Clearing your temporary internet files

If you're being presented with odd web page views you might need to delete your temporary internet files.  This is an easy process and is a good practice to carry out on a regular basis. 

This website conserves bandwidth by directing your web browser to store many areas of the site in its local cache (usually on your hard drive); this means these areas are only downloaded once.  The result is that pages you have previously viewed, images previously displayed, style sheets, etc can be presented in a quicker timeframe.

Sometimes this can present an undesired or confusing result, or show older versions of a page you are trying to view.  It may also affect your ability to print the web page you are on.

Option 1 - Bypass the cache

When you encounter odd behaviour, please try instructing your browser to bypass the cache by placing a ? at the end of the website address (for example: http://www.societies.govt.nz/cms?).

Option 2 - Clear the cache

If you continue to experience problems we recommend you clear the entire cache so the browser can check if a newer version of a previously downloaded page is available. 

Below are instructions covering how to clear the cache for the most popular browsers:

• Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox
• Google Chrome

Note | We recommend that you delete and reset your bookmarks too

After you have cleared the cache if you continue to use an old bookmark (favourite) the problems you have experienced may persist.  We recommend that you delete and reset your bookmarks (favourites) to our site.

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Internet Explorer

To reload a page and bypass the cache:

Either:

1. Hold the Control key and press F5 or
2. Hold the Control key and select the Refresh button on the toolbar.

To completely clear the cache:

• Open Internet Explorer
• Go to any website except the website you are having a problem with.
• Select Tools at the top of the screen then Internet Options.
• A new window opens. 
  In the General tab select the button called Delete…
• Tick the boxes next to Temporary Internet files and Cookies and select Delete.
• This may take a few seconds or quite a long time – it depends on how long it has been since the files were last cleared.
• Select OK to go back to Internet Explorer.

To change cache settings:

• Select Tools > Internet Options then under Browsing History select Settings.
  You can then make advanced configuration changes to the cache (only do this if you are reasonably confident of what you are doing).
• There is an option labelled Check for a new version of stored pages select Every visit to the page.  This does not bypass the cache, it merely determines how often the browser asks if there is a newer version available.

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Mozilla Firefox

To reload a page and bypass the cache:

Either:

1. Hold the Control key and press F5 or 
2. Hold the Control key and select the Refresh button on the toolbar.

To completely clear the cache:

• At the top of the Firefox window select the Firefox button, go over to the History menu and select Clear Recent History...
  For Windows XP: At the top of the Firefox window, click the Tools menu and select Clear Recent History...
• Select Everything from the drop down menu and tick the boxes next to:
  
  • Cache and
  • Cookies.
• Press Clear Now

To change cache settings:

• At the top of the Firefox window select the Firefox button go over to the Options menu.  Then select Options from the sub menu and select the Advanced tab.
  For Windows XP: Choose the Tools menu and select Options...

This allows you to make advanced configuration changes to the cache (only do this if you are reasonably confident of what you are doing).

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Google Chrome

To reload a page and bypass the cache:

Either:

1. Hold the Control key and press F5, or
2. Hold the Control key and select the Refresh button on the toolbar.

To completely clear the cache:

• Select the Settings option located in the top right hand corner of your browser window.
• Select the Tools option and select Clear browsing data.
• Tick the boxes next to
  • Empty the cache and
  • Delete cookies and other site data.
• Select Everything from the dropdown menu next to Clear data from this period
• Select Clear browsing data.

To change cache settings:

Select the Settings option located in the top right hand corner of your browser window.  From the menu select Options then the Under the Hood tab and Content settings...  This allows you to make advanced configuration changes to the cache (only do this if you are reasonably confident of what you are doing).