A Refresher

What does it mean when someone tell you that you need to “refresh your page,” or  “refresh your browser?”

When a browser accesses a web page it stores certain information such as graphic images, photos, links, and may sometimes even store the entire page. This storage is called a “cache.”

The cached information is automatically saved in a folder on your computer and is accessed by your browser. By saving this cache of information it allows your browser to load the web page faster.

An example: You access a family genealogy website and read about a particular family. You then contact the owner of the genealogy website and they update the webpage with your information. When you access the website the information is not there.

The information is not there because your browser is displaying the cached information stored on your computer that has not been refreshed with the new information. To get the most recent information you will need to force your browser to pull it from their webpage. Thus, you need to “refresh your page.”  By hitting F5 or by clicking on the refresh icon circled in the example below you then force the your browser to do just that.

For each browser the refresh icon or keyboard shortcut can be different. The above example is from Internet Explorer. Now, when you view the page, the updates that were made show up, and the new information is now stored in your cache on your computer. To find out how to refresh your cache click on the Help icon in your browser and type in the search, clearing the cache.

Submitted by: Christina Ramos

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