We often get questions from people experiencing problems printing coupons or websites not displaying properly on their computer. There are a number of things that can cause printing and technical problems, but one thing you can do is to clear your cache, cookies and history.
About Cache, Cookies, and History
What is a cache?
When you access any website through your web browser, the browser caches (or stores) it. By caching the sites you visit, the browser doesn’t have to retrieve new files or images each time you click Back
or Forward
. You should periodically clear your cache to allow your browser to function more efficiently and to be sure the information and images you are seeing are being displayed correctly.
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a file that is stored on your computer which was created by your web browser at the request of a web site. These files typically store user-specific information such as selections in a form, shopping cart contents, or authentication data. Browsers will normally clear cookies after a certain number of days (depending on your browser settings), but clearing them manually can sometimes solve problems with web sites or your browser.
What is a history?
A browser’s history is a log of sites that you have visited. When you click your browser’s Back
button, you are moving back one entry in the history log. Browsers will normally clear the history at regular intervals, but you may want to clear it manually from time to time.
Clearing your cache, cookies and history should be a regular maintenance item for any computer and can help keep your computer running smoothly. The procedure to clear them differs depending on the browser you use. Here are some instructions for several different browsers.
Internet Explorer 9 and 8
- Click
Tools
, and selectDelete Browsing History.
- Deselect
Preserve Favorites website data.
- Select
Temporary Internet files
,Cookies
, andHistory
. - Click
Delete
.
Internet Explorer 7
- From the
Tools
menu in the upper right, selectDelete Browsing History.
- To delete your cache, click
Delete files
. - To delete your cookies, click
Delete cookies.
- To delete your history, click
Delete history.
- Click
Close
, and then clickOK
to exit.
Firefox
The following instructions apply to Firefox 3.5 and later.
- From the
Tools
menu, selectClear Recent History
.
(In Firefox 4 and above for Windows, you can also click the orangeFirefox
button, and then selectClear Recent History
from theHistory
menu.)
If the menu bar is hidden, pressAlt
to make it visible. - From the
Time range to clear:
drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, selectEverything
. - Click the down arrow next to “Details” to choose which elements of the history to clear. Click
Clear Now
.
Chrome
- In the browser bar, enter: chrome://settings/clearBrowserData
- Select the items you want to clear (e.g.,
Clear browsing history
,Clear download history
,Empty the cache
,Delete cookies and other site and plug-in data
). - From the
Obliterate the following items from:
drop-down menu, you can choose the period of time for which you want to clear cached information. To clear your entire cache, selectthe beginning of time
. - Click
Clear browsing data
.
Opera
- From the
Opera
menu, selectSettings
, and thenDelete Private Data.
- In the dialog box that opens, select the items you want to clear, and then click
Delete
.
Safari
- From the
Safari
menu, selectReset Safari.
- From the menu, select the items you want to reset, and then click
Reset
.
As of Safari 5.1,Remove all website data
covers both cookies and cache.
Mobile Safari for iPhone OS (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad)
To clear cache and cookies:
- From the home screen, tap
Settings
, and then tapSafari
. - At the bottom of Safari’s settings screen, tap
Clear cookies and data
, orClear Cookies
andClear Cache
. - Confirm when prompted.
To clear history:
- From the home screen, tap
Safari
. - At the bottom of the screen, tap the
Bookmarks
icon. - In the lower left, tap
Clear
. - Tap
Clear History
.
Android
- Start your browser.
- Tap
Menu
, and then tapMore
. - Select
Settings
. - Under “Privacy settings”, select
Clear cache
,Clear history
, orClear all cookie data
as appropriate, and then tapOK
to accept (orCancel
to cancel) the deletion.
If you are still experiencing technical difficulties, see THIS POST for some other things that may help.