Can local users' browser cache affect what they see regarding changes made?

[rcane]

So, I've changed the smflogo and swapped it for a custom image with a url attached when you click.  Works fine.

I also have a few images you can click in a sticky post to take you somewhere.

One of my moderators sent me screen shots:  she can't see either of those.  The SMF logo is back on her page and the 'buttons' i mentioned don't exist--just the surrounding text.

I made the changes a day or so ago. 

[Steve]

Have her do a hard refresh in her browser ( ctrl + F5 ) and also check the pages with a different browser.

If you post your url (or pm it to me if you don't want to post it) I can tell you what I see.

[rcane]

Have her do a hard refresh in her browser ( ctrl + F5 ) and also check the pages with a different browser.

If you post your url (or pm it to me if you don't want to post it) I can tell you what I see.

it's on the inside of the private area; but, I did tell her to clear cache and hard refresh.  she'll get back to me.

I've checked it on firefox, chrome, and safari (both mac and ios) and it appears fine. 

[rcane]

It's odd, she has used several browsers and says a few other users contacted her and couldn't see the items as well. 

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

Possibilities: They are using a different theme than you are, or there's some cache on the host side messing things for you.

[rcane]

Possibilities: They are using a different theme than you are, or there's some cache on the host side messing things for you.

I've not changed any caching since install (at level 1 recommended), and I've not installed anything for optimization.

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

It's still a possibility - Many hosts have some form of caching at play, some better configured than others, and the "others" sometimes do some weird things to dynamic pages. Stuff like showing you things you shouldn't even be allowed to access.

[shawnb61]

Have the users tried the hard refresh, as instructed above?

Have you tried disabling smf cache (to help isolate the problem)?

Do you have other themes installed?  You likely have to update/test each theme independently.

Where did you place your custom images?


Yes, your browser can cache items - especially images, .js & .css.  A hard refresh usually fixes these.  The way to trigger a hard refresh varies by browser.

[rcane]

Ant's theme is the only one ever used.  I found it when I installed SMF.

The images are twofold:

1. upper right smflogo was replaced with a custom image.
2. the other images are just in a post (stickied).  I made them url's with an image to click.

Is there a danger to the site fooling with cache settings? I'm still reading daily and learning about managing this.

It wasn't until folks come in and start using it that you find little oddities.

[shadav]

is the images you are linking to hosted on the forums website/files/folders or is it hosted else where?
if elsewhere is the forum https and the other site only http? you will need to update to https and make sure you are using https for the images.
if elsewhere is hotlink protection on?
what is the file permissions for the images?
do you use cloudflare? if yes clear its cache
are all users using Ants theme and not the default theme? do you allow users to change themes?

[shawnb61]

Is there a danger to the site fooling with cache settings?

It is safe to temporarily disable caching to help confirm/deny an issue.  Caching becomes important later, after you've grown a bit, and can considerably help conserve resources.

You didn't answer the other questions...

My primary suspicion at the moment is themes.  You have at least THREE themes (Ant's, Core, Default).  If you put the images in only 1 of the 3 locations, or, only updated 1 of the 3 themes with the changes, it would look like what you're seeing. 

Look at the user's profile & see what theme they are using, under Look and Layout. 

Better yet, change your own theme to each of the other themes available (under Look and Layout for your own profile), and see if you see the same thing.  Test all three.

[rcane]

Thanks for the questions:

I found the issue; as usual it was operator error.

I made a folder in themes/default/images for hosting my own images, but forgot to move the images out of a post (they were links based off attachements).  My cache held them after the attachments got deleted.  When i hard refreshed my pages they were gone as well.   So there's that.

I checked regular users and no one can change the theme.

I felt it easier to just host my images locally rather than hotlink them.

 All this said, what do you recommend for normal cache maintenance?