What is a .htaccess file? The ".htaccess" file is just that. A file called .htaccess located in one or many of the directories in your virtual server. Traditionally this file has controlled access to the pages in a directory (thus the access part of the file name -- and this is what you get if you search the web for .htaccess). With the newer versions of Apache, some of the server configuration parameters are controllable from the this file. When your virtual server goes to hand out a file, it starts checking in the top directory for a .htaccess file, and then checks each subdirectory down to and including the directory that your file is in. Thus you can set the defaults for a virtual server by placing a .htaccess file in the top directory of that virtual server, or for multiple virtual servers at once by placing the file in your home directory (e.g. one directory above the top directories of all your virtual servers). If you have any suggestions for or problems with this website, please e-mail support@mercuryd.com