What Is .htaccess?

.ht access The big mystery

A file that starts with a period and is considered invisible. The truth is you can start any Unix or Linux server file name with a period and it will become “invisible” to anyone without the proper permissions. The other truth is .htaccess is nothing more than a text file with a special name.

That’s right, you can use a simple text editor and save the file as .htaccess, upload it to your web host, and if the text is correct (which is easy to do) you will have a simple text file that does magical things.

Granted, there are a lot of very technical, complicated, and downright convoluted, things you can do with the .htaccess file. But you don’t have to. And with this example you’ll see just how simple it is to make the magic happen.

The One File, One Line Of Text, Cloaking Method

This method allows you to use a single text file, the .htaccess file, to redirect any friendly file you want to anywhere you want with one line of text. There is only one exception, if the friendly URL points to a file or directory that really exists on your web site.

This is a good thing because it means you can implement this link cloaking method on any site at any time.

I want you to let that last paragraph sink in.

It really means you can make up links to URLs that don’t really exist, anywhere, and have them go anywhere you want and still have your affiliate ID properly tracked. And you can do it with one line of text.

So let’s get to it. First, here is the barebones .htaccess file (this is what you will find in the .htaccess file that came with this e-Book):

# BEGIN

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d

</IfModule>

# END

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