Remove Index.php in Subfolder

[popgroove]

I have this URL

site.com/folder/index.php?whatpage=the_page-22.html

I would like to rewrite it to

site.com/folder/the_page-22.html

I tried the following (and 789 other versions) in the root directory but no luck:

RewriteRule ^folder/?([a-zA-Z0-9_/-/.]*html)?$ /folder/index.php?whatpage=$1

my experience with htaccess is minimal, any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[jdMorgan]

It looks like you've got the cart before the horse... A common problem.

This thread [webmasterworld.com] from our library might be a good place to start.

Jim