Deleting temporary Internet files
When you visit a website, your browser will usually keep a copy of the files (in what is called a cache) it downloaded to show you that internet page. This is done to save the browser from having to download that webpage again if you visit it again soon. This decreases the loading times and saves on network bandwidth, however, it means that you may be looking at an out-of-date webpage. Therefore, if something is not working as expected, it's often a good idea to delete your temporary internet files to ensure that you are not having problems related to viewing cached data.
Below are instructions for deleting your temporary Internet files with the most popular browsers.
Internet Explorer
- From the main menu bar along the top of the window, select "Tools > Internet Options"
- Under the tab "General", there's a section called "Browsing History". Click the button named "Delete...".
- In the box that popped up, click the button under the heading "Temporary Internet Files" called "Delete Files...".
- Click "Yes" to confirm.
- Then click "Close" on the delete pop-up .
- Then click "OK".
Firefox
- From the main menu bar along the top of the window, select "Tools > Options..."
- Then select the tab called "Advanced".
- Then select the tab called "Network".
- You will then see a section called "Cache". Within this section, click the button labelled "Clear Now".
- Then click "OK".
Safari
- From the main menu bar along the top of the window, select "Edit > Empty Cache..."
- Then click "Empty".
Opera
- From the main menu bar along the top of the window, select "Tools > Preferences..."
- Then select the tab named "Advanced".
- Select "History" from the list down the left-hand side.
- Then, at the end of line starting "Disk Cache", there is a button named "Empty Now". Click on it.
- Then click "OK".
