 Cache clearing/refreshing
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OP
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Is there any way of clearing one's browser cache selectively (by which I mean specific items relating to a single website)?
Clearing everything from the browser cache seems like overkill to me when surgical removal would likely do the job.
Firefox 34 is the browser in question (although I imagine that Safari is similar).
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 Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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Joined: Aug 2009
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OP
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The silence is deafening.While traipsing through the Googleverse, I came across the Firefox Add-on (extension) CacheViewer ( https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/cacheviewer/versions/) which works on the more recent versions (Firefox 32 and newer). Unfortunately, CacheViewer is merely a GUI front-end of Firefox's about:cache, neither of which allows for deletion of specific entries as far as I can determine. So I'm still in a quandary as to how one might delete specific entries. When checking about:cache I find the information that the cache storage is at /Users/grelber/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/nar4skza.default/cache2 — but no matter what I do I cannot get into Profiles to access "cache2" (ie, access dead-ends at Profiles). Ancillary query #1: How can I gain access? In running through my cache entries I notice a beacon which should not have been allowed according to my browser settings. Ancillary query #2: Any thoughts on that too?
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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When checking about:cache I find the information that the cache storage is at
/Users/grelber/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/nar4skza.default/cache2
— but no matter what I do I cannot get into Profiles to access "cache2" (ie, access dead-ends at Profiles).
Ancillary query #1: How can I gain access?
The folder named nar4skza.default (the alphanumeric ID is specific to your installation) is invisible, so to see what's within it you need to make it visible. No doubt this can be accomplished via various third-party uitilities such as OnyX, etc., but I just do it via Terminal.app thusly: Launch Terminal. Type or copy & paste defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool YESand then hit Return. With the Command and Option keys held down, click on Finder's Dock icon and choose Relaunch from the contextual menu. You'll notice the icons (if any) on your Desktop will disappear; once they're back, the relaunch is complete, and you can now navigate your way through the file hierarchy to your desired destination. (To reverse this action, follow exactly the same procedure, but substitute NO for YES in the Terminal command.) I doubt it will be of too much use, though. My own cache2/entries/ folder [wherein the goods appear to reside] contains (the suspiciously binary quantity of) 1024 items, all bearing completely obfuscatory names in the form 9A6C12FD9C956E553CB01BBDAAEE6234AE9DD55B, the majority of them documents like NYTD.EventTracker.cb34({"datumId":"926f4eb2c6633076","agentId":"af3ec9dfe32daaf4bc792cf2a9b74d00","status":"OK"});Ôæx®¸ë T~[FT~[G:ëI Û:http://et.nytimes.com/?subject=page&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F12%2F07%2Fbooks%2Freview%2F100-notable-books-of-2014.html%3Fhp%26action%3Dclick%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3Dmini-moth%26region%3Dtop-stories-below%26WT.nav%3Dtop-stories-below%26_r%3D0&assetUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F12%2F07%2Fbooks%2Freview%2F100-notable-books-of-2014.html&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F&totalTime=1074510&sourceApp=nyt-v5&callback=NYTD.EventTracker.cb34&datumId=926f4eb2c6633076&agentId=af3ec9dfe32daaf4bc792cf2a9b74d00&pageMetaData=%7B%22PT%22%3A%22article%22%2C%22CG%22%3A%22books%22%2C%22SCG%22%3A%22review%22%2C%22byl%22%3A%22By%20THE%20NEW%20YORK%20TIMES%22%2C%22tom%22%3A%22News%22%2C%22hdl%22%3A%22100%20Notable%20Books%20of%202014%22%2C%22ptime%22%3A%2220141202050008%22%2C%22cre%22%3A%22The%20New%20York%20Times%22%2C%22articleid%22%3A%22100000003264156%22%2C%22channels%22%3A%22NytNow%22%2C%22CN%22%3A%22%22%2C%22CT%22%3A%22%22%2C%22des%22%3A%22Books%20and%20Literature%22%7D necko:classified 1 request-method GET response-head HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/javascript
Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:37:25 GMT
uncompressed-len 0 r(which, admittedly, can be identified as a NY Times item and therefore deleted if it's the Times whose cache you were looking to remove, but...), and the remainder an assortment of seemingly random graphics. If there's a short way to separate the wheat from the chaff, I can't see it.
dkmarsh—member, FineTunedMac Co-op Board of Directors
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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Though it won't suit your purposes, on reflection I feel obligated to point out that browser cache files can be managed individually, to an extent, with Safari. That is, I can easily delete the cache, cookies, and local storage associated with, say, the NY Times.
dkmarsh—member, FineTunedMac Co-op Board of Directors
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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In Safari 8.0.2 Preferences ➢ Privacy under Remove All Website Data click on {i]Details…[/i] and you get a drop down list of Websites, stored cookies, or other data. Each item listed is identified as… - Plug-ins
- Cookies
- Local storage
- or some combination of the three
At the bottom of the list are buttons to Remove [selected items], or Remove All. You can only remove all items associated with a given web site but you cannot selectively remove Local Storage and leave Cookies and/or Plug-ins. FWIW when I worked for Microsoft Tech Support, it was an axiom that using the nuclear option such as removing all cache files, was far more efficient that spending hours or days individually identifying and removing unique items. That may provide what you are looking for.
