Every week, the team at ServiceCore releases new features, improvements and fixes for the software. Because ServiceCore is a web-based application, that means that you always have access to the latest version, without any special downloads or any downtime.
In this article, we'll explain how to make sure your website browser is always providing you the latest version of ServiceCore by providing you steps about how to do a hard refresh.
Before You Start
Here are a few things to keep in mind before you do a hard refresh in your browser:
- Please review the list of supported browsers in this article: Minimum System Requirements
- This article applies to the web version of ServiceCore
- How do I get the latest version of the ServiceCore Mobile App?
- A hard refresh is sometimes also referred to as a "hard reload"
How to do a Hard Refresh in Every Browser
Why do I need to do a hard refresh?
When you visit ServiceCore, your computer downloads files that comprise the pages on ServiceCore, and temporarily saves those. These might be image files, files that tell the web pages how to look, scripts on the page, etc. Your computer temporarily saves these files so that when you load the same pages again – or other pages that use the same files – then that file can be loaded from your computer's local memory rather than downloading it again. Loading files from local memory is much faster!
However, this can cause problems when we release new features for ServiceCore. For example, when we make changes to files on our end, and your machine has those same files saved in local memory, then you might not be able to see those changes until you do a hard refresh.
What is a hard refresh?
A hard refresh is a way of clearing your browser's cache – the files saved in local memory – to force it to load the most recent version of a page. Having made a hard refresh, you can be sure that you are seeing the latest version of ServiceCore on your end.
How to do a Hard Refresh in Every Browser
Follow these steps to do a hard refresh in every browser, for each operating system:
| Browser | Windows | MacOS |
|---|---|---|
| Google Chrome | Hold down Ctrl + Shift, then press R | Hold down Command + Shift, then press R |
| Mozilla Firefox | Hold down Ctrl + Shift, then press R | Hold down Command + Shift, then press R |
| Microsoft Edge | Hold down Ctrl and press F5 Or, hold down Ctrl and press the Reload button | n/a |
| Safari | Hold down Ctrl + Shift, then press R | Hold down Command + Option + R |
FAQs
Here are a few frequently asked questions we receive about releases and hard refreshing your browser.
How often should I do a hard refresh?
We recommend doing a hard refresh at least once a week, ideally on Friday mornings. Why? Every Thursday evening we release updates for ServiceCore (and sometimes more often for important or critical updates). If you do a hard refresh right when you start using ServiceCore every Friday, you'll have the latest version ready to start your day.
What happens if I don't do a hard refresh after new features have been added to ServiceCore?
When you have an older version of ServiceCore pages saved in your web browser, and you try to use ServiceCore after a release, you may see errors. The website is expecting you to be using the new version, while you're still using features from old, saved files on your computer. A hard refresh helps avoid conflicts between older and newer ServiceCore files from causing errors.
Should I log out of ServiceCore before I do a hard refresh?
Yes, please. To make sure you're getting a fresh version of ServiceCore, please logout, do a hard refresh, then log back in. If you're still having issues, you're welcome to contact our Support Team by submitting a support request. Logging in and out fixes certain things, and a hard refresh fixes certain other things. If you have both done at the same time, you're basically killing two birds with one stone.
How do I get the latest version of the ServiceCore Mobile App?
If you have automatic updates turned on for your mobile device, new versions of the ServiceCore Mobile App will be downloaded and installed automatically. If you don't have this option enabled, please go the following location on your mobile device and check for updates and then install the ServiceCore update if one is available:
- For iOS or Apple devices: Visit this page or visit the App Store on your device
- For Andriod devices: Visit this page or visit the Google Play Store on your device
How do I know when you release new ServiceCore features?
When we release new features and improvements, you will see a new new article posted here: Release Announcements. You can opt to receive an alert when a new release announcement is published by clicking on the Follow button on the page.