JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, Fourth Edition

Name

Location.reload( ) — reload the current document

Availability

JavaScript 1.1

Synopsis

                  location.reload( ) location.reload(force)

Arguments

force

A boolean argument that specifies whether the document should be reloaded, even if the server reports that it has not been modified since it was last loaded. If this argument is omitted, or if it is false, the method reloads the full page only if it has changed since last loaded.

Description

The reload( ) method of the Location object reloads the document that is currently displayed in the window of the Location object. When called with no arguments or with the argument false, it uses the If-Modified-Since HTTP header to determine whether the document has changed on the web server. If the document has changed, reload reloads the document from the server, and if not, it reloads the document from the cache. This is the same action that occurs when the user clicks on the browser’s Reload button.

When reload( ) is called with the argument true, it always bypasses the cache and reloads the document from the server, regardless of the last-modified time of the document. This is the same action that occurs when the user Shift-clicks on the browser’s Reload button.