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Trouble Viewing Source
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PROBLEM SYNOPSIS |
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Problem At-a-Glance: | | When I go "View," and then "Source," nothing happens. How do I get this working again? |
Platform: | | Windows 2000 |
Application: | | Internet Explorer |
Conditions: | | Notepad.exe is functional and trouble-free |
Search Strings: | | can't view source in explorer, troubleshoot view source, view source not working, not able to view source code |
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VIEWING SOURCE ON WEBPAGES
Over 99.9% of web developers today rely on ripping off other people's work. From neat Javascript scripts to slick CSS tricks, "viewing source" is a simple and easy way to gain access into the heart of a great website and see what makes it beat.
But what to do when the viewing source doesn't work? You went into "View" and "Source," and waited, but nothing appeared on the screen. You tried multiple times...even a few times after restarting the entire computer. But nothing. What can be done?
THE SOLUTION
- Click on Tools in the browser toolbar and head onto the Internet Options.
- When the Internet Options window populates, view the Temporary Internet Files section of the window and select Delete Files.
- Select to Delete all offline content and press OK. Don't worry, all your personal files are safe.
- The pointer will change into an hourglass while the files are being deleted. You will know the process is complete when the pointer returns.
- Optional step: If you want to be absolutely thorough, or if these three steps were insufficient for satisfactory performance, we recommend you also delete your cookies by using the following path: Tools > Internet Options > Delete Cookies.
BE PATIENT
When deleting the files, the process may take up to fifteen minutes, depending on how long ago you last cleared out your Temporary Internet Files, and especially if you've never done this before. During this time, your computer may slow down significantly or the browser may refuse to respond, but that just means it's busy processing your Internet files.
If somehow the process gets interrupted, we encourage you to try again until all your files have been cleared.
If you're having trouble with deleting these files, please contact your network administrator, that computer-savvy neighbor, or a middle school student.
CACHE IS TOO FULL
The culprit, in this case, is a cache that has been stuffed to the max, i.e. you simply had too many files in your Temporary Internet Files folder and needed to clean it out in order to improve your browser performance.
POST-RELEASE NOTES
Since this article was written, we've found two excellent resources:
- Source Code Is Not Displayed When You Click Source on the View Menu in Internet Explorer, Microsoft
- View Source Fails, MalekTips
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