'maxima manual' does not reopen maxima browser

[themusicgod1]

1) open xmaxima
2) close xmaxima browser
3) click on help->Maxima Manual (xmaxima browser)

result : pop up error window
"bad window path name .browser
 [OK] [Skip Messages] [Details >>]"

details:

bad window path name ".browser":
bad window path name ".browser"
    while executing
"frame $w"
    (procedure "mkOpenMath" line 17)
    invoked from within
"mkOpenMath [set w $toplevel.t[incr maxima_priv(counter)]] "
    (procedure "OpenMathOpenUrl" line 95)
    invoked from within
"OpenMathOpenUrl "file://usr/share/maxima/5.37.2/doc/html/maxima_toc.html""
    invoked from within
".#menu.#menu#help invoke active"
    ("uplevel" body line 1)
    invoked from within
"uplevel #0 [list $w invoke active]"
    (procedure "tk::MenuInvoke" line 50)
    invoked from within
"tk::MenuInvoke .#menu.#menu#help 1"
    (command bound to event)

If you do not close the maxima browser this error does not occur, and the help file is brought up as per expected.
The thing is though, you can close the maxima browser a long time before you go to click on help, for a particularly long maxima session, this can be hours later and it may not be apparent what this error message means other than, broadly, whatever the user thinks 'bad window path name .browser' might mean.

what should happen:

either:

a) if .browser is a bad window path name, a new instance of the maxima browser should be invoked and the help file should be loaded within it.

b) a more descriptive error message ("please restart xmaxima browser") along with a way of manually starting the xmaxima browser(does not appear to be a clearly visible way to do this?)

c) configure xmaxima to either use the system's browser or the xmaxima browser for help in some preference somewhere.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: xmaxima 5.37.2-8
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-38.57-generic 4.4.19
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-38-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.1
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: GNOME
Date: Sun Sep 18 16:38:06 2016
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-07-09 (802 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-GNOME 14.10 "Utopic Unicorn" - Alpha amd64 (20140708)
SourcePackage: maxima
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-08-16 (33 days ago)

[themusicgod1 (themusicgod1)]

in 16.10 it opens in a tab in the system's web browser, which is a perfectly respectable thing to do here.