitting a pull request. Is there a reasonable way to do this?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Here are the pandas contributing guidelines & howto's.