Articles on: Troubleshooting

How to hard refresh browser and clear cache

How to hard refresh browser and clear cache if you're using Chrome


Chrome and Windows:
To hard refresh on Google Chrome on Windows, there are two ways you can do it:
Ctrl+F5
Or Hold down Ctrl and click the Reload button.

Chrome and Mac:
To do a hard refresh on Google Chrome on Mac, there are two ways that you can do it:
Cmd+Shift+R
Or Hold down Shift and click the Reload button.



Clearing Cache and Cookies: Chrome hard refresh


Sometimes web apps like Dealsign get stuck with stale data. Just clicking refresh or hitting Cmd+R won't work because the browser doesn't realize the data is old, so it won't pull in new data.

This trick is very useful for when websites are not behaving the way you expect them to behave or not returning data you think it should be. One way to check if this is the case is by opening an incognito window and accessing the site. If the site is showing different data in an incognito window from the regular window, the issue may be your cache and cookies.

We recommend checking an incognito window to determine if it is a cache or cookies issue before clearing your cache and cookies.

Often, clearing cache and cookies can solve an issue with Dealsign's app. We recommend trying this if the app seems to be behaving weirdly. If it doesn't solve the issue, feel free to chat in on the site and we'll be happy to help.

You can force Chrome to pull in new data and ignore the saved ("cached") data by using the keyboard shortcut Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac, and Ctrl+F5 on a PC.

If that doesn't work, you can actually delete the saved files and info. This is called clearing your cache and cookies.

The cache is useful because it helps many of your websites load faster after you have accessed them once. Cookies help you with signing in to websites and making your browsing experience personal to you.

Clearing both of these helps to reset your browser, as it were, and to grab fresh data and information on websites.

To clear your cache and cookies on Chrome, open the Chrome Menu and select Clear Browsing Data. Another keyboard shortcut to access this is Cmd+Shift+Delete on a Mac or Ctrl+Shift+Delete on a PC.

Chrome menu
Settings
Privacy and security
Clear browsing data

On the window that pulls up, check the boxes labeled Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.



Removing cookie data means that you will need to log in again to any sites that require logins. Before you clear your cookies, make sure you know your passwords or have them in a secure location.

When you've checked those two boxes, press the blue Clear Data button.You may need to refresh any websites you had open, or close Chrome and reopen it.

Updated on: 14/11/2023

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