Why make a blog post about this?

Many of the applications we have recently built use local storage, and some of our users have posed questions about how to clear it. We haven’t found a tutorial post we liked, so we decided to add our own to the internet.

What is local cache?

If you save your settings on a website that doesn’t require login, how does that website remember your settings? Local cache (or “cookies”) is a way for web browsers to remember things between your website visits. You can leave the website, close the browser and even shut down your computer – and the website will still remember what you need it to. This is because local cache is stored in files on your computer (ala, stored locally). This is not to be confused with “browser cache”, which is when your browser stores pages and images it has recently loaded in order to decrease page reload time.

What is it used for?

Besides local settings, local cache can be used to remember a variety of useful things, from page preferences to “remembered” fields to automatically fill in email addresses and usernames. Anytime a website remembers something about a previous visit before login, that information is stored in local cache.

How do I clear my local cache?

Deleting (aka “clearing”) your local cache is easier than it sounds, but the process differs between browsers. Individual cache entries can be cleared in some browsers (Firefox, Safari, Opera), but in others, all entries must be cleared at once. Here are some step-by-step guides for clearing the local cache from your up-to-date browser:

Firefox:

Click the “Firefox” button (in the top-left corner of the browser window).

To clear all local cache, go to “History”. Clearing individual entries will be explained later.

Click “Clear Recent History”.

For “Time range to clear”, select “Everything”.

Open the “Details” area and check the “Cookies” option. Uncheck the other options, if you do not want them cleared. “Cache” refers to browser cache, as explained earlier.

Click “Clear Now”. Wait for clearing to complete (“Clear History” window will automatically close).

To clear individual cache entries in Firefox:

Open “Options” from the “Firefox” menu, as shown earlier.

Navigate to the “Privacy” tab.

Click “remove individual cookies”. Select the cookie(s) you want removed and click “Remove Cookie(s)”.

Internet Explorer:

Click the “Tools” button (little gear icon in the top-right corner of the browser window).

Click “Internet Options”.

Navigate to the “General” tab. Under “Browsing History” section, click “Delete …”.

Check the “Cookies” option. Uncheck the other options, if you do not want them cleared.

Click “Delete”. Wait for clearing to complete (“Clear History” window will automatically close).

The message “Internet Explorer has finished deleting the selected browsing history” will display:

Safari:

Click the “Tools” button (little gear icon in the top-right corner of the browser window).

Click “Preferences”.

Navigate to the “Security” tab. Click “Show Cookies”.

Click “Remove All”. To remove individual cookies, select them and click “Remove”.

In the confirmation dialog, click “Remove All”.

Click “Done”. Close the “Preferences” window.

Chrome:

Click the “Tools” button (little wrench icon in the top-right corner of the browser window).

Click “Settings”.

Navigate to the “Under the Bonnet” tab. Click “Clear browsing data …”.

For “Obliterate the following items from”, select “the beginning of time”.

Check “Delete Cookies and Other Site and Add-on Data”. Uncheck the other options, if you do not want them cleared. “Empty the cache” refers to browser cache, as explained earlier.

Click “Clear browsing data”. Wait for clearing to complete (Clear Browsing Data window will automatically close).

Opera:

Click the “Menu” button (in the top-left corner of the browser window).

Go to “Settings”.

Click “Preferences”.

Navigate to the “Advanced” tab, and to the “Cookies” sub-tab (from the menu on the left).

Click “Manage Cookies …”.

Select the website you want to clear local cache for.

Click “Delete”, “Close” and “OK”.

That’s all there is to it. Feel free to add steps for any missing browsers, by submitting to the comments or emailing us at hello@thinkingbig.net

Have you ever had the incredible good fortune of knowing a graphic designer or two? If so, you may have noticed a few traits that sets these individuals apart. Maybe they exhibit a certain attention to detail, or maybe a particularness in their arrangements that borders on unusual? As a graphic designer myself here at Thinking Big, I can tell you with some certainty that designers are a funny breed of people.

If you would like to spot one in the wild there are many tip-offs that range from the annoying and inconvenient to the fascinating and informative. You’re sure to know when you’re in the company of a designer when:

• They spend so much time critiquing the menu at a restaurant that they forget to decide what to order.

• They automatically disobey any sign in Comic Sans, Hobo, or Papyrus out of spite, no matter how dire the consequences.

• They make you sit through the movie end credits so they can admire (or heckle) the typography.

• They make you eat weird food because the packaging is nice.

• They buy magazines for the ads.

• They refuse to read websites you send them if they dislike a design element, even if they really need to see the content.

• They are constantly feeling the texture and weight of any paper or other substrates they come across.

• They use the word substrate.

• They have a collection of business cards including those from services they would never ever use.

• They constantly pick on signage design when you travel together.

So now, armed with this designer-spotting information, you will want to either avoid this person like the plague or enlist their expertise in your latest project!

Month Four of life at Thinking Big. Here are my top five favorite moments at Thinking Big so far:

1. Watching Julia start a site design with her paintbrush and watercolors. I loved it for so many reasons: breaking free from the confines of what constitutes a “normal” site, the technology that will take it from colored water on a piece of paper to a living, breathing website, and also the sheer old-school artistry of it.
2. When Matthew and Jordan brought a 1 kilogram chocolate bar into the office. We finished it that day. It’s tougher than it sounds. There was heckling. Some people didn’t last the afternoon. But we’re not quitters. We got the job done.
3. That one time the office was warm.
4. The initial wonder and amusement I experienced when reading the line “Gherkin is the language that Cucumber understands” and then realizing no, this is not a joke. This is not a discarded line from a Lewis Carroll poem, this is serious. These people call things by vegetable names and make them talk. Where am I?
5. The Off Topic room in Campfire. Campfire is part of the 37signals Suite we use to manage clients and projects. The Off Topic room is where you’ll find: Bill admitting to only eating live wasps, cute pug gifs, and pics of David Hasselhoff from the 80’s. Yup. Awesome in all respects.

At a high level you need to be a developer at some stage in your professional career. You will have responsibilities that fall in line with being a member of a strong development team (build systems, ensure quality, improve yourself every day). The primary requirement is you want to be able to apply for jobs such as http://thinkingbig.net/think/174/seeking-a-talented-developer-that-is-passionate-about-building-solutions/ at some future date.

As part of your application please include a potential solution to the following problem:

When we do a job posting we receive many resumes. In pseudo code, or another logical form, outline an automated system you would propose to help us filter out the list to the candidates whom we should contact for an interview.

A valid response (with a more thoughtful approach) could be in the form:

Please forward your resume or link(s) to your CV to hello@thinkingbig.net

We thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and look forward to getting to know you.