How current are web pages?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Michael Harding
  • Start date Start date
M

Michael Harding

Is there an easy way to find if a web page is recent and so, hopefully,
showing current information rather than from years ago?
 
Usually at the bottom of the page they have a "Last Updated" text blurb,
otherwise I can't think of another way to find it.
 
When the web page is up, try inserting this Javascript in the address bar,
"javascript:alert(document.lastModified)" (without the " ") It should tell
you the last date updated, for many sites. Try it for a few, and let us know
how it worked.
Happy
 
Happy said:
When the web page is up, try inserting this Javascript in the address bar,
"javascript:alert(document.lastModified)" (without the " ") It should
tell you the last date updated, for many sites. Try it for a few, and let
us know how it worked.


I'm not the OP but decided to try your suggestion. On several different web
sites where I tried your suggestion, your javascript returns the current
date and time. The datestamp will be for the copy rendered by the browser,
not for when the file for the page was last updated on the *server*. The
javascript is not running on the server. It is running locally on your own
host, and what it runs against is what got downloaded to your host. The
"document" being checked is the one that was just rendered by the browser.
 
True, many pages are set up that way, however, it will work on many which
have not been updated for some time. Not foolproof, but is a partial answer
to the original post.
 
Well I am the OP and am truly amazed at how effective this solution is.
Thanks a bunch, you've made me happy too.
MH
 
I'm not the OP but decided to try your suggestion. On several different
web
sites where I tried your suggestion, your javascript returns the current
date and time. The datestamp will be for the copy rendered by the
browser, not for when the file for the page was last updated on the
*server*. The javascript is not running on the server. It is running
locally on your own host, and what it runs against is what got downloaded
to your host. The "document" being checked is the one that was just
rendered by the browser.

Is there a decent work around for this issue ? Can one get and save the file
properties before the page is rendered and use it to display it as the last
updated using a script ?
 
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