Question:
How do I clear cache and cookies on my browser?
Answer:
Sometimes when there is an update to a website it will not work correctly in a browser where old data is cached, and you need to clear your cache and cookies before the website will function correctly. This is a shortcut which works on a PC. If you are using a Mac scroll to the bottom of this article for the steps to clear cache in Safari.
Every browser has a different area in their settings to clear cache and cookies. Fortunately, there is a shortcut that works on the three most popular web browsers used on PC to bring you to those setting. All you need to do is hold down Ctrl + Shift and then hit the Delete key.
Figure 1 - while holding down Ctrl and Shift (1.) press and release the Delete key (2.)
If you are using Edge, you will get a popup which looks like this:
Figure 2 - Select "All time" for the time range when you clear the cookies and cache.
From the Time range menu at the top select “All time” then make sure “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files” are selected beneath that. After that click the “Clear now” button. Once Edge notifies you it is complete, close every tab and window of Edge you have opened and restart the browser. It is important the browser is restarted otherwise other tabs and windows may still hold onto some cached data.
With Chrome the popup will look like this:
Figure 3 - Select "All time" from the time range menu before clearing data.
The other commonly used browser on a PC is Firefox (Apple does not support Safari on a PC). After hitting Ctrl + Shift and Delete a “Clear All History” window will pop up.
Figure 4 - select Everything from the “Time range to clear” menu before clicking OK.
Select “Everything” in the “Time range to clear” menu, make sure Cookies and Cache are select underneath that, and then click the OK button. When the process is done this window will close on its own. As with every browser close every window and tab you have open in Firefox and restart the browser.
If you are using Safari on a Mac the shortcut is Option/Alt + Command + E which should open the Develop menu. Close all open Safari windows and select Empty Caches from that menu. Once it is done you can open the File menu and select New Window to restart Safari.