.htaccess

This method requires that you create an .htaccess file in the directory containing the old file or in the old directory.

Creating an .htaccess File

Create your .htaccess file using a text editor (Notepad or Simpletext are recommended, if you use Word, be sure to save the file as text only) on your machine and then upload it as text to the directory you want protected.

You can also log on to UTS, go to the directory you want to protect and use an editor like Pico or Emacs to create your .htaccess file.

• .htaccess file to redirect one page to another page
  
       RedirectPermanent  pagename  new-page-url
  
  where
  
  

  pagename	is the page that you want redirected.
  new-page-url	is the full URL of the location to which you want the users sent.

  
  For example, this .htaccess file redirects users from old.html to UT's home page:
  
       RedirectPermanent  old.html  http://www.utexas.edu/
  
  
  
• .htaccess file to redirect one directory to another directory
  
       RedirectPermanent  dirname  new-dir-url
  
  where
  
  

  dirname	is the directory that you want redirected.
  new-dir-url	is the full URL of the location to which you want the users sent.

  
  For example, this .htaccess file (in the /admin/ohr directory) redirects users from http://www.utexas.edu/admin/ohr/ to http://www.utexas.edu/hr/:
  
       RedirectPermanent  /admin/ohr  http://www.utexas.edu/hr

Advantages

• Entire directories can be redirected at once.
• Correct URL address appears in the browser's location box.
• New location can be on a different server.
• Back button is not broken.

Disadvantages

• Graphics and links can be broken if the SRC tag is not fully specified.
• No option for showing the old page before going to the new one.
• Actual files and symbolic links in a subdirectory aren't necessarily what is being shown on the Web.
• You have to look at the .htaccess file to know which files are displayed with which URLs.

More Information