Virtual Directories

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Applies To: Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

Use the Virtual Directories feature page to manage a list of virtual directories in an application.

Sort the list by clicking one of the feature page column headings.

Related scenarios

In this document

UI Elements for Virtual Directories

The following tables describe the UI elements that are available on the feature page and in the Actions pane.

Feature Page Elements

Element Name

Description

Application Path

Displays the application that contains each virtual directory.

Virtual Path

Displays the virtual path that is used in a URL to access the virtual directory.

Physical Path

Displays the physical path of the directory that holds the virtual directory's content.

Identity

Displays the user name of the custom identity (if configured) that is used to access content from the physical directory that is mapped to the virtual directory. If the identity is left blank, pass-through authentication is used to access the content.

Actions Pane Elements

The following table describes the actions available when connected to a server. When you are connected to a site or an application and select a virtual directory on the Virtual Directories page, the only available action is Browse.

Element Name

Description

Add Virtual Directory

Opens the Add Virtual Directory dialog box in which you can add a virtual directory.

Set Virtual Directory Defaults

Opens the Virtual Directory Defaults dialog box in which you can configure default settings that apply to all virtual directories at the current level and below.

Explore

Opens the physical directory (in Windows Explorer) that is mapped to the selected virtual directory.

Edit Permissions

Opens the Windows Properties dialog box for the physical directory that is mapped to the selected virtual directory.

Remove

Removes the item that is selected from the list on the feature page.

Browse

Opens the selected virtual directory in an internet browser.

Basic Settings

Opens the Edit Virtual Directory dialog box in which you can edit the settings that were specified when the selected virtual directory was created.

Advanced Settings

Opens the Advanced Settings dialog box in which you can configure advanced settings for the selected virtual directory.

Add or Edit Virtual Directory Dialog Box

Use the Add Virtual Directory and Edit Virtual Directory dialog boxes to add and edit virtual directories in your sites and applications. Virtual directories are pointers to physical content stored on your local computer or in shares on remote computers. If you want to include content that does not physically reside in your site's or application's directory, you can create a virtual directory that includes content from elsewhere on your Web server or from another computer in your network.

Element Name

Description

Site name

Displays the name of the site that contains the virtual directory.

Path

Displays the application that contains the virtual directory. If you create a virtual directory at the site level, this box will display /. If you create a virtual directory at the application level, this box displaya the name of the application, such as /myApp.

Alias

Type a name for the virtual directory that clients can use to access content from a web browser. For example, if your site address is https://www.contoso.com/ and you create a virtual directory for this site called /marketing, users can access the virtual directory from their web browser by typing https://www.contoso.com/marketing/.

Physical path

Type or navigate to the physical path where the virtual directory content is stored. The content can reside on the local computer or come from a remote share. If your content is stored on the local computer, enter the physical path, such as C:\Content. If your content is stored in a remote share, enter the UNC path, such as \\Server\Share. The path that you specify must exist, or you might receive a configuration error. Optionally, click Connect as to provide credentials for an account that is authorized to access content in the physical path.

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Opens the Browse for Folder dialog box from which you can select the physical location of your virtual directory content.

Connect as

Opens the Connect As dialog box from which you can select how to connect to the path that you typed in the Physical path box. By default, Application user (pass-through authentication) is selected.

Test Settings

Opens the Test Settings dialog box from which you can view a list of test results to assess whether the path settings are valid.