Was there a forum software update?

RussF

Just curious - prior to today, when I clicked on a discussion marked "new" to read it and then clicked the "back" button on the browser (Chrome), I would go back to the topic page (the same one I was on) and the "new" flag would be cleared.

Starting this morning, that doesn't work. I now have to click "home" at the bottom of the thread, which takes me back to page 1 of the topics instead of the page I was on.

Was there an update the the forum s/w or possibly Chrome that broke this?

Russ

Ena

Hi @RussF,

Thanks for reaching out. When you click on the back link in the browser, where are you being redirected?

I've done some troubleshooting and the behavior is as expected, on my end. When I am in a category, like entry level firewalls, and I click on a new discussion, then click the back arrow, I go back to entry level firewalls. I am also using Chrome.

Let me know where you are being redirected and I can look further into this.

RussF

Thanks for your reply.

I typically just stay in the category "Latest discussions". After clicking on a post to read or comment on, the "back button" (side mouse button is configured as "back") takes me back to where I was, even if it was on page 2 or 3 of the discussion category, BUT, the flag on the post that I just read still says "New". Prior to this morning, when I went back to where I was with the "back button", that "new" flag on the post I had just read would disappear, letting me know that I had already read that post. Now, in order to clear the flag, I have to click "home" at the bottom of the thread. If I happened to be on page 3 of the category, it will take me back to page one instead and I have to re-select the page number I was on,

I'm on a couple of other forums with this same behavior and it is truly annoying. I was always grateful that this forum performed "properly" (until today, that is). :)

Russ

Ena

Thanks for providing additional information.

I'll look into this and get back to you soon! Let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.

Ena

Hi @RussF,

I've looked into this and the issue described is often exacerbated by clicking the 'back' button of your browser, because in those situations the page does not reload to reflect the latest data. It simply accesses a cached version of the page. The behavior is not mimicked when using an alternate route:

> Now, in order to clear the flag, I have to click "home" at the bottom of the thread.

My best recommendation is that if you still wish to click 'back' after reading one of the latest discussions, hit the 'refresh' button right after landing back on the discussion list. This should refresh the page but at least keep you on the same page you were last on. 

Another thing I'd highly recommend is to clear your browser cache, and let me know if you continue to experience this after clearing your cache and refreshing the 'latest discussions' list when you navigate back to it. If you continue to have issues, please try your normal navigation in a different browser and confirm whether the same issue persists. 

I hope this helps!

RussF

Hi @Ena,

Clearing the cache does not help. Refreshing the page does work, but it's one more click that is required - the same as if I click the "home" link.

Searching for "browser refresh after back button" pulls up nothing but instructions on javascript that must be embedded in the web page that detects when a page is loaded as a result of the "back" button being pressed. This code then forces a refresh of the page. My suspicion is that the forum code had this as of yesterday and that it was removed prior to an update last night. There are no browser settings I can find to perform this locally. I guess I (we) will just have to endure the inconvenience until/unless the webdevs decide to reimplement it. Thanks again.

Russ