Reloading the Page - IE vs. N

[peterinwa]

If one of my users is having trouble with one of my pages, my help file instructs them to try reloading the page:

Internet Explorer (IE) Users: Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the Refresh icon.

Netscape (N) Users: Hold down the Shift key and click on the Reload icon.

It is my understanding that in the above instructions holding down the Ctrl key (IE) and the Shift key (N) causes the browser to reload the page in its entirety; graphics and all. Not just the HTML for the page. Whereas just clicking on the icon would reload just the HTML for the page. Is this correct?

It has been suggested that since some users may not be familiar with the Refresh/Reload icon, it would be better to tell them to do it with keys only. With both browsers, I believe that Ctrl R is equivalent to clicking on the icon. Hmm. No, I guess with IE it would be equivalent to clicking on the icon while holding down the Ctrl key. Is this correct?

Assuming that the last point is true, to reload the page in its entirety for N you would need to hold down both Ctrl and Shift and R; but for IE only Ctrl and R.

Thanks, Peter

[garann]

I'd always thought that Shift+Refresh in IE was the way to completely reload the page. And I believe the key for refresh in IE is F5, not R.

Food for thought: If you're worried that your users aren't aware of their Refresh/Reload buttons, maybe you could take this opportunity to educate them. Rather than giving them a combination of keys they'll likely forget, why not show the default icons from IE and Netscape next to the relevant instructions? I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that will lead to a quicker association, and more savvy users, in turn.