Experiencing problems getting the latest information from the Alan Kirkham website? We've put together these notes to help solve a few of the more common problems you may encounter.

Here's a list of the most common problems.

• The information in your web browser doesn't agree with the details on the Alan Kirkham homepage.
• The images don't match with the real information.
• Missing images or images that are replaced by a placeholder with a red cross.
• The homepage seems to be stuck and won't update.

So what's going on here?

Here's a brief summary. Your web browser saves (caches) a copy of every page you display so that when you return to the page (without explicitly reloading) the browser can load its copy of the page and save having to pull another copy of the page across the Internet. This means faster browsing and less time waiting for a page to load. However, sometimes browsers hang onto their local copies longer than they should, and you can end up viewing an out-of-date page.

With slow-changing websites this is usually not a problem, but as is the case of the Alan Kirkham website the web page can change several times during the course of a single day, depending on the level of client\housing activity.

One important note: Don't bookmark any of the individual search pages or full details pages! Only bookmark the Alan Kirkham homepage(www.alankirkham.co.uk) and reload it for the latest information. If you bookmark one of our new dynamic URLs then you may end up viewing an out-of-date page if your browser cache gets stuck.

If reloading or refreshing doesn't update the homepage and you think it should, then see the following section "The Stuck Browser Cache Fix" for ways to fix that problem. Note that the Alan Kirkham homepage updates frequently.

The Stuck Browser Cache Fix

1. Go to the outdated page or graphic image and click on the button in your browser's toolbar labeled "Refresh" (Internet Explorer) or "Reload" (Netscape). For Netscape users do a Shift-Reload (hold down the Shift button when you click on Reload) to do a Power-Reload.
2. If that doesn't get the latest stuff, then you need to manually clear your browser's "cache" or local stash of web pages and graphics.
   
   Here's how:
   
   x) Netscape users: Edit-->Preferences-->Advanced-->Cache-->Clear Disk Cache (and memory cache)
   
   x) Internet Explorer usersTools-->Internet Options-->Temporary Internet Files-->Delete Files...
   
   x) Now restart your browser.
   
3. If that still doesn't work, then you may be behind a firewall or your ISP or system administrators are using a proxy or caching server. These servers often save (cache) local copies of frequently requested web pages and graphics to reduce traffic loads. Not infrequently these servers can retain their copies long after we've changed them on our servers. In that case you need to contact your system administrators or your ISP Tech Support for assistance.
4. If you've tried all of the above, you aren't behind a firewall, you've cowed your computer into meek submission, and you are still seeing old advisories and images, then contact us and we'll see what we can do to help.

The Long-winded and Rather Boring Technical Explanation

Browsers automatically save copies of virtually everything you view on the web (html pages, pictures, sound files, animations, and so on) in hopes that the next time you visit a web site it will be able to use the locally saved versions instead of downloading new copies across the Internet.Generally, browsers will check for updated versions of everything, but things don't always work as planned and you may end up with stale copies in your browser cache of long-vanished pages and images that your browser insists are current. Don't always believe what your computer says... insist that it doublecheck its work!Some users set their browser preferences to check every single time they visit a web site, effectively eliminating this problem, but that slows down your session with the extra chatter necessary between your browser and the Internet, reducing the speed savings of the (normally well-behaved) cache files. Most folks just set their browser cache check to "Automatic" or "First Time Each Session" (depending on browser type and version). Savvy users reload everything anyway having learned to never trust their computers. Top-notch users periodically flush out their browser caches as a general maintenance and preventative procedure. Then there is the misbehaving firewall/proxy server problem, which is outside of both our hands and yours, generally requiring the intervention of your ISP's technicians or your system administrators to correct the problem.