Updating browsers

It is strongly recommended that you use the latest browser version available.  For a list of the most up-to-date browser versions and where you can download them, see the list here.

It is best to check the browser's official website for  updates and downloads, which can be found here:
Firefox
Chrome
Internet Explorer
Safari


To find out if you are using the latest version of your browser, follow the instructions below:
(Please note that the most up-to-date versions are not represented in these images)


Internet Explorer

Click on "Help" from the top menu and choose "About Internet Explorer". The pop-up will display the browser version and additional information.

Firefox

Pick "About Mozilla Firefox" from the "Help" menu to bring up a pop-up with the version information.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is minimalistic. The absence of the top menu is apparent. To check the Chrome browser version, click on the "wrench" icon and choose "About Google Chrome". You'll now come to know the browser version... and the program even tells you if it's the latest.

Apple Safari

The Safari browser version can be found by choosing "About Safari" from the "Help" menu. The small pop-up window will display the required information.

Opera

From the "Help" menu choose the "About Opera" option. This loads a really long page in the same browser window. You don't need to hunt for the version information because it's right at the top.

-Images taken from WebDevelopersNotes

D2L Login: clearing cache

UWM students, instructors, and staff using ePanther accounts should go to the D2L landing page at http://D2L.uwm.edu and choose the [UWM ePanther] login path. 

If you reach the D2L Special Access Account Login page instead, you must close that page, and then clear your browser's cache (directions are available at: https://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=12384).

If you are a student, you will want to contact the UWM Help Desk at 414-229-4040 or go to GetTechHelp.uwm.edu if you have any further difficulties accessing D2L.

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

Recommended Software and Browsers

Up-to-date information about recommended browsers and operating systems

Internet Explorer - Confusing Security Message

From Alan:

Folks, this message has begun to appear in the past month or so in IE, and it's gonna be a big problem for us.

If you look at it, you realize that it's precisely backwards -- the natural inclination is to hit 'yes' but if you do you don't get your stuff to work.

Instead, you have to hit 'no' to proceed.

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!