Netscape won't refesh

Netscape Refresh Stuff

Netscape browsers, starting with version 4.04 have had a problem with displaying an updated image with pages using just a HTML refresh. They update a couple times and then they start pulling the image from the cache instead of from the server. Netscape, on their official "Help" page claims that the solution is to add this meta tag to the <HEAD> section of the page:

<META HTTP-EQUIV="pragma" CONTENT="no-cache">

They don't mention it, but it's important that it be placed before the meta refresh tag. While this will work sometimes, I've received too many letters on the subject to think that it's an adequate solution.

Ski, of the SkiCam figured out a fix that I guarantee will work. It's sort of complicated to explain, but let's just say that it takes advantage of HTML's low-resolution tag. Just add one of these to the tag for your image: lowsrc="some_image.jpg" or lowsrc="some_image.gif" .
So the tag for the image on my page would be, <img src="CamPic.jpg" lowsrc="campic_lowsrcw.gif" height="240" width="320" alt="Click here for remote window" border="0">.
You can use anything for your low-res image. I'm using the three-pixel gif in the middle of this border. Honest, it's there..... And here's a jpeg version.....

And here's Ski's version.

Take your pick. The two small ones are much smaller files but some people might prefer the one that says "loading".

Some other options you might want to try are:

Your regular cam image (this gives a fairly seamless effect);
A jpeg that matches your background color (fairly seamless, too);
A background image;
or, if you're the creative type, an image you drew. If you're as non-talented as I am, maybe you're better off with one of the others. ;-)

It's usually best to use a jpeg. I use a gif on my pages, but a lot of people have told me it doesn't work on their servers. Only use the gif if you've tested it and you're sure it works for you.

And remember to keep it small! It reloads every time the page does. A big image will slow your page down and possibly run up your bandwidth cost!

Please let me know if you come up with another solution.

Apparently, WebTV has a similar problem. This solution doesn't seem to help with it. Anybody?

Home | 2 Frames | 4 Frames | 5 Frames | No Frames

JavaScript Refresh | Viewer Thingie | Netscape Problems | Comments |