URL Method

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Reserved for future use.

URL Method is the term used to describe the way a URL is formed. There are generally 2 types.
Method 1 = dynamic urls (default) and Method 2 = static urls
 

• 1Dynamic vs Static urls
• 2Url Method options
• 3.htaccess
• 4Step by Step Instructions
  • 4.1If your Pligg is installed in a subfolder
  • 4.2Rewrite rule for categories
  • 4.3It's not working. How do i go back?

Dynamic vs Static urls

Dynamic urls contain variables and are typically seen on database driven sites like blogs and forums. A static url does not contain any variables and does not change. Static urls are easier for your users to read. They are also sometimes ranked higher by search engines.
Examples
Dynamic url: yoursite.com/pligg/story.php?title=storytitle
Static url: yoursite.com/pligg/news/yourstorytitle

Url Method options

There are three options on the Url Method page in the admin panel. Choose Url Method 2 to enable static urls.

• Method 1 = dynamic urls (default)
• Method 2 = static urls

.htaccess

If you enable Url Method 2 in the admin panel you should see static urls on your site but when you click on an internal link you'll probably get a 404 this page can not be found error. In order to work properly Url Method 2 requires modifications to your .htaccess file so that so that the new friendly urls are properly mapped to the actual files they refer to.
There is a default .htaccess file included in your Pligg installation called htaccess.default that contains a long list of rewrite commands that are meant to get you started. But you will probably need to modify this file in order to get static urls working properly on your site.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Check with your host to see if mod rewrite is allowed. If not buy a DreamHost package to help pligg dev.
2. Check with your host that Apache is configured to use .htaccess files (AllowOverride All)
3. Get the latest htaccess.default from the SVN on sourceforge.
4. Go to your admin panel/category management. At the bottom there is a rewrite rule for the categories. Copy this whole line and in htaccess.default paste over You need to copy the line for this whole thing to work right. Paste over the line: RewriteRule ^(all|pligg|category1|category2)/([a-zA-Z0-9-]+)/?$ story.php?title=$2 [L]
5. Upload htaccess.default to your webserver in the root directory of your install. Overwrite the existing one.
6. Rename "htaccess.default" to ".htaccess" (no quotes). Note the period in front. That period denotes a hidden file, and may cause it to disappear from some FTP clients. (You might need to enable showing of hidden files or call it by name when downloading).
7. Turn on URL Method 2 in the admin panel.
8. Enjoy friendly URL's

If your Pligg is installed in a subfolder

If Pligg is installed in a subfolder: (ie : yourdomain.com/pligg/) then you will need to modify the RewriteBase in .htaccess:
Change RewriteBase / to RewriteBase /pligg/

Rewrite rule for categories

Every time you add a new category to your site you need to update the mod rewrite rules for the category urls. Simply go back to the admin panel / category management page copy the new rewrite rule and paste it on top of the old one in your .htaccess file.

It's not working. How do i go back?

If this doesn't work, mod_rewrite probably isn't enabled on your webserver. You can go back to the admin panel and set Url Method to 1 again. No harm was done to any files during the instructions above and your site should operate fine without friendly urls.