"And just to be clear... you are trying one directive at a time, by editing the .htaccess file that is in the same directory as the "directory" file." Yes.

If I recall correctly, when I first checked the directory yesterday there was no .htaccess file at all (but due to a moment of sloppy thinking on my part I'm not positive).

Regardless of the directive in the .htaccess file (I tried all 3) I get the following results:
http://yoursite/install-dir/directory? gives a debug page
http://yoursite/install-dir/directory/? blank page
http://yoursite/install-dir/directory/ blank page
http://yoursite/install-dir/directory pop-up window asking me about opening application/x-httpd-php

This makes me suspect you're right that it takes a while for the server to see the changes in the .htaccess file. Will try the changes with a longer time between and let you know if it makes a difference.

I really love the script. I've actually been using it for 2 years altogether. I've looked at others but nothing comes close.

www.drstevens.ca/links/directory

Tried a new clean install yesterday on a test subdomain with same problem.

All of this only further proves my point. Either by mishap or design the .htacess file is "suddenly" being completely ignored. Apache is never getting the message to treat the file as a PHP script so it's sending it directly to the browser.

Possibly.. email your tech support people, including the lines in the .htacess file , something like ...

"For months this line worked to treat the "directory" file as a PHP script ...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

then I noticed it sudden;y stopped working, so I tried some variations in the syntax I found...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Neither worked.

What is the correct syntax to use in the .htacess file, or more importantly, is my .htaccess file even allowed to set directives like this anymore? If not, why wasn't such a change to your servers announced?"

Hopefully you'll get a different tech this time, or just maybe that tech will ask someone that actually knows, or heaven forbid, they'll have to research the problem. Sorry, I used to manage a tech support call center for a large ISP. I find flaky techs that guess really irritating.

On a completely unrelated note, I notice you are in Mississauga and your hosting company is in Toronto.. I just moved to Oshawa. Truly a small world.

Nice to know I'm close to the centre of the Dew-Code universe!

I tried the variations with .htaccess directives leaving a 24-hour gap between changes and makes no difference.

Will try your suggested wording with the support person and let you know what happens. Thanks.

I did as you suggested. The tech ignored the info and my questions about the .htaccess file and gave this response:

"The server is fine, there is nothing wrong with the server. The script is either outdated, or needs to be upgraded. Check to see if it's compatible with PHP5. We are not able to support 3rd party installations, so unless you let us know exactly what needs to be set up on our end for this to work, then there is nothing much else we can do."

Can you verify that the script is compatible with PHP5?

I tried installing the script on a second site (upalong.com/links) that is with a different host and it won't work either. It was installed via Fantastico. It uses PHP 5.2.5, Apache 2.2.8(Unix), OS Linux. As with the first site, the links url gives a 404 error and the admin section works fine. I tried all three versions of the .htaccess directive to no avail.

Hrm.. it's really hard to tell them something when they wont pull their fingers out of their ears.

No offense, but it seems like you are dealing with resellers who rely on pointy clicky web hosting widgets and really have no clue how the underlying technology works.

If the tech can't admit he doesn't know.. he should at least offer to email the question to a sysadmin who does know and get his answer back to you. "I dont know but I can try and find out" is a completly acceptable answer in my book. Granted a timely response is unlikely, but 5 -10 business days is reasonable.

The syntax in question here has to do with what version of Apache you run and how it is configured to handle htacess file . There are also occasional nuances with how PHP support was added to Apache, but .. and I reiterate " the version of PHP is really irrelevant at this point since the script isn't even being executed. "

Furthermore, you may not even be allowed to use the types of directives required, if your webhost has customized the apache config files.. or rather your webhost pointy/clicky upgraded something and got global security tweaks they are unaware of. They have full control over what you can and can't do in a .htaccess file. Whether they are aware of it or not, they may be inadvertently preventing you from using safe and accepted methods to create scripts that URL wise, behave like dynamic folders.

I can't help but wonder, do they even know where the httpd.conf file entry is for your site ?

Are you prevented from using all or only certain directives via .htacess files?
eg.. Is there a global "AllowOverride None" someone where in the httpd.conf file?

If not, what does AllowOverride it allow ?

AllowOverride is documented here.. http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/core.html#allowoverride


and for the record, yes I have it running on PHP 5.25 and Apache 2.2.8 using this
syntax in my .htaccess file

ForceType application/x-httpd-php

ForceType for Apache 2.2 is documented here .. http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/core.html#forcetype

Perhaps your host would find this helpful ? http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/howto/htaccess.html