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The MIME Types configuration file determines how your Virtual Server's web server maps filename extensions to MIME types which are returned to the browser. Your browser then maps these MIME types to "helper" applications or in-line plug-ins. The "mime.types" configuration file is located in your "~/www/conf" directory and can be modified to support any additional MIME type that you desire. Information about your MIME types configuration file is discussed in the following sections:
Default MIME Types
The default MIME type configuration file includes a definition of the
most common known MIME types. The default
MIME types file is located in your "~/www/conf" directory which
is the same location as your "httpd.conf", "srm.conf", and "access.conf"
configuration files. If you need to add a MIME type that is not
already listed in the default MIME types file,
then you can easily add a new type by following the instructions provided
below.
Adding a New MIME Type
There are two ways in which you can add a new MIME type to your default
MIME types configuration file. You can either connect to your Virtual
Server using Telnet or
SSH and edit the file directly on your Virtual Server (using "pico",
"vi", or you favorite UNIX text editor) or you can
download the file to your local machine using an FTP client, edit the
file, and then upload the modified MIME types file back to your Virtual
Server. Either method is completely legitimate.
Your MIME types file is located in the same directory as your other web server configuration files, namely in your "~/www/conf" directory. Here you will find your "httpd.conf", "srm.conf", and "access.conf" files as well as the "mime.types" file. Before you edit your mime.types file (or upload a new copy), you may want to make a backup copy of the configuration file. You can do this easily by connecting to your Virtual Server using Telnet or SSH, making your "~/www/conf" directory the current working directory (i.e. type "cd ~/www/conf"), and run the following command:
cp mime.types mime.types.bak
Making backups of files before you modify them is always a good idea.
The format of the MIME types configuration file is pretty simple. Lines beginning with a "#" are comment lines, i.e. they are ignored by the web server. Each MIME type line consists of:
type/subtype extension1 extension2 ... extensionN
where "type/subtype" is the MIME type of the document whose filename ends with one of the extensions listed. The extension list can include any number of space separated filename extensions. Examples of MIME type entries can be found in the default MIME types file included with your Virtual Server setup.
If you decide to download your MIME types file using an FTP client, you should note that your MIME types file is an ASCII file and as such should be transferred (both downloaded and uploaded) in ASCII format not BINARY. Uploading your MIME types file in BINARY format may cause your web server to not function normally and in some cases, cease to function. Therefore, care should be taken in this regard. Most popular FTP clients allow you to select the file transfer mode.
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