.htaccess file visibility

Question

Level 1

15 points

.htaccess file visibility

Hi All.

I have .htaccess files that are basically a short bit of text that allows my PHP based website to know that a folder can be made publicly available via ftp.

I am not able to see these files on my MacPro hard drive and did some brief amount of research that seemed to indicate that there was a good reason for this.

Is there a convenient way for me to be able to see or otherwise upload these kinds of files via something like Filezilla so I can make folders available to colleagues via ftp?

Apologies if I have mixed anything up in there. Love to get a little help.

Thanks,

J

Mac OS X (10.6.3), Mac Pro, MacBook Pro

Posted on May 26, 2010 8:21 PM

Reply

Answer 1

May 27, 2010 4:13 AM in response to Hotwheels22

Hotwheels22 wrote:
Hi All.

I have .htaccess files that are basically a short bit of text that allows my PHP based website to know that a folder can be made publicly available via ftp.

I am not able to see these files on my MacPro hard drive and did some brief amount of research that seemed to indicate that there was a good reason for this.

Is there a convenient way for me to be able to see or otherwise upload these kinds of files via something like Filezilla so I can make folders available to colleagues via ftp?

Apologies if I have mixed anything up in there. Love to get a little help.

Thanks,

J

.htaccess files are web server, not ftp, configuration files that are located in specific web folders to override the web server's global settings. For example a .htaccess file could change your httpd.conf settings for a specific web folder. If you want a folder to be available publicly then put the folder in the web server's document root area, or create sub folders under the document root. The folder's files will then be available using http.

What seems to be your problem when trying to upload .htaccess files to your web server using filezilla? I can create .htaccess files locally then upload them to my web servers using filezilla.

Sorry if I misunderstood your question. If so, please explain in more detail exactly what you are doing, want to do, and what happens (error messages if any).

Reply

Answer 2

Hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

15 points

May 27, 2010 6:41 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Thanks very much Bob.

The problem seems to be that I can't /see/ these files in finder. Apparently anything that starts with a "dot" will not show up. I did a little more work on the net and there appears to be a solution to show all hidden files (clutters finder), some other software options and then a widget that will show/hide hidden files. Sounding like the latter is the best possibility...?

Thanks Bob.

*

All you have to do is go to Terminal and type this:  defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE  killall Finder
*
In Snow Leopard you can type Command-Shift-Period from an Open or Save dialog box to toggle the invisibility of files.
You could also create a symbolic link to it that is visible as long as the target doesn't start with a period.
ln -s /pathtoyour/.htaccess /differentpath/open_htaccess
*
2. I'm afraid this isn't possible. It is just all or nothing. Here are a few alternatives to make it a bit smoother:
1. The Apple Hidden Files Widget. Toggle the hidden files with one click, works for me. Widget
2. Use a third party app for finding hidden files. For example, Path Finder from Cacao Tech. It makes it possible to view hidden files without your finder being messed up with all those files.
*

Reply