Refresh Cycle

The program checks periodically with the server to see if the rink has posted any changes to data that has been previously viewed. Any modified files will be downloaded again, thereby keeping the caches up to date. This is totally automatic and happens behind the scenes without your having to do anything.

Interaction with the server is very efficient. The periodic check requires only a tiny amount of data transfer (about five hundred bytes), and only occurs when the program is actually running. If changes have been posted, the updates are downloaded in small chunks, transferring only what has actually changed, thereby keeping the total data traffic to a bare minimum.

You can obtain information about the current status of the refresh cycle by clicking the circular refresh button near the top of the window (Main or Today). This will open a popover similar to the one below:

The Refresh Again Now button bypasses the automatic refresh countdown and triggers an immediate update. This button will be useful in the following circumstances:

1. If you have reason to believe that the rink has posted changes that you want to see right away.

2. If you know you will be offline for a while and want to get the latest updates before you disconnect.

3. If you have just reconnected to the Internet and want shorten the countdown to the next attempt.

If any download fails, the refresh button will change into a yellow caution indicator. This could be because you are working offline, a problem occurred with your connection, or something is wrong on the server (such as a file is missing). You can view the details by clicking the caution icon to open a popover with a list of error messages. The descriptions are quite specific and perhaps more than you need, but they should help you figure out what went wrong. If nothing else, just be aware that you are viewing incomplete or perhaps outdated information.

You can dismiss either popover without performing any further action simply by clicking elsewhere.