When you want to reload or refresh a webpage in Google Chrome, you can press F5 or Ctrl + F5 on your keyboard. But these two ways have different results. In this post, MiniTool Software talks about F5 vs. Ctrl F5, showing you the difference between F5 and Ctrl F5 (Shift F5).
When a webpage is not loaded correctly or completely in Google Chrome, you can press the F5 key or the Ctrl + F5 (Shift + F5) keyboard shortcut to reload the page. However, do these two ways do the same job? If not, what is the difference between F5 and Ctrl F5 (Shift F5)? In this post, we will talk about F5 and Ctrl F5 to help you make a better decision when you want to refresh a webpage in Google Chrome.
What Do F5 and Ctrl + F5 (or Shift + F5) Do in Google Chrome?
Both F5 and Ctrl + F5 (Shift + F5) are used to refresh or reload a webpage in Chrome. But they do different work. Here is a simple explanation:
- F5 or Ctrl + R: to reload the current page in Google Chrome.
- Ctrl + F5 (Shift + F5) or Ctrl + Shift + R: to reload the current page, ignoring cached content.
Moreover, you can use these shortcuts to reload the current page on most modern web browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc.
F5: A Classic Webpage Reload Option in Google Chrome or other Web Browsers
F5 is used to reload the current page you open. This action will also use the page cache that is previously loaded. This means that F5 will reload the same webpage, the cached one including the text, images, javascript files, and more in it.
What you will see on the page depends on the expiry of the cache. If the cache has expired or been deleted, pressing F5 will reload a new page, with new contents if there are changes before reloading.
Alternative: Ctrl + R
Ctrl F5: Forced Reload a Webpage in Google Chrome or other Web Browsers
Ctrl + F5 is used to force reload a webpage, not using the cached files for that page. This will retrieve a completely new page. If there are new changes before pressing Ctrl + F5, you will be able to see these new contents. That is, this action can retrieve the most recent content of the page you have visited.
It will take more time to force reload a webpage in Google Chrome by pressing Ctrl + F5 because the data it reloads is not from the cache files.
When should you use this method to refresh or reload a page? For example, when an element of a page like an image is not loaded, you can press Ctrl + F5 to force reload the page to make it be displayed.
Alternative: Shift + F5 or Ctrl + Shift + R
On Mac and Apple, you need to use Apple + R or Command + R to force reload a webpage.
Besides, you can see that Ctrl F5 and Shift F5 do the same thing while you are visiting a webpage.
How to Delete the Cache in Your Web Browser?
Both F5 and Ctrl F5 will not delete the cache for the page you visit. If you want to delete the cache files to resolve some issues, you can press Ctrl + Shift + Delete to call out the Clear browsing data interface and select the cache files you want to delete. Then, click the Clear data button to remove the cache files.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Stella has been working in MiniTool Software as an English Editor for more than 7 years. Her articles mainly cover the fields of data recovery including storage media data recovery and phone data recovery, YouTube videos download, partition management, and video conversions.