[R-SIG-Mac] Blank help window

[Ben Tupper]

Hi,

The behavior I see is identical to what you describe regardless of the function (I used ?data.frame as an example).  The help commands

> ?<something>

and

> help("something")

both bring up a blank help window.  All of the other steps you have taken yield the same result on my system.


R version 3.5.1 (2018-07-02) -- "Feather Spray"
Copyright (C) 2018 The R Foundation for Statistical Computing
Platform: x86_64-apple-darwin15.6.0 (64-bit)

R is free software and comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
You are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions.
Type 'license()' or 'licence()' for distribution details.

  Natural language support but running in an English locale

R is a collaborative project with many contributors.
Type 'contributors()' for more information and
'citation()' on how to cite R or R packages in publications.

Type 'demo()' for some demos, 'help()' for on-line help, or
'help.start()' for an HTML browser interface to help.
Type 'q()' to quit R.

[R.app GUI 1.70 (7543) x86_64-apple-darwin15.6.0]

> sessionInfo()
R version 3.5.1 (2018-07-02)
Platform: x86_64-apple-darwin15.6.0 (64-bit)
Running under: macOS Sierra 10.12.6

Matrix products: default
BLAS: /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/3.5/Resources/lib/libRblas.0.dylib
LAPACK: /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/3.5/Resources/lib/libRlapack.dylib

locale:
[1] en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/C/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8

attached base packages:
[1] stats     graphics  grDevices utils     datasets  methods   base     

loaded via a namespace (and not attached):
[1] compiler_3.5.1


> capabilities()
       jpeg         png        tiff       tcltk         X11        aqua    http/ftp     sockets      libxml        fifo 
       TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE 
     cledit       iconv         NLS     profmem       cairo         ICU long.double     libcurl 
       TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE        TRUE 





> On Oct 17, 2018, at 1:48 PM, zListserv <zlistserv using gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Many thanks for your suggestions.  Not sure whether Ben’s issue is the same as mine.  Ben has problems with ?data.frame.  My issue is a blank help window when typing ?mean (or any other function).
> 
> Peter suggested checking capabilities().  They are all TRUE.
> 
> You both suggested checking configuration files.  Removing .Rprofile, .Rdata, and .Rapp.history made no difference.
> 
> Simon suggested:
> 
>> On 2018-10 -17, at 08:57, Simon Urbanek <simon.urbanek using r-project.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Few things to try:
>> 
>> - do you see anything in the error console?
> 
> Nothing noticeable in the error console, though I’m inexpert at reading it.
>> 
>> - remove (rename) any and all customization files like ~/.Rprofle ~/.RData etc.
> 
> No effect
> 
>> 
>> - try running R from the console and starting the html help by hand to see if it works at all:
>> tools::startDynamicHelp()
>> help.start(browser="/usr/bin/open”)
>> 
> 
> Help works when running R from console
> 
>> - if that works try the same from the R.app gui *before* using help:
>> help.start(browser="/usr/bin/open”)
> 
> No effect in R (except it opens my default browser).
> 
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> Simon
>> 
>> 
>>> On Oct 16, 2018, at 7:11 PM, zListserv <zlistserv using gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I recently migrated to a MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) using the Migration Assistant.  Everything went well, though there are always a few things that don't transfer such as applications installed by Brew which I installed manually.
>>> 
>>> An issue with R arose I can't solve.  The help systen opens with a blank window.
>>> 
>>> Help works when I run R from the terminal so I know the files are installed.  Help works fine on the Macintosh I used a the source for the migration so it isn't a problem I inherited.  Re-installing R (see sessionInfo below) didn't solve the problem.
>>> 
>>> Anyone have any suggestions how I can get help to work?
>>> 
>>> R version 3.5.1 (2018-07-02)
>>> Platform: x86_64-apple-darwin15.6.0 (64-bit)
>>> Running under: macOS High Sierra 10.13.6
>>> 
>>> Matrix products: default
>>> BLAS: /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/3.5/Resources/lib/libRblas.0.dylib
>>> LAPACK: /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/3.5/Resources/lib/libRlapack.dylib
>>> 
>>> locale:
>>> [1] en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/C/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8
>>> 
>>> attached base packages:
>>> [1] stats     graphics  grDevices utils     datasets  methods  
>>> [7] base     
>>> 
>>> other attached packages:
>>> [1] HANDLS_0.34 zUtil_0.121
>>> 
>>> loaded via a namespace (and not attached):
>>> [1] Rcpp_0.12.17    lattice_0.20-35 digest_0.6.15   MASS_7.3-50    
>>> [5] chron_2.3-52    grid_3.5.1      plyr_1.8.4      xtable_1.8-2   
>>> [9] DBI_1.0.0       RSQLite_2.1.1   sqldf_0.4-11    blob_1.1.1     
>>> [13] sp_1.3-1        gsubfn_0.7      proto_1.0.0     tools_3.5.1    
>>> [17] Matching_4.9-3  bit64_0.9-7     foreign_0.8-70  bit_1.1-14     
>>> [21] compiler_3.5.1  maptools_0.9-2  memoise_1.1.0  
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> R-SIG-Mac mailing list
>>> R-SIG-Mac using r-project.org
>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-sig-mac
>> 
> 

Ben Tupper
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
60 Bigelow Drive, P.O. Box 380
East Boothbay, Maine 04544
http://www.bigelow.org

Ecological Forecasting: https://eco.bigelow.org/






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