Solving AnswerBook2 Problems

Browser proxy error

Edit the /usr/lib/ab2/dweb/data/config/dwhttpd.cfg file and change the host name to hostname.domain.

For example, instead of the following line:

set ServerHost imaserver ;#

set ServerHost imaserver.eng.sun.com ;#

If the problem persists, try turning off the proxies on the web browser. 

Browser errors indicating documentation server is not responding

If the documentation server is not responding, restart it. 

For information on stopping and starting the server, see the AnswerBook2 Help. 

Error 404, File not Found when trying to access the documentation server

A server process is running, however the server software has been removed. Reinstall the server software.

For information on installing the software, see "Installing Documentation Server Software".

User indicates that library page displays only the navigation bar and no document collections

Verify that the collections template file (/usr/lib/ab2/dweb/data/config/ab2_collections.template) does not contain any empty or duplicate entries.

If fixing the template file does not correct the problem, you might need to reinstall document collections or server software. For information about installing the software, see "To Install the AnswerBook2 Server Software".

User reports seeing red text and the word "BUG" in a book (or several books) 

The book's source contains markup tags that AnswerBook2 does not recognize and the AB2_DEBUG environment variable is set to "1" on the server. 

To turn off the bug display, set the AB2_DEBUG environment variable to "0," stop the server and start the server.

Contact whoever provided the book to get the markup fixed. 

Unable to access administrative functions on documentation server

The documentation server uses access control mechanisms to identify users who can perform administrative functions. The AnswerBook2 administration tools allow the document administrator for the server machine to add and remove administrative users for the server and change their passwords. 

To add or remove administrative users for your server, see the AnswerBook2 Help. If you need access to another server, contact the document administrator for that server. 

Cannot perform administrative commands from AnswerBook2 Administration GUI (browser interface)

Certain functions do not work from the Admin GUI because of permission issues. Try to perform the same function from the ab2admin command-line interface.

For information about the command line options, see the ab2admin(1m) man page.

A Scan for Locally Installed Collections function does not list document collections that are installed on a local mount point

Verify that the directory into which the collections were installed has read access set for others.

You added an AnswerBook1 collection, but users do not see it in their libraries 

Verify that the information in /var/log/ab2/catalog/ab1_cardcatalog is correct.

This means something is wrong with the collection's data in the ab_cardcatalog file.

You see the message Failed to add collection. when trying to add a collection through the Admin GUI

Verify that the path to the collection's collinfo or ab_cardcatalog file is correct.

Using the restart command to restart the documentation server failed or did not produce the expected results

In some instances, the restart command does not work correctly.

Use the stop and start commands instead.

Document collections appear to be corrupted and need to be reinstalled 

Use the ab2admin -o del_coll function or Delete Collections from List in the Admin GUI to remove these collections from the documentation server's database.

Then, use pkgrm to remove them from the server before installing the new packages.

For more information about removing collections, see the AnswerBook2 Help.