redirect 404 error page and htaccess file - Webmaster Forums - Webmaster forum for HTML, PHP, ASP, CSS and more

sekhmet · 11-01-2007, 01:19 PM

hello everyone,

in a bit of a pickle and am going to try to explain exactly what I need.

I have built an online community using a CMS. I want my members and visitors to be able to view member profiles by accessing it directly from their own url, eg. www.mysite.com/username.

My problem is that everything that I try gives me the error message 404 page not found. Developers are telling me to insert code into my htaccess.txt file and rename it .htaccess. But renaming the file .htaccess reaks havoc with my site and makes it disappear.

Is their anyway to create a redirect php file in order to correct this problem, or must I use the htaccess. txt file, which I have not had any success with. Thank you.

etono · 11-20-2007, 07:53 AM

Hello Sekhmet,

First of all, your .htaccess should look something like the this:

Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /profile.php?username=$1 [nc]

It sounds like you are having an issue with saving the extension of .htaccess. I find it easiest to use a shell when editing my .htaccess file. Try using a different FTP utility to upload the file.

baruch menachem · 03-24-2008, 09:50 AM

Also I think a few hosts would prefer you to use their online help to set up the file, as it can cause problems for them to.

.htaccess files must not have an extension.