Clearing browser cache
What is a cache and why would you want to clear it? Very simply, your browser stores elements of a website on your hard drive so that it can load faster. Refreshing a web page does not guarantee that you will be seeing the most up-to-date version. This means, when you commit changes they might not be apparent even if you refresh the page.
Below are steps to clearing your browser in Chrome, Mozilla, and Safari. These steps are based on the assumption you have the most up-to-date version of the browser.
PLEASE NOTE: When clearing your cache you might be logged out of websites–this will not delete stored passwords.
TIP: Don’t use IE. Cache clearing instructions not included.
Google Chrome
In Chrome, in order to clean your browser’s cache, locate the three vertical dots in the top right corner of your browser toolbar. Scroll to “More tools” and then click on “Clear browsing data” (the shortcut for this is Ctrl+Shift+Del). From the “Clear Browsing Data” box, deselect all of the boxes except “Clear cached images and files”. The drop down next to “Obliterate the following items from:” allows you to choose the time frame. For the purposes of this exercise you can change the default from “the beginning of time” to “the past hour”.
Recommended: Use a Chrome extension to manage cache clearing.
There are browser extensions that you can use to clear your cache while you’re working. Cache Killer is a good one that downloads to your browser. When you are working on your article turning on Cache Killer will wipe the cache automatically allowing a new download with each refresh.
Once downloaded Cache Killer will appear in your browser’s toolbar. Be sure that the icon reads “On”.
This will clear your cache while you work. When you are finished, click the icon and it will turn to “Off”, allowing your browser to store a cache again.
Mozilla Firefox
In Firefox, to clear the cache click on the hamburger button in the top right corner and then click on the “options” icon. On the side bar navigate to the “Advanced” tab. Where it says “Your web content cache is currently using X MB of disk space” there is a button of the left hand side that says “Clear Now”. Click this. The number of MB used should now be 0 (you may need to click the button more than once if the number reduces but does not reach 0).
Recommended: Use a Firefox Add-on.
Empty Cache Button is a Firefox extension that allows you to simply click on it to clear the cache, rather than go through the above steps. Once you download Empty Cache Button, you will have to restart Firefox.
In order for Empty Cache Button to work, before reloading the page to check changes, click the button on your browser’s toolbar. A message will pop up indicating that your cache has been cleared. Refresh the page and check that your changes appear.
Safari
In Safari, click the “Safari” menu in the top left hand corner. In the dropdown menu click on “Preferences”. On the window that pops up, click on the “Privacy” tab. Under the options for “Cookies and website data:” There is a button that says “Remove all website data”. Select this option. A pop up will ask you if you want to remove all data. Select “Remove Now”.