Reminder—Watch Your Cache

As described in a previous Tech Time article, available at http://nnlm.gov/ner/newsletter/19/techtimes19.html#cachem, Web pages and files are stored in the Temporary Internet File folder on your computer. This speeds the display of frequently visited Web pages because the pages are retrieved from your hard drive rather than the Internet. This Temporary Internet File folder is often referred to as the cache, or the browser’s cache. Over time, this file can become large and there can be discrepancies between the version of the page on your computer and the "live" version available on the Internet.

Clearing cache and using the correct settings for your browser is important when using DOCLINE. It becomes even more important when using Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, Web pages incorporating RSS feeds, and social network sites. These sites are more interactive and are frequently updated, so it is important to clear cache and have the brower set to view the most recent version of the page.

Each Internet browser has slightly different options. However, to eliminate the problem of viewing older versions of Web pages, set the option "Check for Newer Version of Stored Pages" to "Every Visit to the Page". The way this is changed depends on your browser.

Please refer to the complete article for detailed instructions on clearing cache when using Internet Explorer and the Firefox Browser. The article is available at http://nnlm.gov/ner/newsletter/19/techtimes19.html#cachem.

Another good source of information is from DOCLINE and is available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_clearcache.html

Questions? Comments? Please feel free to contact me at penny.glassman@umassmed.edu

Penny Glassman, Technoloy Coordinator

NLM | NN/LM | NER

Comments to:
Penny.Glassman@umassmed.edu

University of Massachusetts Medical School
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