Dot.exe fails to run and deletes itself afterwards

Help
1

Hello, first post here.

I’m trying to use grpofddot in conjunction with cProfile to visualize some Python code. I’m following the instructions in this tutorial: Profiling and visualization tools in Python | by Narendra Kumar Vadapalli | Medium

I was able to generate the profiling data with cProfile without issues. However, I’m not able to generate the visualization of the code execution. In particular, running dot.exe results in the error message “The system cannot execute the specified program.” and causes the executable to be deleted immediately afterwards. Any idea how I could resolve this?

I’m using GraphViz 13.0.1 on Windows 11.

Thanks in advance.

2

Sounds like it might be antivirus shenanigans to me if it’s deleting the file.

I google searched for “the system cannot execute the specified program windows 11” and got some suggestions.

Might also be blocked by the OS. Try “Right-click the file, go to Properties, and check for an “Unblock” button in the General tab. If it exists, click it and then try running the program again.”

3

Looks like my antivirus software was indeed the cause. I was able to get dot to run after adding it to the list of excluded files. Thanks for your help!