It's a miracle!
I finally figured out the .htaccess mystery....
Here's the backstory:
I wanted to create/edit my .htaccess file so I could redirect some of my pages safely to a new directory. Creating the file with the correct commands wasn't the problem though, it was uploading it to my server (which happens to be Bravenet, who I'm not exactly thrilled with). When I tried to upload it, I kept getting an error message telling me that I didn't have permission to over-ride the file. So my first question was answered: Bravenet had a default .htaccess file already stored in my root directory.
Fast Forward....
I openend a support ticket with Bravenet asking them to grant me permission, and days later, with no response, I finally got a tip from a dude in an SEO forum. He suggested I use an ftp client that allowed access to hidden files and to take it from there. My current (and favorite) ftp client Smart FTP didn't seem to have this option, so I Googled "ftp view hidden file" and after downloading 3 programs, I finally got one that allowed me to view the .htaccess file. But that was only the start. After several trial and errors (mostly errors), I finally figured out that instead of creating the file and saving it as .htaccess, I needed to create the file with a .txt extension - then rename the file once I had uploaded it. When I finally got this to work, I though I hit the jackpot, but wait....why wasn't it working? All this effort to finally be able to manipulate the file and I still couldn't get it to work!!! But after a few breaths, I played with the 301 command a little bit and suddenly it worked! To many, this may seem like peanuts, but after all the thought I had put into this thing, it felt like a major breakthrough had occured. I guess that's why I love this stuff. It's like a big puzzle that you put together piece by piece, and when you see the end result, it's amazing....
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Here's the backstory:
I wanted to create/edit my .htaccess file so I could redirect some of my pages safely to a new directory. Creating the file with the correct commands wasn't the problem though, it was uploading it to my server (which happens to be Bravenet, who I'm not exactly thrilled with). When I tried to upload it, I kept getting an error message telling me that I didn't have permission to over-ride the file. So my first question was answered: Bravenet had a default .htaccess file already stored in my root directory.
Fast Forward....
I openend a support ticket with Bravenet asking them to grant me permission, and days later, with no response, I finally got a tip from a dude in an SEO forum. He suggested I use an ftp client that allowed access to hidden files and to take it from there. My current (and favorite) ftp client Smart FTP didn't seem to have this option, so I Googled "ftp view hidden file" and after downloading 3 programs, I finally got one that allowed me to view the .htaccess file. But that was only the start. After several trial and errors (mostly errors), I finally figured out that instead of creating the file and saving it as .htaccess, I needed to create the file with a .txt extension - then rename the file once I had uploaded it. When I finally got this to work, I though I hit the jackpot, but wait....why wasn't it working? All this effort to finally be able to manipulate the file and I still couldn't get it to work!!! But after a few breaths, I played with the 301 command a little bit and suddenly it worked! To many, this may seem like peanuts, but after all the thought I had put into this thing, it felt like a major breakthrough had occured. I guess that's why I love this stuff. It's like a big puzzle that you put together piece by piece, and when you see the end result, it's amazing....
Furl - del.icio.us - Technorati Digg - Google - My Yahoo
posted by Jason McElwaine at
12:07 AM
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