Server Caching Style Sheets

[RFH Reseller: creativeworks]

Where would you hunt down the annoying switch which allows a windows server to cache style sheets?!!

Everytime we reset the server, the style sheet refreshes... it can become cached for along time...

[Staff: Warren Ashcroft]

Static files like that are sent with headers that tell the browser to cache the file locally for x days.

To trick it, simply have your website reference the stylesheets like so:

http://www.domain.com/style.css?random=454534

...then just change the numbers whenever you want to force all browsers that have cached style.css to redownload the latest version.

[RFH Reseller: JohnnyW]

Ctrl + F5 usually does the business for me.

[RFH Reseller: Hollywood]

Interesting topic - I'm seeing a similar effect on javascript files at present.

We are using the workaround at present of adding a version number to the URL and it works OK but it does require some manual maintenance (and the alternative of using a random number causes some unnecessary cache delays)

I was wondering if there is any way of changing the "Cache-Control: max-age=864000" HTTP Header using HELM?

I guess not - but there's no harm in asking...

Cheers

H

[Staff: Warren Ashcroft]

Currently no, that is the server wide setting we are currently using for local caching of static files.

[RFH Reseller: Sol]

I believe the Developer Toolbars available for Mozilla and IE allow you to disable caching whilst viewing a site. Of course, this means that if you update a live site customers will see cached versions until theirs expires.

[RFH Reseller: Hollywood]

Thanks

I think we might try to get around this by changing the affected files to ASP and then using

<% @Language="VBScript" %>
<% Response.CacheControl = "max-age=3600" %>

or similar.

Of course we'll also have to set Response.ContentType too...

[Staff: Warren Ashcroft]

That's one way...