Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Browser Caching

Why do I always get the wrong page?

By default, the most recent versions of Internet Explorer and Mozzila based browsers like Firfox will give you the old page, until a newer page becomes available. If you just bought a new computer, then you should familiarize yourself with the settings in Tools and Internet options.

If your browser settings are not configured properly, then you may never know what your looking at. There are several settings in your browser to configure the way pages are cached on your computer.

When you visit a website, the page you are viewing is stored to your computer. Depending on your settings, the next time you visit the site, your browser will bring up the page stored on your computer (c ache).

To ensure that you are looking at the latest copy of a page, you should configure your browser settings to get the latest page, every time it is reloaded. In Internet Explorer go to Tools and Internet Options. Click The click browser history and settings. Click the settings, “Every time I visit the web page“. Thats all you need to do for Internet Explorer. The next time you visit a website, you will get the latest copy of the page. It is especially important when viewing websites with dynamic content.

In Firefox it is a bit more difficult. Open a browser window and enter about:config, then hit enter. A window will come up and ask you if you are sure that you want to proceed. Just click okay, and look for the line called, browser.cache.check_doc_frequency. Change it from 3 to 1, and close the window.

For future reference:

0 – Check for a new version of a page once per session (a session starts when the first application window opens and ends when the last application window closes).

1 - Check for a new version every time a page is loaded.

2 – Never check for a new version – always load the page from cache.

3- Check for a new version when the page is out of date. (Default)


To avoid frustration, and undue aggravation, especially when designing and building your own websites; always make sure you check your browser settings to ensure that you are getting the most recent copy of the site you are viewing.


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