--- a/src/eric7/SystemUtilities/PythonUtilities.py	Wed Mar 15 18:01:11 2023 +0100
+++ b/src/eric7/SystemUtilities/PythonUtilities.py	Thu Mar 16 09:20:00 2023 +0100
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
 
     pyVer = 0
     if filename:
-        if not source:
+        if not source and os.path.exists(filename):
             source = Utilities.readEncodedFile(filename)[0]
         flags = Utilities.extractFlags(source)
         ext = os.path.splitext(filename)[1]