# Problem accessing docs **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions & Answers\ **Created:** [November 10, 2024, 10:46pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308 "2024-11-10T22:46:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2024, 10:46pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/1 "2024-11-10T22:46:15Z")
I've had this problem for a while, since about two updates ago, but I've just worked around it. I thought maybe now, with the latest version 8.15 out, might be a good time to fix it. I am also using Racket a lot more than I used to 🙂 Basically, whenever I try to access the docs from within Racket, the browser simply refuses to display them, saying that they are not readable. Which is strange, because if I open the \*.html files in any text editor, they seem perfectly readable to me! I have taken to putting the online link to the docs on my browser's menu bar, so I'm not completely lost, but I do consider this a pretty suboptimal arrangement. Any ideas? Using Racket 8.6 under Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy. Racket is not on my 'Snap' list, so I guess I never installed it that way. Can't remember how I installed it anyway. Maybe script, more likely apt, but no idea really. If I deinstall everything and install afresh would I be alright? Any preferred procedure? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![sorawee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@sorawee](https://racket.discourse.group/u/sorawee)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/2 "2024-11-10T23:03:27Z")
What about your browser? Was it installed via Snap? ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2024, 11:45pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/3 "2024-11-10T23:45:02Z")
Yup, browsers (both FF and Chromium) installed by Snap. Would this matter? ---
**Author:** ![soegaard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/soegaard/32/19_2.png) [@soegaard](https://racket.discourse.group/u/soegaard)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/4 "2024-11-10T23:52:55Z")
Yes. See [Ubuntu Linux (22.04, and 23.10) and Racket documentation? - #2 by LiberalArtist](https://racket.discourse.group/t/ubuntu-linux-22-04-and-23-10-and-racket-documentation/2474/2) ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2024, 11:55pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/5 "2024-11-10T23:55:43Z")
Jeez, inspired by your question, I tried copying the `doc` directory from `.racket` to a different place in the home directory, and from there it works fine! Just what are these browsers up to? Seems ridiculous. How can I change my Racket settings to point to a different directory now? Seems like so much senseless hassle... 🤬 PS. Thanks @soegaard ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/6 "2024-11-11T00:06:55Z")
OK, I see, the problem is not the browsers _per se_, but the snap installation that does not allow them access to "invisible" directories. Yegads. I'll have to think about that. Seriously not liking snap ATM. ===== Anyway, I have loads of other programs installed under snap (emacs, kate, julia, many utilities, etc) and none of them have any problem opening .xxxx directories or files. Ho-hum, very boring. ---
**Author:** ![greghendershott](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/greghendershott/32/98_2.png) [@greghendershott](https://racket.discourse.group/u/greghendershott)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2024, 2:14pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/7 "2024-11-11T14:14:22Z")
Some people install Firefox directly on Linux: [Download Mozilla Firefox for Linux — Fast, Private & Free - from Mozilla](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/linux/). IIUC it has none of the app sandbox restrictions of the Snap. After the initial install, the update experience is similar to Windows or macOS: Periodically, Firefox itself will tell you it can be updated, and do that for you. Caveat: I haven't yet tried this myself. Because I haven't yet had problems with the Flatpak builds of Firefox on Debian or Fedora. (And if I did, Flatpak lets you easily tweak app sandbox permissions -- more so than Snap, although Snap might have improved in this regard since I last checked c. a year ago, idk.) ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/8 "2024-11-11T17:37:15Z")
Thanks Greg That's probably what I'll do, seems the quickest/neatest. I'm still wondering about the 'sandbox' thing, though, as I said most of my Snap-installed programs have absolutely no problem reading (and writing) 'dot' directories and files. Why should they? We have permissions for that very purpose. Is it just a browser issue? Hijacking permissions seems rather cavalier. ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/9 "2024-12-17T20:57:15Z")
