Directory-level settings are inherited by all files within the directory. They also override those configured at the site and server levels. Directory-level settings apply to both virtual and physical directories within a particular Web or FTP site.
Directory-level properties are simply a subset of site-level properties. In fact, the WWW Service master properties for a particular IIS machine are configured through a Master Properties window that has 10 tabs: Web Site, Operators, Performance, ISAPI Filters, Home Directory, Documents, Directory Security, HTTP Headers, Custom Errors, and Service. Also, the Properties window for a particular Web site, such as the Default Web Site, has a set of tabs comparable to the set in the server's Master Properties window, replacing the Service tab with a Server Extensions tab.
Similarly, as Figure 28-6 shows, the Properties window for a particular virtual (or physical) directory within a Web site has a subset of the tabs in the Web site's Properties window: Virtual Directory (vs. Home Directory), Documents, Directory Security, HTTP Headers, and Custom Errors . The following list summarizes the kinds of settings you can configure at the directory level:
Figure 28-6. The Properties window for the Scripts virtual directory within the Default Web Site.
NOTE
Remember that directory-level settings for a newly created Web site are inherited from the server-level and site-level settings previously specified. Modifying the settings at the directory level overrides similar settings configured at higher levels.