changes to Templates aren't visible until you hard refresh

[michelleif]

if I've used a template in my current session, and then I make a change to the template definition (I edit the template itself) and save it, and then go back to Resource Templates tab and try to use this template again, the change i made is not reflected until I do a hard refresh

[justinlittman]

This is really tricky. Would it be acceptable to detect that a template is already in use and prompt the user to hard refresh?

[michelleif]

that sounds like a good solution. do you know if it's just refresh that's needed or actually hard refresh?

[justinlittman]

I don't know.

[peetucket]

What's the difference between a refresh and a hard refresh?

[mjgiarlo]

@peetucket refreshes are softer than hard refreshes

[mjgiarlo]

But seriously, a hard refresh is when the user instructs their browser to re-request the current page and its assets from the server, bypassing the usual browser caching. I typically access this via <Shift> + <F5>, or <Shift> + click refresh/reload button.

The behavior is OS- and browser-dependent. More: https://fabricdigital.co.nz/blog/how-to-hard-refresh-your-browser-and-clear-cache

[michelleif]

discussed a possible solution, but decided on documentation and user education instead, as workaround. I will grab the ticket to do the documentation.

for future reference, one possible solution is:

1. if a user edits a template, clear user's cache of that template so that next time the user opens it, a fresh version is used.
2. to prevent any unexpected results, also add restriction that if a user is filling out a template (cataloging) in one tab, and then tries to open the same template for editing (changing the template itself), tell the user they must first close (if there have been unsaved changes, user must either discard or save) the template they were filling out, before they can open said template for editing
3. similarly, if user is in process of editing a template and then tries to open the template to fill it out (catalog), they must first close the template editing session (choosing whether to discard or save unsaved changes)

[mjgiarlo]

@michelleif thanks, Michelle.