1script - 10:47 pm on Sep 22, 2012 (gmt 0)

Thanks, g1smd. Do you mean just the rule without a condition? I would like to be sure only that particular pattern (with search.htm on the end) is affected by the rule. Just in case there's a valid URL among some 1000+ static URLs (very old site) that I would rather keep.

Actually, come to think of it: such static URL is most likely invalid, too: it would result in Apache trying to serve the part of the URL before the "+" as a file/directory name.