How do I use an .htaccess file?

Create a new text file on your computer and save it as ".htaccess" (with the leading dot and without the quotes)

Whatever directives you are entering into the .htaccess files you'll want to add them now.  Some instructions for adding these directives are here:

 

How do I create a custom Not Found page?

How do I password protect one of my web site directories?

How do I turn off PHP "magic quotes"?

 

Once you've completed the instructions for any of the above, continue on...

.htaccess files are case sensitive, so be sure to check the case before you upload.

When you are done creating your .htaccess file it into the docs directory on the server. Make sure it's uploaded in ASCII format (not binary).

If you upload your .htaccess are you get a 500 server error or something similar when you load your site most likely you've uploaded the file in Binary format as opposed to ASCII or the syntax of the contents of the .htaccess is not correct.  Download your error log files and look at the end of them to see what went wrong (log files are located in the /logs directory when you FTP in to your site).