[tex-k] kpsewhich not searching disk despite !! not being specified

[Karl Berry]

1) TEXMFHOME is already specified by default without !! (in $TEXMF), so
I don't think you need to override anything. In general, TEXMFDBS should
be all and only the !! elements in TEXMF.

2) If an ls-R file exists in an element of TEXMFDBS, it is used, and the
disk is not searched, independent of !!. I mentioned this in the
comments on TEXMFDBS in texmf.cnf.

You are right that this is not what the manual says. I believe it's a
bug that crept in at some point (many years ago), which sadly I have
never tried to track down. Maybe someday. Or maybe someone else will be
interested enough to do so. Meanwhile, I'll see if I can update the
manual in some way.

So, my suggestion is to remove the ls-R from $TEXMFHOME, and also to
remove $TEXMFHOME from TEXMFDBS.

Thanks for the report,
Karl