Good Webmastering
A knowledge base for new webmasters

How to view .htaccess files on your server

Most web servers are configured to hide files with names that begin with a period - .htaccess and .htpasswd files, for example. Here's how to configure a few popular FTP clients to display hidden files:

CuteFTP

  1. Right-click the site you want to work with from the "Site Manager" tab, and select "Properties".
  2. Click the "Actions" tab and click the "Filter" button.
  3. Enable the "Enable filtering" and the "Enable server side filtering" checkboxes.
  4. Enter -a in the "Remote filter" field and click "OK" then "Connect" to save your changes and connect to the site.

FileZilla

  1. Click the "Edit" menu option and select "Settings".
  2. Select the site you want to work with and click the "Edit" button.
  3. Select "Startup" on the left of the window and enter -la in the "Remote field mask" field.
  4. Click "OK" then "Connect" to save your changes and connect to the site.

SmartFTP

  1. Click the "Favorites" menu option and select "Edit Favorites".
  2. Right-click the site you want to work with and select "Properties".
  3. Under the "FTP" section of the menu tree, select "Transfer".
  4. In the "Directory Listing Options" section, select "Use Favorite's Settings".
  5. Enable the "Show All Files [-a]" checkbox and click "OK".

WinSCP

  1. Select the "Preferences" option on the menu tree and click the "Preferences" button.
  2. Select the "Panels" option on the menu tree (under "Environment")
  3. Enable the "Show hidden files" checkbox and click "OK".

WS_FTP

  1. Click the "Tools" menu option and select "Site Manager".
  2. Select the site you want to work with and click the "Edit" button.
  3. Select "Startup" on the left of the window and enter -la in the "Remote field mask" field.
  4. Click "OK" then "Connect" to save your changes and connect to the site.