Right, well here I am again and no improvement in situation: Today, while doing a `raco setup` trying to get my wonky 8.6 installation to co-operate, I crashed it beyond recovery. Fantastic! An opportunity for a nice new clean 8.15 install... (ubuntu 22.04 still) I download the \*.sh file from the main site and ran the script, bog-standard 'unix-style' installation. Nice fresh DrRacket 8.15 greeted me. Great, I thought, now at last I'll be able to browse the local docs. Sadly, no such luck. It still tries to browse the docs with Firefox and then says the index.html file is not there, when it patently is. Furthermore, a problem I had trying to launch `scribble`, which I thought would vanish with the new installation is still there ```scheme $ scribble --html racket-cas.scrbl eval:2:0: collection not found for module path: racket-cas collection: "racket-cas" in collection directories: /usr/share/racket/collects/ ... [166 additional linked and package directories] location...: eval:2:0 context...: /usr/share/racket/collects/racket/private/more-scheme.rkt:148:2: call-with-break-parameterization /usr/share/racket/pkgs/sandbox-lib/racket/sandbox.rkt:921:7 /usr/share/racket/pkgs/sandbox-lib/racket/sandbox.rkt:891:2: user-process ``` All ideas hints suggestions welcome. Can't have the situation continuing like this. ---
**Author:** ![soegaard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/soegaard/32/19_2.png) [@soegaard](https://racket.discourse.group/u/soegaard)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/10 "2024-12-17T21:23:50Z")
Just checking: Have you installed `racket-cas` for both version 8.6 and for 8.15? Is your `scribble` command the one from 8.6 or the one from 8.15? I have a hunch, the scribble command is from 8.15, but that `racket-cas` is installed only for version 8.6. ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2024, 12:38am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/11 "2024-12-18T00:38:16Z")
> Have you installed `racket-cas` for both version 8.6 and for 8.15? Not sure what you mean by this. When we communicated earlier I was using 8.6, then everything crashed and I made a completely new install with 8.15. I don't 'install' racket-cas for some version, other than that first loading and running of racket-cas.rkt, I just use the files by requiring them from where they reside. The racket-cas.scrbl was just downladed with all the others. Anyway thanks for the response, I want to try some other scribble tests before I say anything more, don't want to generate too much noise. (I'll open a new thread later, when I have more on this) ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2024, 12:47am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/12 "2024-12-18T00:47:03Z")
I have just sorted the docs problem by de-installing FF from snap and re-installing under apt. It was a diabolical experience, since by default apt just installs FF via snap, and I hadn't noticed! The process took hours, too, because that's how long snap takes to save snapshots before it deletes the program. 1.5 GB snapshot! Evil creature. Eventually got it done OK following the Mozilla instructions. It might be nice in the future if Racket could be configured for _ **where** _ the docs live, to save this kind of hassle. Anyway, all's good for now. ---
**Author:** ![soegaard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/soegaard/32/19_2.png) [@soegaard](https://racket.discourse.group/u/soegaard)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/13 "2024-12-18T19:03:05Z")
> > Have you installed racket-cas for both version 8.6 and for 8.15? > Not sure what you mean by this. The question was due to these lines: ```scheme $ scribble --html racket-cas.scrbl eval:2:0: collection not found for module path: racket-cas ``` They suggest that `racket-cas` isn't registered as a package. ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/14 "2024-12-18T22:43:19Z")
'They' suggest correctly! 😀 Not only had I not installed it, I did not even realize that I could or should install it. I was just `require`ing via the filename and everything was working fine. I guess I misunderstood the instructions. Thanks for clearing up the mystery. Anyway all done now, and scribble worked (although still complained a bit, minor, I guess) ```scheme scribble --html racket-cas.scrbl [Output to racket-cas.html] Warning: some cross references may be broken due to undefined tags: (dep ((lib "racket/private/base.rkt") require)) (dep ((lib "racket/base.rkt") require)) (dep ((lib "racket/private/pre-base.rkt") require)) (dep ((lib "racket/private/reqprov.rkt") require)) ``` BTW, when I was installing the package, I got a whole bunch of error too, I don't think they're major, seem to be only related to `generate-quizlet-exercises.rkt`. It looks like our old friend, the `x: unbound identifier` may be at play again. Anyway, I don't care, it's fine as it is for me now, just **FYI** ```scheme raco setup: 