Clear Temporary Internet Files and Cookies in Web Browser

Description: When experiencing Internet navigation and functionality issues, learn how to clear your browser cache and cookies to rule out the corruption of these files. This can be valuable when troubleshooting issues using Lighthouse Transaction Manager or any of Shift4's web-based platforms.

• Internet Explorer 9, 10, or 11
• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox 
• Apple Safari

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Internet Explorer 9, 10, or 11

Shortcuts:

• ALT shows the Menu bar temporarily underneath the address bar to make the Tools option available.
• CTRL+SHIFT+DEL takes you directly to the Cache menu.

Option #1 (IE Version 11 ONLY):

1. If using Internet Explorer Version 11 ONLY, clear the files by selecting the gear icon located at the top right of the page.
2. Select Safety from the menu.
3. Select Delete Browsing History to open the Cache menu.
   
4. Place a check next to Temporary Internet files and website files and Cookies and Website Data, then select Delete. 
   

Option 2:

1. Select the gear icon located on the upper right of the page.
2. Select Internet Options, then navigate to the section labeled Clear Browsing History.
3. Select Delete to open the Cache Menu.
4. Select Temporary Internet files and website files and Cookies and Website Data.
5. Select Delete to confirm.

Option 3:

1. Select Tools > Internet Options from the menu bar at the top.
2. Under the Clear Browsing History section, choose Delete to open the Cache Menu.
3. Select Temporary Internet files and website files and Cookies and Website Data.
4. Select Delete to confirm.

Option 4 (Windows 8.1 Metro Only)

1. Select the Internet Explorer icon to open the browser, then navigate to the Charm bar by moving your cursor to the top right corner. 
   • The Charm bar will extend along the right edge of the screen.
   • If using touch interfacing, swipe from the outside of the top right corner into the screen to drag the Charm bar to the screen.
2. Choose Settings from the Charm bar and navigate to the Options section.
3. Scroll through the Options until you find the History option, then choose Select to open the Cache menu.
4. Check Cached Images and Cookies.
5. Ensure the slide bar option of Keep data from favorites when deleting history is OFF.
6. Select or touch Delete, then a completed prompt will display, stating this is accomplished.

Microsoft Edge:

1. Navigate to the top right side and locate the icon that looks like three periods ... and select it.
2. Select Settings from the dropdown.
3. Once there, find the Clear Browsing Data section and select the Choose what to Clear button.
   
4. From the list of options, place a check next to Browsing History, Cookies and Saved Website Data, and Cached Data and Files, then select Clear.
   
5. No confirmation message displays showing that this was completed. Instead, after selecting Clear, close and reopen the browser to complete the process of clearing your cache and cookies from Microsoft Edge.

 Google Chrome:

Shortcuts:

• CTRL+SHIFT+DEL takes you directly to clear cookies and history options.
• Ctrl + H takes you directly to the History Menu.
• ALT+F or ALT+E opens the Chrome menu on the side if not present.

To clear the temporary files and cookies from Google Chrome:

1. Locate the Settings (three vertical dots) menu on the top right side of the page.
2. Select History from the options menu, and select History again from the menu that appears. 
3. Select Clear Browsing Data on the now open page.
   
4. On the window that appears, set the Time range to "All time" and ensure Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files are selected. All other options are optional. 
5. Select Clear browsing data to commit, and you will receive a confirmation message when complete.
6. Restart your browser to complete the process.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Locate the Settings icon (three horizontal bars) in the top right side of the page, then select Options from the dropdown that appears.
2. Under Privacy & Security, select Clear History... underneath the History option. 
   
3. In the field "Time range to clear," select "Everything" and ensure Cookies, Cache, Active Logins, and Offline Website Data are selected before choosing the Clear Now option. All other selections are optional.
   

Apple Safari

Option #1

1. In the Apple Safari browser, select Safari from the menu bar at the top of the screen and select Preferences from the dropdown.
   
2. Select the Privacy tab in the window that opens, then select Manage Website Data...
   
3. Select Remove All and then in the small popup window that appears, select Remove Now to commit the clearing of the files.
   

Option 2

1. Select Safari in the menu at the top of the screen and select Preferences from the dropdown menu.
2. In the Preferences window, select the Advanced tab and make sure the checkbox next to the Show Develop menu in the menu bar is selected.
3. Select Develop in the menu bar on the top of the screen and select Empty Caches.