I have been searching the web for hours now, found several instances where someone had the same problem, but I seem to be too much of a newb with linux/ubuntu to follow the instructions properly, as none of the given solutions worked.
Whenever I try to run a panda3d sample file from the python shell, I would give me an error saying:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/share/panda3d/samples/asteroids/main.py", line 16, in 
    from direct.showbase.ShowBase import ShowBase
ImportError: No module named 'direct'
What really bugs me is that when I try to execute the .py file directly (without opening it in the IDLE or pycharm) it works just fine.
I know this has been asked before, but I would like to ask for a working step by step solution to be able to import panda3d from pycharm and the IDLE. I have no clue how to get it working, as none of the answers given to this question worked for me.
try to change your PYTHONPATH? 
i met a problem like this, and then i modify my PYTHONPATH, and it worked.
panda3d python import error