How do you make urls look like they're in the root directory?

A lot of sites I frequent appear to have their articles in their root directory. I don't think that's the case because that would clog it up very quickly. I'm guessing the files are really in a subfolder and they're using something to make the URL look different:

URL looks like:
example.com/article.html

File is really located in:
example.com/folder/subfolder/article.html

How is this accomplished?

 

yeah, it's called mod rewrite or basically just rewriting the url for better seo... see this if you wanna know more http://www.easymodrewrite.com/

 

The thing is I've been asking in multiple Apache forums and no one can seem to figure out how to do it. We can get it to redirect but not rewrite. If you know of some sample code that should work let me know, we're all stumped.

 

Have you considered using PHP?

You could include the whole page from a folder/subfolder etc.

 

My pages are php but I don't know much about it. I only use it to include my frequently updated menu on all my pages. What exactly would I have to do to get this result? For my site personally the situation is:

Currently (actual location):
cineweekly.com/sunday/article.php

Result (simulated location):
cineweekly.com/article.php

 

Just create a new file (you can do this in notepad) and enter the code below

<?php include("sunday/article.php"); ?>

PHP:

Save it as "article.php" and then upload it to your root folder.

Done.

Note: If you want to do this with other files then just change what's in the "quote marks" in the code and the name of the file you've created.

 

The point is, I don't want a couple of hundred files in my root folder.

 

Many websites are based on a Content Management System and therefore in the sense of their being a "www.domain.com/sundays_article.php" file isnt true, the files are all connected to the CMS and the content is actually all stored in a database.

That said, what you are potentially wanting is a URL rewriting which is done via Apache's .htaccess or IIS' web.config

As your talking about PHP I'd assume your using Apache and so have a look at the likes of http://www.addedbytes.com/for-beginners/url-rewriting-for-beginners/

 

We've already covered that we're dealing with Apache and .htaccess and this issue is certainly not a beginners problem because NO ONE on any Apache forum can solve it.

 

article.php

<?php $article = $_GET['article']; include("directory/articles/$article.html"); ?>

PHP:

.htaccess

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine On

RewriteRule ^([a-zA-Z0-9-_]+).html$ article.php?article=$1 [R=301,NC]

Code (markup):

Haven't tested it ( .htaccess ) but it should work as expected.

 

Where do I place this in the article or are you suggesting a separate file that only contains this?

 

It would be easier for you to manage it on a separate file as most probably your main page will not be the same as the one for viewing the article itself.

 

Well with that solution I might as well just place the original article in the root. I'm trying to avoid having hundreds of files in my root directory two years from now.

 

Is /directory/articles/ your root directory ? No.
The code I posted here does exactly what you were asking for.
You either explain what you want to achieve or no one will be able to help you because of the lack of information.

 

Haha, I've explained twice, it's very simple. I can't help it if you Apache "geniuses" can't understand a simple problem. First of all there isn't a folder called "articles", I said "article.php" as in the actual article. Even if you meant for the new php file to be in the "directory" folder that would still clog up that folder as well. There has to be a simple code that will make every url in:

example.com/folder/

Look like (not actually be in):
example.com/

 

IMHO, you shouldn't be asking such questions if you don't know how to explain your goals.

Now, tell me how it differs from what you have been asking for ?

 

You're making this way more complicated than it is. It's simpler than a describing a 301 redirect but the solution is apparently difficult. All I want is my files located in a subdirectory but I want the user to see them as in the root without adding any files or updating code with every new article. That's the last time I'm saying it. It's common English.

 

Good luck then

 

put this in the .php file that you want to handle the articles , it could be index.php or articles.php

Be sure to account for RFI when you use include function

 

Wouldn't that cause me to have a file in the root for every time I want to do this? That would defeat the purpose.