Why must I reload a form before submitting it?
If you reached a form by using the Back button on your browser, you MUST clear it to ensure that the data is updated.
To do this simply click the "Clear the form" button.
If you do not do this "old" data may be re-submitted.
For the technically curious, this is because computer operating systems, browsers, and even internet servers can all cache web pages. This means they store temporary copies of web pages locally so that they can be retrieved faster.
It is almost impossible for you to find out whether and where caching is taking place.
While caching is often a good idea, when you are submitting any form you should always clear it (or use your browser's Reload (not Refresh) function) before filling in the form and submitting it. When you do this, the cache(s) will be "flushed" and this will ensure that your new data is processed. If you do not Clear (Reload), the system may think that the old copy in cache is the one to use, throw away what you typed, and re-submit the old data instead.
You can usually set your own local caching settings. In Internet Explorer, Click through Tools: Internet Options: Settings and then click the radio button for "Every visit to the page." Doing this is supposed to make sure that you are working with "live" data and not an old, possibly out-of-date, cached copy of the page.
In Netscape, click Edit: Preferences... and then double click Advanced. You'll get this dialog:
Once again, set it for "Every time I visit the page" to be sure of seeing the most up-to-date information.
