How do I upload an .htaccess file?

Answer by:  Andrew Hickl, Aplus.Net Knowledge Base Support

.htaccess files can be uploaded to any directory in your web space that is available via the Internet. Keep in mind that .htaccess files affect the entire directory that they are stored in, including all of the directory’s subdirectories.  (For example, if you uploaded an .htaccess file to an html/ directory that contains images/ and downloads/ directories, the .htaccess would affect not only the html/ directory, but also html/images/ and html/downloads/ as well.)

For this reason, we ask that you be very careful when you upload a .htaccess file to your web space’s root directory, as it will affect all of the files and directories found in your entire web space.

Here’s how to upload a .htaccess file to your web space:

I. Using an FTP Client:

1. Open your FTP client and establish a connection to your web space using your FTP Username and FTP Password. Your connection URL should be www.yourdomainname.com (where ‘yourdomainname.com’ = the actual name of your domain).
2. Browse to the directory that you’d like to customize.
3. Set your upload settings to ASCII.  (Uploading .htaccess files in ‘binary’ format may have unexpected consequences.)
4. Upload your .htaccess file from your local computer.
5. After the upload is completed, you may need to change the file permissions for the .htaccess file.  They should be set to 644 (using chmod) or RW-R--R--.

II. Using the File Manager:

1. Start by logging into the Aplus.Net Control Panel at http://cp.aplus.net using your Registration Number and Customer Password.
2. Select Web Hosting from the top navigation bar.
3. Next, select Hosted Domains and click on Manage Hosted Domains.
4. Now, select the hosted domain that you’d like to manage.
5. Click the File Manager icon.
6. Use the File Manager to browse to the directory that you’d like to customize.
7. Click the Upload Files button found in the upper right-hand corner of the File Manager.
8. Click Browse to select your local copy of the .htaccess file that you’d like to upload.
9. Click the ASCII radio button.  (Uploading .htaccess files in ‘binary’ format may have unexpected consequences.)
10. Click the Upload Files button at the bottom of the form.
11. After the upload is completed, you may need to change the file permissions for the .htaccess file. To do this, click the current permissions (listed in the “Mode” column) for the .htaccess file.  This will open a pop-up window.
12. In the pop-up window, enter the following settings:

• Owner:  Read, Write

• Group:  Read

• Other:  Read

Important: If you have a Windows-based hosting plan, you cannot use .htaccess files.