Browswer Cache Memory

The Browser Cache:

For efficiency reasons, browsers will sometimes cache pages/images.

I.e., , to avoid redundant downloads, the browser will store a copy of a page/image on the hard drive (along with a time stamp).

The next time the page/image is requested, it will first check the cache.

If a copy is found, it sends a conditional request to the server.
     ==>  "send this page/image only if it has been changed since the timestamp"

If the server copy has not changed, the server sends back a brief message and the browser simply uses the cached copy.

This does not always work, however.

Force Reload (in general):

But, by holding the Shift key down when you reload/refresh a page, you can force the browser to reload the page from the server, not the cache.

'Open this page outside of the Blackboard frameset & hit shift-Reload/Refresh to see the latest version'

Force Reload (in Blackboard):

In Blackboard, the shift-reload command will simply reload the Blackboard frameset rather than the page that is displayed inside the frame.

To force a reload of the web page itself you must first open that page outside of the Blackboard frame: Right-click the web page and choose This Frame > Show Only This Frame. Then use the shift-reload to see the non-cached version of the page.