I've turned off the caching option in SPD settings but I still don't see changes that are made to js/css files unless I add a query parameter to the referenced url. This is a very tedious multistep process because master pages have to be checked out, and then approved all over again.
Msft tells me "not all caching can be turned off" but can't explain why which is utterly absurd. The caching process seems to be poorly thought out: it seems to cache "some" files to a local machine (at %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WebsiteCache) only when working in SPD which would be the one time you don't want caching in effect. So essentially, by making developers do extra work, Msft is transferring the responsibility for their poor practices onto paying customers.SPD caching should ideally be removed completely or at least reworked so it can be turned off during development phases.