[thelist] Usability of .htaccess for passwd protection

[Simon Coggins]

>      I'm thinking of using .htaccess to password protect a download
> directory on a server that's running Apache. I'm worried about the
> usability of this method. Will the user have to re-enter the password
> everytime he/she tries to download a file from the directory? What if they
> explore the rest of the site (that's not protected) and come back to the
> protected directory later?

The authentication works for as long as the browser is open, so you don't
have to worry about issues like this. Also useful to know, if you want to
provide a link to a page in the protected directory without requiring
password access use the syntax:

http://username:password@www.server.com/protected_directory/

Regards,

Simon