satya
Joined: 08 May 2008
Posts: 78
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 Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:33 pm Post subject: .htaccess |
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What is .htaccess:
Most hosting companies will host multiple domains on one server, and all the domains use the same Web server software installed on that server. This presents a problem. What if two Webmasters using the same server need different Web server configurations? Apache addressed this by using .htaccess files. (Other Web-server software packages have similar functionality. If your host isn't using Apache, you'll have to ask them how to implement local configurations.)
Apache, like any other software, has configuration files. Your host edits these "global" configuration files to serve as a default for all of the sites hosted on the server. The .htaccess file (pronounced "h t access") acts as a "local" configuration file so that individual Websites can customize the configuration to suit their needs.
The .htaccess file is an ordinary text file that you can create using Notepad or any text editor and ftp it into your Web root directory. This file will contain the configuration statements (commands) to customize the Apache Web server software for your Website.
Notice that the file name starts with a period. This is to indicate to the Linux/UNIX operating system that it is a "system file" that is used by a server application, not by a user of the system (such as an html file would be). However, with Windows, the period denotes a separator between a file's name and its' "extension". As a result, if you try and create a .htaccess file in Windows it won't have a name. To get around this, create a file called htaccess.txt, ftp that to the server, and then rename it to .htaccess once it's there
Usage
It will allow us to have our own, personal error pages. For example when a file is not found, instead of using our host's error pages or having no page we can create our own error page. This will make our site seem much professional in the unknown event of an error.
Creating A .htaccess File
Creating a .htaccess file may cause you a few problems. Writing the file is easy, you just need enter the appropriate code into a text editor (like notepad). You may run into problems with saving the file. Because .htaccess is a strange file name (the file actually has no name but a 8 letter file extension) it may not be accepted on certain systems (e.g. Windows 3.1). With most operating systems, though, all you need to do is to save the file by entering the name as:
".htaccess"
(including the quotes). If this doesn't work, you will need to name it something else (e.g. htaccess.txt) and then upload it to the server. Once you have uploaded the file you can then rename it using an FTP program.
Advantages of .htaccess
1) Password protecting folders,
2) Redirecting users automatically,
3) Custom error pages,
4) Stopping directory listings and
5) Using a different file as the index file. |
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