How can I use Apache htaccess to handle case sensitive file names on a website?
I have a client who just moved to a new server and has a ton of file names with various capitalization. It's a Linux server, so "INDEX.php" and "index.php" are not the same. I did some research and found I could use .htaccess to rewrite URLs to lowercase. Bingo! Here's the current version of what I'm trying:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteMap lc int:tolower
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} [A-Z]
RewriteRule (.*) ${lc:$1} [R=301,L]
That code results in a 500 server configuration error. I have read that I also need to change something in httpd.conf, but the documentation on the Apache site is not making sense to me. Can this all be done just in .htaccess? If not, exactly what do I need to do in her httpd.conf? I hate to seem like I'm asking experts to do the work for me, but I'm under a deadline and I learn best by seeing a working example and reverse engineering it in my brain.
I'm really hoping to get this rolling so she won't need to change possibly hundreds of file names. I have, however, told her and her staff to be sure to use all lowercase file names from now on.
Thanks in advance!
Jeremy
RewriteEngine On
RewriteMap lc int:tolower
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} [A-Z]
RewriteRule (.*) ${lc:$1} [R=301,L]
That code results in a 500 server configuration error. I have read that I also need to change something in httpd.conf, but the documentation on the Apache site is not making sense to me. Can this all be done just in .htaccess? If not, exactly what do I need to do in her httpd.conf? I hate to seem like I'm asking experts to do the work for me, but I'm under a deadline and I learn best by seeing a working example and reverse engineering it in my brain.
I'm really hoping to get this rolling so she won't need to change possibly hundreds of file names. I have, however, told her and her staff to be sure to use all lowercase file names from now on.
Thanks in advance!
Jeremy
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
ASKER
Bummer! Ye olde internal server error returns with that one.
Jeremy
Jeremy
Did you remove the 'rewrite' code?
ASKER
Yep. Well, I commented it away.
# RewriteEngine On
# RewriteMap lc int:tolower
# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} [A-Z]
# RewriteRule (.*) ${lc:$1} [R=301,L]
CheckSpelling On
Jeremy
# RewriteEngine On
# RewriteMap lc int:tolower
# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} [A-Z]
# RewriteRule (.*) ${lc:$1} [R=301,L]
CheckSpelling On
Jeremy
What did you do to get the error? Can you access a simple HTML file without error? Remove the 'htaccess' completely and recheck? I'm trying to establish what does work. Something must...
ASKER
If I comment those lines out of the .htaccess or rename it to something else, I can access a simple HTML file. If I leave them uncommented or do not rename the .htaccess file, I get the 500 error.
Jeremy
Jeremy
What hosting or server are you on? What happens if 'htaccess' only has 'CheckSpelling On' and nothing else? What if it only has '#' in it?
ASKER
The hosting company is Verio.
Just "CheckSpelling On" gives 500 error.
Just a "#" character gives no error.
Jeremy
Just "CheckSpelling On" gives 500 error.
Just a "#" character gives no error.
Jeremy
They say they're running Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). I can't find anything that says whether they support 'htaccess' or not. You may need to call them and ask. Try "ErrorDocument 400 /400.html" in 'htaccess'. Pretty much your most basic 'htaccess' command.
ASKER
Yeah, that works. I was playing with it earlier.
Jeremy
Jeremy
ASKER
Also, they already told me they can't help me with the .htaccess file.
Jeremy
Jeremy
ASKER
I found this inside the httpd.conf.
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteOptions inherit
</IfModule>
Jeremy
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteOptions inherit
</IfModule>
Jeremy
ASKER
How about an error? Here's what I found for when I tried "CheckSpelling":
[Sun Aug 15 21:01:04 2010] [alert] [client 71.62.239.244] /path/www/stuff/.htaccess:
Jeremy
[Sun Aug 15 21:01:04 2010] [alert] [client 71.62.239.244] /path/www/stuff/.htaccess:
Jeremy
ASKER
Oh, and when I use rewritemap, I get that "RewriteMap not allowed here"
Jeremy
Jeremy
Here's the Apache page on the subject. 'CheckSpelling' is include but not necessarily loaded. "CheckCaseOnly on" is another option.
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_speling.html.en
Look for:
LoadModule speling_module modules/mod_speling.so
in httpd.conf.
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_speling.html.en
Look for:
LoadModule speling_module modules/mod_speling.so
in httpd.conf.
ASKER
I found it! I uncommented it! Nothing changed. Do I need to restart Apache for config changes to take effect?
Jeremy
Jeremy
Yes, restart Apache any time you change httpd.conf or any of the conf files.
ASKER
GOT IT!
Had to do this as root. Found the module in httpd.conf. Uncommented. Restarted httpd. Added "CheckSpelling On" to .htaccess. "INDEX.php" now goes right for "index.php". Beautiful. Thank you so much. 500 points coming your way.
By the way, any "gotchas" I should be aware of with this?
Jeremy
Had to do this as root. Found the module in httpd.conf. Uncommented. Restarted httpd. Added "CheckSpelling On" to .htaccess. "INDEX.php" now goes right for "index.php". Beautiful. Thank you so much. 500 points coming your way.
By the way, any "gotchas" I should be aware of with this?
Jeremy
There is one in the documentation. It will do a one-character spelling correction which you may or may not want. That's why I noted the "CheckCaseOnly on" option which only affect capitalization.
ASKER
Ah, I see. When I try to use CheckCaseOnly, I get the 500 error. I see it's part of the same module. Did I miss something?
Jeremy
Jeremy
Apparently it's on for Apache 2.2. See if you have 2.0 or 1.3.
ASKER
2.0.63
Jeremy
Jeremy
You'll have to use "CheckSpelling On" then. It's been working for me on two websites.
ASKER
Sounds good. Really appreciate your assistance!
Jeremy
Jeremy
ASKER
Thanks for all the help, man!
You're welcome and thanks for the points. Your points just helped put me over 1,000,000 points.
ASKER
Jeremy