Make XAMPP Apache serve file outside of htdocs folder

Question

Is it possible to configure xampp to serve up a file outside of the htdocs directory   For instance  say I have a file located as follows   C  projects transitCalculator trunk TransitCalculator php  and my xampp files are normally served out from   C  xampp htdocs    because that s the default configuration  Is there some way to make Apache recognize and serve up my TransitCalculator php file without moving it under htdocs  Preferably I d like Apache to serve up have access to the entire contents of the projects directory  and I don t want to move the projects directory under htdocs   edit  edited to add Apache to the question title to make Q A more  searchable

User · Answer

A VirtualHost would also work for this and may work better for you as you can host several projects without the need for subdirectories. Here's how you do it:

httpd.conf (or extra\httpd-vhosts.conf relative to httpd.conf. Trailing slashes "\" might cause it not to work):

NameVirtualHost *:80
# ...
<VirtualHost *:80>  
    DocumentRoot C:\projects\transitCalculator\trunk\
    ServerName transitcalculator.localhost
    <Directory C:\projects\transitCalculator\trunk\>  
        Order allow,deny  
        Allow from all  
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

HOSTS file (c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts usually):

# localhost entries
127.0.0.1 localhost transitcalculator.localhost

Now restart XAMPP and you should be able to access http://transitcalculator.localhost/ and it will map straight to that directory.

This can be helpful if you're trying to replicate a production environment where you're developing a site that will sit on the root of a domain name. You can, for example, point to files with absolute paths that will carry over to the server:

<img src="/images/logo.png" alt="My Logo" />

whereas in an environment using aliases or subdirectories, you'd need keep track of exactly where the "images" directory was relative to the current file.

User · Answer

Ok  per pix0r s  Sparks  and Dave s answers it looks like there are three ways to do this     Virtual Hosts   Open C  xampp apache conf extra httpd-vhosts conf  Un-comment  line 19  NameVirtualHost   80   Add your virtual host   line 36     lt VirtualHost   80 gt      DocumentRoot C  Projects transitCalculator trunk     ServerName transitcalculator localhost      lt Directory C  Projects transitCalculator trunk gt          Order allow deny         Allow from all      lt  Directory gt   lt  VirtualHost gt   Open your hosts file  C  Windows System32 drivers etc hosts   Add  127 0 0 1 transitcalculator localhost  transitCalculator   to the end of the file  before the Spybot - Search  amp  Destroy stuff if you have that installed   Save  You might have to save it to the desktop  change the permissions on the old hosts file  right click   properties   and copy the new one into the directory over the old one  or rename the old one  if you are using Vista and have trouble   Restart Apache    Now you can access that directory by browsing to http   transitcalculator localhost      Make an Alias   Starting  line 200 of your http conf file  copy everything between  lt Directory  C  xampp htdocs  gt  and  lt  Directory gt    line 232  and paste it immediately below with C  xampp htdocs replaced with your desired directory  in this case C  Projects  to give your server the correct permissions for the new directory  Find the  lt IfModule alias module gt  lt  IfModule gt  section   line 300  and add  Alias  transitCalculator  C  Projects transitCalculator trunk     or whatever is relevant to your desires  below the Alias comment block  inside the module tags      Change your document root   Edit  line 176 in C  xampp apache conf httpd conf  change DocumentRoot  C  xampp htdocs  to  DocumentRoot  C  Projects   or whatever you want   Edit  line 203 to match your new location  in this case C  Projects       Notes     You have to use forward slashes     instead of back slashes      Don t include the trailing     at the end  restart your server

User · Answer

If you re trying to get XAMPP to use a network drive as your document root you have to use UNC paths in httpd conf  XAMPP will not recognize your mapped network drives   For example the following won t work  DocumentRoot  X  webroot   But this will  DocumentRoot    192 168 10 100 webroot   note the forward slashes  not back slashes

User · Answer

You can set Apache to serve pages from anywhere with any restrictions but it s normally distributed in a more secure form   Editing your apache files  http conf is one of the more common names  will allow you to set any folder so it appears in your webroot   EDIT   alias myapp c  myapp   I ve edited my answer to include the format for creating an alias in the http conf file which is sort of like a shortcut in windows or a symlink under un x where Apache  pretends  a folder is in the webroot   This is probably going to be more useful to you in the long term

User · Answer

You can relocate it by editing the DocumentRoot setting in XAMPP apache conf httpd conf   It should currently be      C  xampp htdocs   Change it to      C  projects transitCalculator trunk

User · Answer

Solution to allow Apache 2 to host websites outside of htdocs   Underneath the  DocumentRoot  directive in httpd conf  you should see a directory block  Replace this directory block with    lt Directory   gt      Options FollowSymLinks     AllowOverride All     Allow from all  lt  Directory gt     REMEMBER NOT TO USE THIS CONFIGURATION IN A REAL ENVIRONMENT

[php] Make XAMPP / Apache serve file outside of htdocs folder

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