apache - .htaccess ErrorDocument 404 not showing up

Question

I have a server from AWS EC2 service running on Linux ubuntu and I have installed apache, php, and mysql.

I have added a .htaccess file in my document root /var/www/html.

I entered this code in it: ErrorDocument 404 /var/www/html/404.php and it is still not showing up.

I kept entered this command multiple times: sudo service httpd restart to restart the server but no changes displayed...

How can I fix this... Did I do something wrong?

Answer 1

First, note that restarting httpd is not necessary for .htaccess files. .htaccess files are specifically for people who don't have root - ie, don't have access to the httpd server config file, and can't restart the server. As you're able to restart the server, you don't need .htaccess files and can use the main server config directly.

Secondly, if .htaccess files are being ignored, you need to check to see that AllowOverride is set correctly. See http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/core.html#allowoverride for details. You need to also ensure that it is set in the correct scope - ie, in the right block in your configuration. Be sure you're NOT editing the one in the block, for example.

Third, if you want to ensure that a .htaccess file is in fact being read, put garbage in it. An invalid line, such as "INVALID LINE HERE", in your .htaccess file, will result in a 500 Server Error when you point your browser at the directory containing that file. If it doesn't, then you don't have AllowOverride configured correctly.