diff --git a/collects/scribble/run.rkt b/collects/scribble/run.rkt
index 526ddb3664..19ab5d0e82 100644
--- a/collects/scribble/run.rkt
+++ b/collects/scribble/run.rkt
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
   (lambda (%) (html:render-multi-mixin (html:render-mixin %))))
 
 (define current-render-mixin       (make-parameter text:render-mixin))
+(define current-html               (make-parameter #f))
 (define current-dest-directory     (make-parameter #f))
 (define current-dest-name          (make-parameter #f))
 (define current-info-output-file   (make-parameter #f))
@@ -41,8 +42,10 @@
    #:program (short-program+command-name)
    #:once-any
    [("--html") "generate HTML-format output file (the default)"
+    (current-html #t)
     (current-render-mixin html:render-mixin)]
    [("--htmls") "generate HTML-format output directory"
+    (current-html #t)
     (current-render-mixin multi-html:render-mixin)]
    [("--latex") "generate LaTeX-format output"
     (current-render-mixin latex:render-mixin)]
@@ -129,8 +132,8 @@
           #:style-extra-files (reverse (current-style-extra-files))
           #:extra-files (reverse (current-extra-files))
           #:helper-file-prefix (helper-file-prefix)
-          #:redirect (current-redirect)
-          #:redirect-main (current-redirect-main)
+          #:redirect (and (current-html) (current-redirect))
+          #:redirect-main (and (current-html) (current-redirect-main))
           #:quiet? (current-quiet)
           #:info-in-files (reverse (current-info-input-files))
           #:xrefs (for/list ([mod+id (in-list (reverse (current-xref-input-modules)))])
diff --git a/collects/scribblings/scribble/running.scrbl b/collects/scribblings/scribble/running.scrbl
index c762370eb6..0f7a207aa7 100644
--- a/collects/scribblings/scribble/running.scrbl
+++ b/collects/scribblings/scribble/running.scrbl
@@ -129,15 +129,16 @@ information for all installed documentation, and @PFlag{m} or
 @DPFlag{main-xref-in} is just a shorthand for @exec{++xref-in
 setup/xref load-collections-xref}.
 
-The @DFlag{redirect-main} flag redirects links to the local
+The @DFlag{redirect-main} flag for HTML output redirects links to the local
 installation's documentation to a given URL, such as
 @tt{http://docs.racket-lang.org/}. Beware that documentation links
 sometimes change (although Scribble generates HTML paths and anchors
 in a relatively stable way), so
 @tt{http://download.racket-lang.org/docs/@italic{version}/html/} may be
 more reliable when building with an installation for @italic{version}.
+The @DFlag{redirect-main} flag is ignored for non-HTML output.
 
-The @DFlag{redirect} flag is similar to @DFlag{redirect-main}, except
+The @DFlag{redirect} flag is like @DFlag{redirect-main}, except
 that it builds on the given URL to indicate a cross-reference tag that
 is more stable than an HTML path and anchor (in case the documentation
 for a function changes sections, for example). No server currently