If you make no changes, what changes does the update button cause in wordpress

What update button? Where are you, front-end or back-end?

Front-end. A very strange problem. All I am trying to do is import an XML file to populate db table that will reflect changes on the webpage.

I exported the XML file using the wordpress tools menu. Once I saw the structure of the exported XML, I knew how I should add new items. So shortened the XML file to add just one item.

All works fine, but strangely, some images are not displayed on the webpage. However, by simply going to the front-end (admin area) and selecting the relevant post, and clicking the Update button (WITHOUT having changed anything or uploading any images) the image begins to appear. I have no idea why this happens.

Why doesn’t the image display immediately after I uploaded the XML file? Why would going to post and simply clicking Update button cause it to appear?

When you import data to your DB, you are not actaully updating your webisite. Only when you refresh the page will your new content show, because your website will then query your DB and this time it will find the new data that you have just added.

I most certainly refreshed the page. I had the admin area open in one tab, and the website on the other.

I could see the text, the and some of the images even. However one image would be missing. When I would click Update in the admin area, and then refresh on the other tab (webpage) then the image would appear next to the already visible text (text which was added from the XML import).