3 making: /racket-cas-master/examples raco setup: 2 making: /racket-cas-master/racket-cas raco setup: 1 making: /racket-cas-master/racket-cas-doc Code/Racket/racket-cas/racket-cas-master/examples/generate-quizlet-exercises.rkt:88:29: x: unbound identifier in: x compilation context...: /home/alex/Code/Racket/racket-cas/racket-cas-master/examples/generate-quizlet-exercises.rkt location...: Code/Racket/racket-cas/racket-cas-master/examples/generate-quizlet-exercises.rkt:88:29 context...: /usr/share/racket/collects/compiler/private/cm-minimal.rkt:700:0: compile-zo* /usr/share/racket/collects/compiler/private/cm-minimal.rkt:634:0: compile-zo*/cross-compile /usr/share/racket/collects/compiler/private/cm-minimal.rkt:450:15 /usr/share/racket/collects/compiler/private/cm-minimal.rkt:436:12: build /usr/share/racket/collects/compiler/private/cm-minimal.rkt:407:0: maybe-compile-zo /usr/share/racket/collects/compiler/private/cm-minimal.rkt:210:0: compile-root /usr/share/racket/collects/compiler/private/cm-minimal.rkt:105:4 /usr/share/racket/collects/setup/parallel-build.rkt:385:9 /usr/share/racket/collects/setup/parallel-do.rkt:471:25 /usr/share/racket/collects/setup/parallel-do.rkt:457:20: loop raco setup: --- creating launchers --- [22:19:41] raco setup: --- installing man pages --- [22:19:41] raco setup: --- building documentation --- [22:19:41] raco setup: --- installing collections --- [22:19:41] raco setup: --- post-installing collections --- [22:19:41] raco setup: --- summary of errors --- [22:19:41] raco setup: error: during making for /racket-cas-master/examples raco setup: Code/Racket/racket-cas/racket-cas-master/examples/generate-quizlet-exercises.rkt:88:29: x: unbound identifier raco setup: in: x raco setup: compiling: /racket-cas-master/examples/generate-quizlet-exercises.rkt drracket install: packages installed, although setup reported errors ``` ---
**Author:** ![soegaard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/soegaard/32/19_2.png) [@soegaard](https://racket.discourse.group/u/soegaard)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/15 "2024-12-18T23:35:33Z")
> [@AlexG](#): > > `generate-quizlet-exercises.rkt` Thanks for the bug report. You are right that `generate-quizlet-exercises.rkt` isn't critical (it's just an example). I think the errors about missing tags from rendering the documentation can be fixed by adding the following switches to the scribble command: ```scheme +m --redirect-main http://docs.racket-lang.org ``` The +m flag loads cross-reference information for all installed documentation. And the redirect flag makes the links go to the web-page (instead of the local documentation). ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2024, 11:46pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/16 "2024-12-18T23:46:37Z")
Yup, the switches fixed the scribble error. ---
**Author:** ![benknoble](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/benknoble/32/16_2.png) [@benknoble](https://racket.discourse.group/u/benknoble)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/17 "2024-12-19T03:08:29Z")
By the by, if the package builds successfully then `raco setup` will do more than just `raco make`; among other things, it can coordinate `raco scribble` to build the docs. So I would expect the setup to build the documentation, and I do not normally run scribble on manuals (only on standalone documents). ---
**Author:** ![AlexG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@AlexG](https://racket.discourse.group/u/AlexG)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 7:49pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/problem-accessing-docs/3308/19 "2025-01-11T19:49:55Z")
Just for your information/entertainment, I'll add this: **Re: Racket docs, Firefox and Snap installations on Ubuntu.** As I said previously, I'd removed Firefox from my Snap installation and installed it via the custom procedure recommended on the FF site, just so I could have access to the Racket docs via F1, bypassing the Snap/FF sandboxing nonsense. Four days ago, completely behind my back, without as much as a by-your-leave, Ubuntu changed my apt settings and put FF back under Snap installation! I don't know how it did this but I was absolutely livid and coloured the air blue for quite a while. I even de-installed FF for a while just out of reaction. Unfortunately, I'm too reliant on it, so with a tear, I eventually gave up and installed it again, yes, with Snap. However (by chance) I later found out that FF now _does_ access the Racket docs as it should - no sandbox! What happened? I guess I'll never know. Has the FF/Snap sandbox protocol been changed? Some other glitch overcame the first glitch? Anyway it all works as it should now, yes with FF and Snap, so I'm happy, but I also have a taste in my mouth from these things becoming so complicated that I don't even know how my doc browsing is configured!