What’s cache?
A temporary file in which a browser saves the pages it has accessed on the Web. It’s designed to speed up your browsing – checking whether it holds a particular page in its cache when you point your browser to the site. For instance, you will have noticed how quickly you can move around a site using the Back and Forward buttons – this is because the pages are held in the cache. Altering some of the settings of your cache can speed up your browsing.
How you do this
Depends on which browser you are using (Internet Explorer, for instance, calls its cache “Temporary Internet files”). If possible, ask your systems department to check or specify the size of your cache to speed up your browsing.
What you can do to help
If you find your browsing getting ever slower, you can help by emptying your cache. If you’re using Explorer, go to Temporary Internet Files (find it under Tools and Internet Options) and click Delete Files (on a Mac, you will see an Empty Now button). If you’re using Navigator, go to the Cache dialogue box in Preferences and click Clear Memory Cache and Clear Disk Cache.
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Make good use of it
To revisit a web page you’ve already looked at, go direct to your cache. Using Internet Explorer, go to Tools, then Internet Options and General, where you can click Settings and View Files. Using Navigator, go to File, Open Page, and click Choose File to see Cache and view your pages.
