Dumping cache from your browser.
Feb 21, 2012 by: Moser, James

You may be aware that most browsers cache certain files such as images, javascript files, style sheets, etc.  They do this in order to increase performance by decreasing load times. Files that already exist in your cache, do not have to be transmitted over the Internet to your browser. 

There are a number of factors that determine whether a cached file is acceptable for use.  These factors include the age if the file in cache, and the size of the cache ( the amount of space you have allocated on your file system for browser caching ). 

Occasionally your browser will use an existing file from cache when a newer version is available on the server.  This is especially irksome when working with a web developer who makes frequent changes on your web site.  I frequently make a change to a site and have the client say something like "nothing changed!"

Fortunately most browsers employ a short-cut to dump cache and force the browser to reload all the files.  For most browsers, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari, the short cut is <ctrl> + <del> to dump cache followed by <ctrl>+r to reload the page with all new files.

I hope this helps.

Thunderbird: Getting reply above the text
Jul 12, 2011 by: Moser, James

A customer asked how to get the text of her reply to show up at the top of her emails in Mozilla Thunderbird.  The default behavior is to show response at the bottom, but most of us are conditioned ( by the preview window ) to look for a reponse to an email thread at the top.

Here are some simple instructions:

• Open Thunderbird
• Select Edit from the menu then Account Settings
• Select Composing and Addressing on the left side of the window
• Select the check next to Automatically quote the original message when replying
• There are then drop lists to control the placement of your reply and your signature.

Note: If you read more than one email account through Thunderbird, then you will need to do the above for each email account. 

I hope this helps.

Version: I am running Thunderbird 5.0 on Ubuntu 10.4

Set up mailing lists in Mozilla Thunderbird.
Jun 8, 2011 by: Moser, James

A client asked me for instructions setting up distribution lists in Thunderbird so here goes:

Note: I am running Thunderbird version 3.1.10 on Linux.

1. Open Thunderbird.
2. Click on the Address Book at the top of the window. 
   
3. In the address book click on New List at the top of the window.
4. Give your list a List Name so that you can find it later.
   
5. Start typing the first few letters of your contact data in the email address list.  If the contact already exists in you address book, this should auto-complete. Other-wise you will need to add the entire address.
   
6. Repeat the above step until you have added all the address you want.
7. Click OK to save and close the list.

Now you should be able to address you email to the list name that you selected.

NOTE: There are a couple of key points to consider. 

First it is extremely bad form to put your distribution list in the To: field.  This exposes every email address to everyone on the list.  To avoid this, always BCC to your distribution list.

The second thing to consider is that you should not sends a ton of emails to large distribution lists through your normal email account.  Doing so, runs the risk of getting the server labeled as a SPAM source and SPAM filters will start to filter out anything that comes from that server.Bad for you and everyone else on the server.

Cairn Applications LLC maintains a Constant Contact Email Marketing account specifically for our customer's use.  We will craft emails messages from your content.  These messages look more professional and  reinforce your branding.  This service is included in your maintenance fees.

Please contact us for more information.