So near and yet so far....
I have installed the bash file, added the PATH, run Anaconda-Navigator and the installation process has started with the green "snake" icon. It gets to the point when the text on the snake is "Loading Applications..." and then the process hangs. The following text is the last visible in the terminal at this point.

File "/home/david/anaconda3/lib/python3.7/site-packages/anaconda_navigator/api/external_apps/vscode.py", line 168, in _find_linux_install_dir
if DISTRO_NAME in ['ubuntu', 'debian']:
UnboundLocalError: local variable 'DISTRO_NAME' referenced before assignment

If anyone can shed some light on this issue, I would be most grateful.
Thank you in anticipation
David R.

Hardware: Dell Inspiron 15R
Op Sys: Mint 19.3 dual booting with Windows 10

I don't know if it is the cause, but Mint 19.3 runs Python 3.6, not Python 3.7. You can install Python 3.7 on Mint but use altinstall (e.g. see https://gist.github.com/dnavarrom/67...c5c8ce6653e0dd but note that 3.7 is now at 3.7.7) so that you leave the default Python alone.

Disclaimer: I have never done this. Use TimeShift to make a snapshot of your system before attempting if you are at all unsure.

OK thank you. I will give that some thought. I would have imagined (perhaps naively) that Anaconda would simple update the version of Python which comes with Mint, or install it alongside the 3.6 version. Is that not your understanding of the process?
Best regards
David

No, Anaconda wouldn't do that, in my opinion. It would assume that you are installing it into a Python 3.7 environment which you have pre-prepared for it. It most certainly wouldn't update the version of Python which comes with Mint - several of Mint's packages are dependent on the version of Python that is provided by default, i.e. 3.6, and could encounter difficulties if this were updated out of its control. That is why using a technique to run both versions side by side is the way to go. Or, use a distro that has 3.7 as its default version of Python. Or, set up a virtual machine with such a distro or a distro which has its default version and 3.7 installed side-by-side.

Of course, that might not be what's causing your issue.

Edit: If I were you, I would treat this as a learning experience, make a snapshot/backup of your system and go for side-by-side Python versions following instructions found on the web. See how you go and report back.

Right, thank you. I will use the url you provided in your first response to install Python 3.7.7 alongside the 3.6 version and then try the Anaconda process again.
Will let you know if it works...
Best regards
David

Well, 3.7.7 installed ok. I rebooted and started anaconda-navigator, but the process hung as before.
There is no need to re-download the Anaconda ".sh" file is there to start the whole process anew?
Best regards
David

Your best bet would probably be to delete or roll back everything you have done so far re: Anaconda (i.e. remove it from your system) and start afresh.

An alternative approach. A quick search on the internet returns the following page https://docs.anaconda.com/anaconda/p...s/oldpkglists/ which suggests that Anaconda versions for Python 3.6 extended up until Anaconda 2019.07. You should therefore consider downloading and using Anaconda 2019.07 (from https://repo.continuum.io/archive/ - Anaconda 3) - that will mean that you don't need to install 3.7 on your machine after all. This appears to be one of Anaconda's recommended solutions. I would suggest that if you decide to do this, you first roll your machine back to the snapshot you made before you did the altinstall of Python 3.7, just to keep things nice and simple/clean.

You might find that 2019.10 also does the trick, but I haven't yet found confirmation of that.

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Brilliant. It worked like a charm. I have so far tested Spyder and Jupyter and both seem to be working. Spyder says its working with Python 3.7, but I am past caring about details like that, to be honest.
Thank you very much indeed for all the help in sorting this out. I could not have managed this on my own.
Best regards
David

Excellent. Enjoy!