Removing index.cfm From Mura CMS URLs on Windows/IIS

While it's fairly easy to find out how to remove 'index.cfm' from your URL if you are using Apache (see Jamie Krug's blog and Matt Woodward's too), I haven't found any information on how to go about doing it if you're using Windows with IIS. As with anything else in this world, there are definitely more ways than one to accomplish this. However, I hope to show you an extremely painless and easy way to set this up.

Since everyone has different configurations, I'll point out here that this should work with IIS6+.

Step 1

Purchase and install ISAPI/rewrite/3 from Helicon Tech. As of the date and time of the writing of this article, it's only $99 per server and includes a free 45-day trial period. I do NOT recommend the freeware ISAPI_Rewrite Lite version since it does not allow for distributed .htaccess configurations, directory or web site level configurations. Other Lite version limitations can be found here.

Step 2

Now we need to create and add a .htaccess file to the root of our site with the appropriate rewrite rules. However, you need to determine whether or not you want to include the 'SiteID' in the URL.

In Mura CMS, you have the option to either include the 'SiteID' in the URL (which is the default behavior) or exclude the 'SiteID' from the URL. You can alter this behavior by simply editing the settings.ini.cfm file located under the 'config' directory.

For example, locate the siteidinurls and if you haven't changed it, it's probably set to siteidinurls=1. Assuming yours is set this way, your URL would would be rendered like http://www.mydomain.com/siteid/index.cfm/path/to/page/. If you change that to siteidinurls=0, then your URL would be rendered as http://www.mydomain.com/index.cfm/path/to/page/.

So depending on whether or not you want the SiteID to appear in your URL, you'll want to use either Option A or Option B below.

Option A — Remove SiteID AND index.cfm

Update your settings.ini.cfm file with the following settings:

siteidinurls=0
indexfileinurls=0

Then, drop the following code into your .htaccess file

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}%{REQUEST_URI} !-d
RewriteRule ^([a-zA-Z0-9/-]+)$ /index.cfm%{REQUEST_URI} [PT]

Option B — Keep SiteID but Remove index.cfm

Update your settings.ini.cfm file with the following settings:

siteidinurls=1
indexfileinurls=0

Then, drop the following code into your .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}%{REQUEST_URI} !-d
RewriteRule ^([a-zA-Z0-9-]{1,})/([a-zA-Z0-9/-]+)$ /$1/index.cfm/$2 [PT]

That should be it. Hope that helps our friendly Windows IIS + Mura CMS users out there.

Peace.

Learn Mura CMS at RIAUnleashed Boston 2010

I recently found out that I will be presenting Learn How to Build a Website in Mura CMS in 2 Hours or Less at RIAUnleashed Boston 2010. The session appears to be slated for the afternoon of Thursday, November 11th. So if you want to get your hands on Mura CMS and grab some basic skills to get up and running, bring your laptop and stop on by.

Pre-Requisites

Because this is intended to be a hands-on session, having Mura installed and running on your laptop is highly recommended. We'll be covering the install process briefly for those who do not have access to a local working environment, but we won't be able to spend any time troubleshooting if issues arise.

Download Mura >>
View Installation Docs >>

Steve Withington Joins Blue River Interactive Group / Team Mura

I am excited to announce that I have formally accepted a position as an Application Engineer with Blue River Interactive Group, the creators of Mura CMS. Anyone who follows or knows me in any way should not be shocked by this announcement. I have been working with Mura CMS since cf.Objective() 2009. (Speaking of which, I am also happy to announce that I have been given the honor of serving on the cf.Objective() 2011 Steering Committee!) In addition to using Mura CMS on a vast number of projects at my day job, I have also been using it on nearly all of my freelance projects as well as providing support for a number of clients. So, needless to say, I have been active in the Mura Support Forums and worked directly with many team members from Blue River over the past year or so. Obviously, Blue River does much more than content management, and so do I. Mura has simply become one of my favorite tools in my 'software development toolbox.'

Whenever an opportunity presents itself, often difficult decisions have to be made... and trust me, this has not been as easy of a decision as one might think. Accepting this new position meant that I would be leaving my position with my current company, Ignition Studio, Inc.

I have been extremely fortunate over the past several years to have had the opportunity to work with an extraordinarily talented and fun group of people at Ignition Studio. It's so rare these days to find a job that does not feel like a job and one that you can actually look forward to doing each and every day. That is exactly how I felt working with Lee, Gordon, Jaci, Greg, Kristen and Jessica ... the people who over the years have been a part of Team Ignition. In addition, I have had the honor of working on numerous projects with some of the best clients anyone could ever hope for. I sincerely wish my former teammates and clients continued success and hope we will continue our friendships into the future.

I do not want to end on such a sad note though ... so, to all of my future teammates at Blue River, I cannot wait to begin working with you! I look forward to seeing many of you next week on my visit to Sacramento, California.

Cheers!

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