Clearing Browser Cache

Problem: After deleting an item from "Content" and "Course Files" when I click on the new file, the old document still appears.

Solution: Clear your browser cache. The browser stores files in the cache and, in addition to fixing the above problem, clearing the cache can improve browser performance. Below are directions on how to clear browser cache for IE, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari.


Internet Explorer 9.0
From the safety icon in the top right of the browser window, select "Internet Options"
Under "Browsing History," check "Temporary Internet Files" in the "Delete Browsing History" window
Click Delete
Click OK

Firefox 3.5 for Windows
Select "Tools" from the menu bar
Select "Clear Recent History"
Select everything from "time range to clear"
Click on the down arrow next to "Details"
Check the box "Cache"
Click "Clear Now"
Click OK

Firefox 3.5 for Macintosh
Select "Tools" from the menu bar
Select "Clear Recent History"
Select everything from "time range to clear"
Click on the down arrow next to "Details"
Check the box "Cache"
Click "Clear Now"
Click OK

Safari 5.0 for Windows
Click "Settings"
Select "Reset Safari"
Check the box "Empty the Cache"

Safari 5.0 for Macintosh
Click the Safari menu
Select "Reset Safari"
Check the box "Empty the Cache"
Click Reset

Google Chrome
Click on the wrench icon next to the address bar or enter chrome://settings/clearBrowserData in the browse bar
Select "Options"
Select the "Under the Hood" tab
Select "Clear browsing data"
Check the "Empty the cache" box
Click on the "Clear browsing data" button
Click the "Close" button


List adapted from a list available from LexisNexis at http://support.lexisnexis.com/lexiscom/record.asp?ArticleID=wg_cache

Why aren't my changes showing up!?!?!

If you're making changes to a file in D2L using the HTML editor, but you're not seeing the changes reflected in the file after saving the file, you might need to change a browser setting in Firefox.

The setting is called: browser.cache.check_doc_frequency in Firefox

The default setting is 0, which corresponds to "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)."

We recommend you change the setting to 1, which corresponds to "Check for a new version every time a page is loaded."

To change this:

• type about:config in the address line,
• agree that you'll be careful, then
• scroll down the list of variables to browser.cache.check_doc_frequency, and
• change it to 1.

Many thanks to Dan Semi at UW-River Falls and Brook Soltvedt at the Wisconsin Learn@UW utility for this question and solution!