online htaccess editor

If you have ever configured the apache web server, then you will realize the important part played by the .htaccess file. This file is especially used by people who make use of a shared web host provider to host their sites.

Some of the uses of .htaccess file that I can think of are :

• Redirecting the visitor automatically to the new location of the web page.
• Providing a 301 redirect [moved permanently] to search engine spiders.
• Setting up a username and password to access a part of or whole of your website.
• Restricting access to your website for all visitors originating from a particular IP address or IP range.
  

... and so on and so forth.

I have always found editing the .htaccess file as bit of a black art. Mainly because mastering the regular expressions involved to accomplish tasks takes a bit of practice and some hits and misses before you get the desired results.

Fig: The online .htaccess editor

Now here is a very nice find. An online .htaccess editor which will hand hold you in creating your own custom made .htaccess file. All you have to do is click on your desired options such as whether to allow or deny access to all files, basic authentication, the redirect directives and so on.

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Over 10 power user tips for Vim editor

After using Vi or Vim for a couple of days, ever been left wondering what is it that makes Vi enthusiasts sing eulogies of this geeky text editor ? Then here are a number of reasons which will make you wonder why you hadn't embraced Vim sooner.

Swaroop C H has compiled over 10 specific ways to improve your productivity with Vim. These are the same functionality he found in Emacs and for which he provides equivalent commands in Vim.

The tips include :

Swapping caps-lock and Control keys, using incremental search for navigation, Making better use of the buffers in Vim, mastering vim regular expressions and picking up fine grained text manipulation commands in Vim among many others.

Most of the settings he lists can be made permanent by entering them in your .vimrc configuration file which resides in your home directory in Linux. Of course, if you are still putoff then there is another project called Cream for Vim which will save the day for you.

Apart from providing the power user tips, he also lists some additional plugins which further extends the functionality of this wonderful editor. Do read his tips to know more.

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