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

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"

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

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.

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)

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:

<Directory />
    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride All
    Allow from all
</Directory> 

REMEMBER NOT TO USE THIS CONFIGURATION IN A REAL ENVIRONMENT

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.