Javascript 5 Lines Code to Reset Set Form Values

Simple Function clearPreviousValues() to Reset all Form Field Values to Default if the Person is Returning to the Web Page from Cache, ie Browser Back or Forward Button so values DONT Get Saved

The only limitation with the code below is that a web browsers caching behavior make the method below not 100% reliable ...

/* --------------------------------------------------- function to prevent the saving of previously entered values in a form, in situations where the person navigates away from the page and then returns by clicking the browser forward or back button ---------------------------------------------------- */ function clearPreviousValues() { // "pageshow" event is similar to the "onload" but includes if // user is returning from cache (back button or forward button) window.addEventListener("pageshow", function(event) { // returning via cache from back or previous browsr button click if (event.persisted) { // Reload the page window.location.reload(); } }); } // call function immediately so it called before "pageshow" event clearPreviousValues();

An even better way is to use the sessionStorage object of javascript which only persists until the person leaves the page, no matter what the web browsers caching policy.

/* -------------------------------------------------------- a way to clear all of a forms and entire web pages values to ensure the page is fresh or refreshed if the person is coming back to this page as a result of a browser back or forward button click the [sessionStorage] object only persists until the user leaves the page. This works regardless of the caching behavior of the web browser ------------------------------------------------------ */ function clearPreviousValues() { // Check if the page should be reloaded if (sessionStorage.getItem("reloadAfterBack")) { sessionStorage.removeItem("reloadAfterBack"); window.location.reload(); } // Set a flag in sessionStorage before the page is unloaded window.addEventListener("beforeunload", function(){ sessionStorage.setItem('reloadAfterBack', 'true'); }); } // Call the function to set up the logic clearPreviousValues();