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sh404SEF

Removing the index.php from your url

This requires a working .htaccess file, and your webhoster has to support mod_rewrite. So:

    * Make sure you have a working .htaccess file
    * In the sh404sef configuration, set "rewrite mode" to "with .htaccess (mon_rewrite)". This option is found in the "Advanced" tab, which is only visible in the extended view (if the advanced tab isn't there, then go to the main sh404sef panel and click on the big blue box on the right side above the table with the security information).

Finding the right .htaccess

    The .htaccess file that will work for you is tightly related to your hosting company and hosting plan.

    * Joomla standard .htaccess is very FINE. It will work with a lot of hosting companies. You should use it unmodified, at least to start with. Just remember it comes named as htaccess.txt, so you need to rename it to .htaccess before anything. This holds for both Joomla 1.0.x and 1.5.x versions.
    * Joomla 1.0.x standard .htaccess comes configured for Joomla standard SEF system (which makes sense!). To use it with sh404SEF (or OpenSEF, Artio JoomSEF, SEF Advance), you must open it up in an editor, and make the few changes explained in it: If you scroll down towards the end of the file, you'll see two sections, one marked Begin - Joomla! core SEF Section, and just next to it another marked : ########## Begin - 3rd Party SEF Section
      Now the tricky part : you should type # at the beginning of each line of the first section, and remove those # in front of those in the second section, so that the whole things looks like :

    ########## Begin - Joomla! core SEF Section
    ############# Use this section if using ONLY Joomla! core SEF
    ## ALL (RewriteCond) lines in this section are only required if you actually
    ## have directories named 'content' or 'component' on your server
    ## If you do not have directories with these names, comment them out.
    #
    #RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    #RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    #RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(/component/option,com) [NC,OR] ##optional - see notes##
    #RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (/|\.htm|\.php|\.html|/[^.]*)$ [NC]
    #RewriteRule ^(content/|component/) index.php
    #
    ########## End - Joomla! core SEF Section

    ########## Begin - 3rd Party SEF Section
    ############# Use this section if you are using a 3rd party (Non Joomla! core) SEF extension - e.g. OpenSEF, 404_SEF, 404SEFx, SEF Advance, etc
    #
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(/component/option,com) [NC,OR] ##optional - see notes##
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (/|\.htm|\.php|\.html|/[^.]*)$ [NC]
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteRule (.*) index.php
    #
    ########## End - 3rd Party SEF Section

    Note : this is from the .htaccess that comes with Joomla 1.0.x. If you are using a more recent version of Joomla, in the 1.0.x series, use the latest version of the file instead of this one. If you are using Joomla 1.5.x version, this does not apply at all, you do not need to make any change.