# Cache

This module also allows you control the size of the local cache directory used by &konqueror;. Note that each user account on your computer has a separate cache directory, and this directory is not shared with other web browsers such as &Netscape;.

Storing local copies of web pages that you have visited allows &konqueror; to quickly load their contents on subsequent visits. It will only be necessary to reload the contents from the original site if they have changed since your last visit, or if you click the reload button in &konqueror;.

On the other page, labeled Cache, you can see the controls that are related to cache settings. If you really don't want any of the web pages you visit to be stored on your computer, you can disable &konqueror;'s disk cache by clearing the checkbox labeled Use Cache

You can set here how aggressively &konqueror; keeps the cache up to date. Keep Cache in sync means that &konqueror; will hit the cache for all objects, downloading them if they are not there, and then display the item from the cache. Use Cache if possible means that &konqueror; will try the cache, and if an object is not there, it will directly download it for display. Offline Browsing Mode means that &konqueror; will try the cache, and if an object is not there, it will not attempt to download it from the Internet.

You can control the size of the cache by typing a number into the text box labeled Average Cache Size. This is the average amount of space in kilobytes that the cache directory is allowed to use. When the cache grows too large, &konqueror; will delete older files to reduce the size of the cache directory.

This is however, only an average, and during a browsing session the cache could become substantially larger.

You can use the Clear Cache button to empty the cache at any time.