embedding a URL redirect instruction Options

[Mitchell Rose]

Hi -

First of all, I should state that I'm completely ignorant about all things HTMLy. I'm doing this research for my web designer.

A number of magazine articles and other sites have linked to specific QuickTime movies on my site, using URLs such as http://www.mitchellrose.com/Deere%20John_300k.mov

We've recently put in better quality QT movies, but have left those old movies on the server so that links to them will still work. I'd prefer that people go to my home page where they will find the newer better movies, and discover other ones as well.

Is there a way to replace those old movies with something that would automatically bounce someone to my home page? In other words, when someone clicks on http://www.mitchellrose.com/Deere%20John_300k.mov they go http://www.mitchellrose.com

I could rename these new redirecting movies and replace the old movies with 'em.

Thanks very much.

Mitchell Rose

[Darin McGrew]

Please see the FAQ entry How do I redirect someone to another page?

[jimlongo]

If a html redirect is not what you want, then look at a HREF track in a QuickTime movie
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/hreftracks.html

[Peter1968]

Since you use Apache, in a .htaccess in the directory you store your movies in, do:

RedirectMatch (.*)\.mov$ http://www.mitchellrose.com/

(a page telling folks that the movies have been updated could be added there)

[Brian Chandler]

Is there a way to replace those old movies with something that would automatically bounce someone to my home page? In other words, when someone clicks on http://www.mitchellrose.com/Deere%20John_300k.mov they go http://www.mitchellrose.com

Yes, but a one-size-fits-all redirect is very crude. How many of these movie files are there? They are in your top-level directory so I guess not a vast number. Make each one redirect to a page that offers an immediate link to the replacement movie, _and_ some text about what you've done, and a link to the home page.

You can either simply replace each .mov file with a parameterised script, or bone up on the Apache rewrite thing to automate it if the numbers make it worthwhile.