Why do i need an Index.html to browse a folder on my server?

B

bikeman

New member
I have a folder on my server that has files in it. When I point my browser to that folder it says it cant see its contents without an index.html. Ok how do I create one, or why cant it just list the contents of the folder in a tree format?
I get the following message:

Directory has no index file.
Browsing this site or directory without an index file is prohibited.

If you are the site's webmaster, you can remedy this problem by creating a default HTML page with one of the following names:

* index.html
* index.htm
* default.htm
* Default.htm
* home.html
* Home.chtml

NOTE: Filenames are case sensitive, i.e., Home.html is not the same as home.html
 
You can try to add a .htaccess file in the folder you want then put the following line inside :

Options +Indexes
 
You can try to add a .htaccess file in the folder you want then put the following line inside :

Options +Indexes
 
When an HTTP client (generally a Web browser) requests a URL that points to a directory structure instead of an actual Web page within the directory, the Web server will generally serve a general page, which is often referred to as a main or "index" page, index.html is the traditional filename for such a page.

Your index.html file, works as your "home" page.

When someone types in your URL (web address), the first page they're going to see, is the index.html page.

There may be some technical reason why the word "index" was chosen, way back when the internet started, but that's a story for another day.

With any hosting company, you need to have some type of "index" page, whether it be HTML, or another scripting language.

It's important to have this, to make your site function properly.
 
The index.html file is the default file that a browser loads if you point to a certain directory. To see your files in tree format, remove or rename that file to something other than index.html
 
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