How to Find Something in Cache

Web browsers store local copies of web pages, images from web pages and other files you routinely access. Your Web browser loads these pages faster the next time you access them because it can "remember" some of this content and load it from your local hard drive--especially content that rarely changes, such as logo images. This cached content can also be accessed if you're offline and you need to see a locally stored image or web page in your Web browser's cache. Find something in the cache using your Web browser's cache-viewing option.

Instructions

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer's Options window by clicking "Tools" at the upper-right corner of the Internet Explorer window and clicking "Internet Options."

2. Click "Settings" under "Browsing History" in the "Internet Options" window.

3. Click "View Files" under "Temporary Internet Files" in the "Temporary Internet Files and History Settings" window. This will enable you to view files in the cache.

4. Find a file in the cache folder like you would any other file by scrolling up and down in the Windows Explorer window and looking for the file's name. Search for a file in the cache by typing its name in the search box at the upper-right corner of the Windows Explorer window and pressing "Enter."

5. View a file, after finding it, by double-clicking it in the Windows Explorer window.

Mozilla Firefox

1. View Mozilla Firefox's cache by clicking the "Location" bar, typing "about:cache" and pressing "Enter."

2. View the cache of files on your hard drive by clicking "List Cache Entries" under "Disk Cache Device" in the Mozilla Firefox window, or view the cache of recently accessed files in your computer's memory by clicking "List Cache Entries" under "Memory Cache Device." View the cache of files on your hard drive unless you're looking for a file you accessed recently.

3. Search for a file in the Mozilla Firefox cache by pressing "Ctrl+F" and typing its name.

4. View information about a cached file by clicking its link to the right of "Key" on the list page. The cached file's information page shows how many times you've viewed this file on the Internet, when it was last accessed and its size.

5. View a file by clicking its name to the right of "Key" on its "Cache Entry Information" page.

Google Chrome

1. View Google Chrome's cache by clicking its "Address" bar, typing "about:cache" and pressing "Enter."

2. Find a file on the cache page by pressing "Ctrl+F" and typing its name.

3. View information about a cached file in Google Chrome by clicking its filename link on the page listing the cached files. The cached file's information page shows the time the file was last accessed and its filetype.

4. View a cache's file by selecting its Internet address, the line of text beginning with "http://" at the top of its information page, with your mouse, then dragging and dropping the link onto Google Chrome's tab bar at the top of the Chrome window, above the address bar. The cached file opens in a new tab.

References

• Windows: Microsoft Internet Explorer - How and Why to Clear Your Cache
• mozillaZine: About Protocol Links
• Google Chrome: Developers and Webmasters - Google Chrome Webmaster Tools