If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?
— Albert Einstein
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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In Safari 8.0.2 Preferences ➢ Privacy under Remove All Website Data... Grelber is looking for a solution for Firefox. (That's why I didn't go into detail in my previous post.)
Last edited by dkmarsh; 01/11/15 10:30 PM.
dkmarsh—member, FineTunedMac Co-op Board of Directors
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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OP
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dk & joemike:
Merci for the input. Given my reluctance to muck around with Terminal, it's unlikely that I will, especially if it's not likely to allow me to accomplish what I want.
Certainly the "nuclear option" is the easiest and most effective and I employ that from time to time. The problem is that with slow-loading dialup service (with data transfer rate in the 3-4KB/s range), it takes forever to load frequently visited sites with heavy loading requirements. Thus my desire to check what's there and selectively delete "offending" content (such as beacons).
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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As you noted, Firefox’ caches are stored in your Profile folder. The article linked to tells you where the folder is located, gives instructions about how to quickly access it from within Firefox, and lists the folder’s contents. It also indicates which files are editable (deletable), and which—when edited/deleted—may cause mayhem, plus many other useful things to know. It doesn’t address deleting specific cache contents, and if you do so it’s probably wise to work on a copy of the folder. Beyond that, you’ll run into recognition issues as DK explained, but perhaps it’s possible to use CacheViewer to identify likely candidates for purging. No idea on your beacon issue.
alternaut ◉ moderator
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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The ~/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/ folder Grelber and I have been discussing is not the Profiles folder [ ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/] referred to in the linked article. Indeed, the list of folders contained in that Profiles folder notes the inclusion of a Cache folder in Firefox versions as follows: Linux - all versions.
Mac OS/Windows - previous to 1.5 But Grelber and I are discussing Firefox 34.
dkmarsh—member, FineTunedMac Co-op Board of Directors
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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Mucking around with Terminal wasn't directly related to your cache question; it was simply a way to render visible all the normally invisible files and folders on your Mac, thus allowing you to see the contents of your Firefox cache folder. As I noted, such visibility can be toggled on and off with third-party utilities as well.
Still looks to be a moot point, in any case, since you can get much better information about the individual items in the cache by clicking the List Cache Entries link in the disk section of about:cache.
dkmarsh—member, FineTunedMac Co-op Board of Directors
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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Still looks to be a moot point, in any case, since you can get much better information about the individual items in the cache by clicking the List Cache Entries link in the disk section of about:cache. That's essentially what CacheViewer does by providing direct access via Web Developer under Tools. (Before downloading the add-on I had the impression that it would allow manipulation of the entries which about:cache wouldn't; I was wrong.) Perhaps someday Mozilla will provide direct access with manipulability in about:cache (such as is the case with Safari). As an aside: Running OS X Lion (10.7.5) apparently only allows me to upgrade my original version of Safari (5.1.7) to version 6.1.6 (according to Software Update). And even if I wanted to, the size of the download (54.5 MB) would take close to forever (~15 hours) to achieve since it's not available as a standalone .dmg file.
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Re: Cache clearing/refreshing
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The [...] folder Grelber and I have been discussing is not the Profiles folder [...] referred to in the linked article. I stand corrected for the claim made in the first sentence of my previous post (i.e., cache stored in Profile). However, the remainder of that post is still applicable, as is my comment about matching (deletable) items in the actual Cache folder ( ~/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/ks42igrc.default/cache2) with those listed in List Cache Entries ( about:cache?storage=disk&context=) or in CacheViewer. File size seems to be the only way to do that, with the former listed in KB, and the latter two in bytes. CacheViewer provides much more info on the individual cache components than List Cache Entries and allows sorting by size, in theory allowing one to ID deletables better. But even so, it’d be a slog. When using CacheViewer, it’s apparently important to use the correct version with that of Firefox. Older versions of the add-on can still be downloaded for other than current version of Firefox if for some reason updating Firefox is not an option.
alternaut ◉ moderator
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