Using same rules in sub folder

RewriteBase?

[Patrick Taylor]

The .htaccess file in the root folder:

#
Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /
#
# For contact page .php
RewriteRule ^(contact)$ /$1.php [L]
# Rewrite "/string" to "/cms/string.php"
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+) [NC]
RewriteRule ^([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)$ /cms/$1.php [L]
# For 'index'
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ / [NC]
RewriteRule ^$ /cms/index.php [L]
# Rewrite "/cms/string.php" to "/string"...
# ...to prevent viewing of 'physical' file
# Use THE_REQUEST to prevent infinite loops
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /cms/[^.]+\.php\ HTTP/
RewriteRule ^(cms)/([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)\.php$ /$2 [R=301,L]
#

This seems to work okay. The URLs are suffixless, eg:

/page

I also have the option for the CMS to exist in a sub-folder and want the same behaviour, eg:

/subfolder/page

I cannot get this to work with:

RewriteBase /subfolder

... when the same .htaccess file is in the subfolder. I've had to add /subfolder to the rules, and even then, some of it won't work properly.

Advice would be appreciated. Essentially I want the CMS to be transportable, either installed in the web root or in a sub-folder.

[g1smd]

The very last rule in your list is commented as a "rewrite". It is a "redirect". Change the comment.

Add a blank line after each RewriteRule to make the code much easier to read.

You must list external redirects before internal rewrites otherwise the redirect will expose rewritten internal filepaths back out on to the web as new URLs.

Be sure to add the standard non-www to www redirect as the last rule of the redirects and before the first rewrite.



A-Za-z simplifies to A-Z when used with the [NC] flag and parses faster.

RewriteRule ^(contact)$ /$1.php [L]

simplifies to

RewriteRule ^contact$ /contact.php [L]

There's no need to create the $1 backreference, unless you were doing this:

RewriteRule ^(contact|about|findus|offers)$ /$1.php [L]

[Patrick Taylor]

Understood... thnks.

What I am trying to do though, is use the rules that work in the root when the CMS is installed in a sub-folder. When I add:

RewriteBase /subfolder

... to that same .htaccess file (in the subfolder) and visit the subfolder where the CMS is installed, it still puts me back in the root and I'm just seeing /subfolder in the URL. The RewriteBase seems to have no effect.

[g1smd]

"RewriteBase /subfolder" maps an incoming root URL request to an internal folder path in the /subfolder folder without revealing the content will be served from a folder.

So, the FILES will be installed in a folder, but do you want /folder/ to appear in the URL for the CMS or not? I assume not. That's the whole point of RewriteBase; request a root URL and have it silently served from a folder.

The rules need to sorted into the correct order, otherwise there will be unwelcome interactions between the various rules.

The RewriteBase directive will ideally appear after the redirects and before the rewrites.

[Patrick Taylor]

I want the /folder/ to appear in the URL when the CMS in /folder/ is being used, but not when the CMS in the root is being used. It is supposed to be installable in either (or both simulaneously) with the correct paths to each.

I'd misunderstood RewriteBase /folder. I was thinking it should be written into the /folder/ .htaccess (then the rest of .htaccess could be the same for both) but from what you say, the rule goes in the root .htaccess - but that isn't what I'm looking for anyway. I can now see I need specific .htaccess files for the root and for the subfolder.

Thanks for the explanation.

[g1smd]

You need specific *rules* for root URLs and for folder URLs, not specific htaccess *files* for root and for folder.

The root htaccess file is processed first, so unless the rules in there are "aware" of the folder CMS all of the incoming URL requests will be served by the root CMS.

Ideally all of the rules for both CMS versions will go in the root htaccess file.

# Rewrite for folder CMS

RewriteBase /folder-CMS
RewriteRule ^subfolder/(.*) /index.php [L]

# Rewrite for root CMS

RewriteBase /
RewriteCond $1 !^subfolder
RewriteRule (.*) /index.php [L]

Before you write *any* code you need to work out what URL requests for categories, pages, images, stylesheets, javascript files, etc "look like" (and do it for both root and folder), because each of your rules will need to include or exclude the handling of those.

Proceeding without working that out will likely mean your next post is "I have got my CMS sort of working but the pages are unstyled and all the images are missing". It's a common second question in any thread about URL rewriting.

[edited by: g1smd at 1:47 pm (utc) on Sep 20, 2011]

[Patrick Taylor]

Well... everything works okay now in either location, thanks. Alternative versions of the .htaccess file according to whether in root or /folder/. I've not had problems with stylesheets, images, etc - the CMS config file takes care of that.

I should explain that when the CMS is installed in /folder/ it has to be independent of the root and whatever .htaccess file is in the root. Independent of the root in all respects.

[Patrick Taylor]

User comments out as required, depending on whether CMS is in root or /folder/:

###
AddDefaultCharset UTF-8

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on

### WHEN USED IN "/" ROOT FOLDER:

### Redirect "/cms/string.php" to "/string"
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /cms/[^.]+\.php\ HTTP/
RewriteRule ^cms/([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)\.php$ /$1 [R=301,L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/cms/inc/list\.php$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/cms/inc/menu\.php$
RewriteRule .* - [F]

RewriteRule ^contact$ /contact.php [L]

RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)\ HTTP/
RewriteRule ^([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)$ /cms/$1.php [L]

RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /\ HTTP/
RewriteRule ^$ /cms/index.php [L]

### WHEN USED IN "/folder/" SUB FOLDER:

### Redirect "/folder/cms/string.php" to "/folder/string"
# RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /folder/cms/([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)\.php\ HTTP/
# RewriteRule ^folder/cms/([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)\.php$ /folder/$1 [R=301,L]

# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/folder/cms/inc/list\.php$ [OR]
# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/folder/cms/inc/menu\.php$
# RewriteRule .* - [F]

# RewriteRule ^contact$ /folder/contact.php [L]

# RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /folder/([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)\ HTTP/
# RewriteRule ^([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)$ /folder/cms/$1.php [L]

# RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /folder/\ HTTP/
# RewriteRule ^$ /folder/cms/index.php [L]
###

Users may have their own arrangements for error404 and canonical so they are left out.

[g1smd]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/cms/inc/list\.php$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/cms/inc/menu\.php$

simplifies to

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/cms/inc/(menu|list)\.php$

and parses faster.

[A-Za-z0-9_\-]

simplifies to

[a-z0-9_-] [NC]

and parses faster.