[WEB4LIB] Cache in Netscape and IE

[Cory Stier]

Have you tried using the expires setting in the META tags in your HTML
documents? You could set the expiry to 0, so that the browser is forced to
reload the page every time it is accessed. Check out the information at the
following URL:
http://vancouver-webpages.com/META/metatags.detail.html#expires

Cory Stier
Library Gateway Developer
Athabasca University Library
1 University Drive
Athabasca, Alberta, Canada
T9S 3A3

Phone: (780) 675-6486
Toll-free: (800) 788-9041 ext. 6486
In Calgary: 263-6465 ext. 6486
In Edmonton: 421-8700 ext. 6486
Fax: (780) 675-6477
E-mail: corys at athabascau.ca


----- Original Message -----
From: "John Rosenhamer" <jrosenhamer at okc.cc.ok.us>
To: "Multiple recipients of list" <web4lib at webjunction.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2000 12:16 PM
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Cache in Netscape and IE


> I'm not sure when this started to happen, but I became aware of it in late
January.
>
> I change our main webpage often to provide up to date information, like
when the Library will be closed for Christmas or Spring break, changes in
hours for Intercessions, etc. and to announce new services.  Just those
things that come up now and then etc., etc., etc.
>
> Just before Christmas Break we went from Netscape to IE because we had to
update and we didn't want the netscape composer, along with all the other
baggage Netscape now brings with it.  At that time I also posted the notice
that the Library would be closed from Dec. 23 to Jan 2 (I think).  When we
came back I removed that notice, edited a few other elements on our
Mainframe html.  Around Jan 15th or so my director ask me when I was going
to take the notice that the library was closed over Christmas off the page.
I told her I did it.
>
> Went back to my computer and found that in IE the change was made but in
Netscape it was still holding the old notice.  I cleared the cache in
Netscape and it picked up the new (now 14 days old) changes.  Then I noticed
the IE had not picked up some recent changes.   Fooled around there, cleared
the cache, etc. and found in the Internet Options under Tools that there was
a button (General Tab, temporary Internet Files) called Settings.  If you
pushed the setting you got 4 options under "Check for newer versions of
stored page" with automatically as the default.  In the help screen it said
in so many words that IE will keep a count of how many times you visit a
page and the more often you visit (if the page doesn't change) it will check
less and less.  So I changed the choice to "Every visit to the page" and had
it changed on all our machines.  Along with this change I had the cache
cleared.
>
> Well that doesn't seem to work.  For our internal users with Netscape,
even with clearing cache, history and any thing I can think to change, It
doesn't want to go back and get the info from the server.  (Netscape version
4.6)  In fact, just before Spring Break (for us March 13 to 19th) is still
on my Netscape page (March 22).  No matter what I do it doesn't want to get
the new information.
>
> For IE I had to clear the history and cache, etc. before it came up with
the changes.  I made some more changes on the 20th and each time to get IE
to accept them I had to clear my own IE's history and cache.  As I said
Netscape 4.6 still has not found the changes.
>
> I have gone to the server and read the files there.  The changes are
posted.  So I'm stumped.  How do I get these programs to get the new pages
when the seem to want to load from cache rather than check the server for
changed pages.
>
> Know this is a long and rambling post, but I hope I've stated the case as
best I can.  By the way our IE is 5.0.  and I have been using Pro 97 to
edit, but just recently instilled Dreamweaver.  The edits after Christmas
were made with Pro 97, after Spring Break with Dreamweaver.
>
> John
>
>
> John H. Rosenhamer
> Technical Services Libraian
> Oklahoma City Community College
> 7777 S. May Ave.
> Oklahoma City, OK   73159
>
> jrosenhamer at okc.cc.ok.us
>
> (405) 682-1611 Ext. 7229
> FAX  (405) 682-7585
>
>