Hiding url

**Toly** · 05-18-2003, 05:11 PM

Hello,

How can I keep one url on the browser's navigation bar while visiting different sections of my site? For instance if the main url to my site were www.toly.com/home.php and I would go to www.toly.com/page1.php while I'm on page1.php I would like the browser's navigation bar to keep displaying www.toly.com/home.php as the url. I don't know if this can be done with the .htaccess.

Thanks.

**jason** · 05-18-2003, 07:55 PM

The easiest way to do it would be to put your site in a frame. Make your index.html page as follows and then all of your pages will load in the frame while the location bar keeps the url of the frame page:

<html>
<head>
<title>Your site name</title>
</head>
<frameset rows="*">
<frame src="page1.html">
</frameset>
</html>

I'm not sure if that's 100% correct (its been a long time since I've worked with frames, so you amy need to spend a little time tweaking it, but that's the gist.

Note that you may have problems with this setup if your users can't view framed content. You could try adding the page1.html content to a <noframes> section in index.html, but then you'll end up with two separate versions of the same content. Also, wit some browsers, when a user tries bookmark your page they'll only get you home page, not the info they are looking for.

--Jason

**Vin DSL** · 05-18-2003, 08:06 PM

Originally posted by jason
The easiest way to do it would be to put your site in a frame...

Yikes!!!

**Vin DSL** · 05-18-2003, 08:24 PM

This might help you, if you read between the lines...

http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive...icstatic.shtml

**Toly** · 05-19-2003, 05:16 AM

The easiest way to do it would be to put your site in a frame.

Well, frames is something I really would like to avoid. Because of the reasons you mentioned and some others too.

This might help you, if you read between the lines...

http://www.thesitewizard.com/archiv...micstatic.shtml

That link shows you how to display your .php pages as .html. Actually I was looking for that command a couple of days ago.

Thanks both anyways. It wasn't really a big deal.

**Gwaihir** · 05-19-2003, 10:29 AM

I'm afraid frames is just about the only way, with the bookmarking issue as the big minus.

There would be another way: effectively having only one page on your website, the index, and displaying everything on that very dynamic page. You'd still have the exact same bookmarking issue though.

**Raven** · 05-19-2003, 07:51 PM

Perhaps this page would be interesting. Its not exactly what you are looking for, but its something similar. Basically faking a directory using htaccess and mod-rewrite.

**Toly** · 05-19-2003, 09:49 PM

There would be another way: effectively having only one page on your website, the index, and displaying everything on that very dynamic page. You'd still have the exact same bookmarking issue though.

Actually I didn't want to show variables in the url. That was mainly the reason for having this option.

Perhaps this page would be interesting. Its not exactly what you are looking for, but its something similar. Basically faking a directory using htaccess and mod-rewrite.

It's a cool trick. Was trying to think a way of using it but there's no way for what I want.

**Gwaihir** · 05-20-2003, 01:17 PM

You needn't show variables in the URL to do that. Instead you'd turn all your internal hyperlinks into form submit 'buttons' which 'submit' a variable that tells you what to display next.

**Toly** · 05-20-2003, 02:25 PM

You needn't show variables in the URL to do that. Instead you'd turn all your internal hyperlinks into form submit 'buttons' which 'submit' a variable that tells you what to display next.

Well, that would affect my site design for one and with so many links I have, it would be a pain to switch everything to buttons.

Thanks though.

**Vin DSL** · 05-20-2003, 04:31 PM

Hahahaha! Hey, Toly, I gotta ask, bro... This is a fun game and everything, but why do you want to fool everyone into thinking they are one the same page on your site. I don't understand why you want to do this.

Maybe if you could explain WHY you want to do this, we could be of more help to you.

**jason** · 05-20-2003, 07:36 PM

I agree with Vin--what's the point here?

Another idea is to use the single index page but put all of your content in invisible layers, Then use JavaScript to turn layers on and off.

--Jason

**Raven** · 05-20-2003, 08:52 PM

I can think of one reason why youd want to hide a url. If youve got a download of some kind and you dont want people to view the exact location of the file.

**Gwaihir** · 05-21-2003, 04:14 PM

I put 'button' between quote marks because it normally is a button but doesn't have to be. You should be able to work with any type of 'look'.

But I do agree with the other guys: what really would is the point behind this wish? I don't mind the mental excersize, but I'm starting to doubt that it's gonna do you any good or that you even understand much of what is written here.

Jason: wouldn't that layer stuff make for a huge page? One would actually download the whole site at once then, right?

Raven: there are better ways for that. You can place the download off your web-root and have PHP serve it up to the authorized user. This means the location of the file is not only kept secret but simply not reachable from the web. (Works for all 'normal' files, only certain types of streams seem to have a problem with it, because PHP messes with the headers a bit.)

**jason** · 05-21-2003, 07:05 PM

Originally posted by Gwaihir
Jason: wouldn't that layer stuff make for a huge page? One would actually download the whole site at once then, right?

It certainly would, unless you tried to dynamically load javascript files to create the layers. You might be able to pull that off with IE 6 (and maybe 5) or Netscape 7, but it woundn't work on any of the other browsers.

Another idea, although I'm still asking why?--all fo this seems overly complicated to me. Use an index.php page to control what is displayed. Then use JavaScript to set cookies that I dentify what "page" you're requesting before the request goes to the server. Again, it won't be bookmarkable and won't work with cookies turned off.

--Jason

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