Browser cache problems when authoring

OLab4 is a much more sophisticated application than OLab3 and makes use of the power of newer web browsers. But sometimes this new power gets in the way – we most commonly see this when changes are made on the OLab server, but the browser uses cached data (stuff left behind in memory) and does not use the changed data.

Here are some tips that help to work around these problems.

1. Get into the habit of using the [LOGOUT] button when leaving the OLab Player or Designer. Do not just close the tab/window.
2. Use a different browser and login credentials for Player and Designer.
3. If you have made changes to a map in the Designer, you need to LOGOUT and back in again on the Player to see these changes. A page refresh will not work, even if you use the Dev Tools super-refresh noted below.
4. Some issues can be resolved by using Dev Tools (F12 in Chrome-based browsers) – see above. Once Dev Tools are active, right-click on the Refresh icon then choose ‘Empty Cache and Hard Reload’ to do a super-refresh.
5. If working on multiple laptops, make sure that you do not have the Designer open on more than one machine. It is too easy to have changes overwrite each other.
6. Sometimes you will need to clear Local Storage manually. Open Dev Tools (F12) then click on the Application tab, then click on the Local Storage item on the left column and select the relevant sub-item for the page e.g. https://logan.cardinalcreek.ca then click on the ‘Clear all’ icon at the top of the right-side sub-panel (the circle with a line through it). You may need to login again when you do this.