Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

WordPress htaccess: Open Access to a Folder for Download

If you're running a website on WordPress and you want to allow your users or visitors to download files from a specific folder on your server, you'll need to make sure that the folder is accessible. One way to do this is by editing your htaccess file.

What is an htaccess file?

An htaccess file is a configuration file that is used by web servers to process requests. It contains a set of rules that tells the server how to handle different types of requests. In WordPress, your htaccess file is located in the root directory of your installation.

How to open access to a folder for download

To allow access to a specific folder on your server, you'll need to add a rule to your htaccess file. Open your htaccess file in a text editor and add the following code:

<FilesMatch "\.(?i:pdf|doc|docx|xml)$"> Header set Content-Disposition attachment </FilesMatch>

This code tells the server to allow access to files with the extensions pdf, doc, docx, and xml. To allow access to other types of files, you can simply add the extension to the list.

Explanation of the code

The code above uses the FilesMatch directive to match files with a specific extension. The expression ".(?i:pdf|doc|docx|xml)$" matches files with the extensions pdf, doc, docx, and xml. If you want to allow access to other types of files, you can simply add the extension to the list.

The Header directive is then used to set the Content-Disposition header to "attachment". This tells the browser to prompt the user to download the file instead of attempting to display it in the browser.

Conclusion

Opening access to a folder for download on your WordPress website is a relatively simple process. By adding the code above to your htaccess file, you can ensure that your users or visitors can access the files they need. However, be sure to use caution when editing your htaccess file as any errors or mistakes can cause your website to stop functioning properly.