Getting Documentation from the Help Menu

General
1

Hi Folks,

I just discovered that selecting “Documentation” under “Help” in the DrRacket IDE
that the functionality depends on what I set as my default browser. It works flawlessly with Safari as the default on my iMac however, if I set DuckDuckGo as my default browser all that I get is the Documentation Index, which has no functionality. Has anyone else stumbled across this and if so have you found a solution? I’ve been poking around the privacy settings in DuckDuckGo but alas I have yet to solve the problem and yes I know the solution obvious, stick with Safari!:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Cheers,
Munroe

2

I have no experience with the DuckDuckGo browser. This may come across as tone-deaf—browser choice can be intensely personal—but I've had a long and happy relationship with Firefox, a browser built by a nonprofit (Mozilla) that I believe in. I believe their privacy focus is second to none. Again, this is just my personal and biased opinion.

3

People have approached me with similar problems using Safari as the default problem.

I have been able to reconstruct this problem for Salari once, not on a reliable basis, by creating a new account on my laptop, setting up Racket by just downloading (my normal mode is ‘built from source’), and setting up a few other things. Of course, it didn’t repeat the second time I did this. All I am saying “be warned, sometime Macs are truly random, perhaps good for lottery tickets).

4

Apropos Safari and local html pages.

It might have something to do with the default security settings (and us old-timers forgetting that we changed the settings).

According to this [1] one has to give Safari access to local files.

[1] Can't open HTML pages in Safari? Add Safari to Full Disk Access | Macworld

I am not sure that's the only way of granting access to Safari though.

1 Like
5

Some browsers may restrict local files (e.g. those with URLs file://). It's a bit more than what @soegaard linked: even Safari itself can impose more security restrictions on JavaScript than the "Full Disk Access" permission control like javascript - Safari - Does not have Disable local file restrictions option - Stack Overflow or Changing Developer settings in Safari on macOS | Apple Developer Documentation.

1 Like
6

I hope I understand this

  • safari works 'flawlessly' on local documentation
  • duckduckgo-browser(DDGB) only gives you the documentation index
    e.g. file:///Users/stephendegabrielle/Library/Racket/8.16.0.1/doc/index.html
    but any attempt to click a link doesn't follow the link

I thought I'd try it

  1. I download ddgb and set it as my default

  2. selected a docs search term 'machine' and pressed (fn)F1

  3. DDGB showed me this page file:///private/var/folders/l5/b3pc5pcj0j33n2wxwlxpwhhh0000gn/T/plt-sendurl-contents-file-17389611231738961123536.html

    image
    image1732×326 25.3 KB

  4. I clicked the link file:///Users/stephendegabrielle/Library/Racket/8.16.0.1/doc/search/index.html?q=machine - but it refused to follow the link.

I used the inspector to check the console

image
image2066×834 132 KB

Not allowed to load local resource: file:///Users/stephendegabrielle/Library/Racket/8.16.0.1/doc/search/index.html?q=machine

I gave DDGB 'Full disk access' in macOS settings and restarted

image
image974×786 64.2 KB

But it had the same result.

I suspect you are running up against a protection in DDGB setting - but I wasn't able to work it out. Maybe check with DDG community sites - let us know if you find a solution.

Stephen :beetle:

7

Hi,

OK Ok OK surrender, I'm sticking with Safari! :rofl: Seriously though, thank you all for the replies!

Cheers,
Munroe

1 Like