URL Redirection

[Wairds]

Could somebody advise why the following code, place in the .htaccess file, is not executing?

RewriteEngine on
rewriterule ^viewcategory.php?groupid=29(.*)$ http://www.testcovers.co.uk/test/toiletry-and-make-up-bags.html$1 [r,nc]

It does not seem to recognise - ^viewcategory.php?groupid=29(.*)$

The website is operating on an Apache server.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

[bsmither]

Not being an expert in ReWrite Rules, I am concerned about the fact that you expect viewcategory to be at the start of the string. There may be something else at the start of the string. Also, a period in a pattern is any character, including a period. A questionmark also has special meaning.

I would try:

ReWriteRule ^(.*)viewcategory\.php\?groupid=29(.*)$ your_new_link$2 [R,NC]

This catches whatever may be in front, such as a leading slash, looks for an actual period, and looks for an actual questionmark.

The next concern of mine is the folder /test/ in the destination URL. Is /test/ a name of a category, that is, an actual part of the category's seo_path, or is this where you have installed CubeCart? If the latter, then you may need a ReWriteBase directive.

[Wairds]

Many thanks for your prompt response. I will try this out and let you know how I get on.