Directory-Level Administration

Directory-level settings are inherited by all files within the directory. They also override those settings 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 dialog box that has 10 tabs: Web Site, Operators, Performance, ISAPI Filters, Home Directory, Documents, Directory Security, HTTP Headers, Custom Errors, and Service. Also, the Properties dialog box 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 dialog box, replacing the Service tab with a Server Extensions tab.

Similarly, as Figure 29-6 shows, the Properties dialog box for a particular virtual (or physical) directory within a Web site has a subset of the tabs in the Web site's Properties dialog box: 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:

• Location of content for the directory (local directory, network share, or redirection to a URL)
• Access permissions (script source access, read, write, directory browsing, log visits, and index this resource)
• Application settings (application name, starting point, execute permissions, and so on)
• Default documents and document footers
• Anonymous access and authentication control
• IP address and domain name restrictions
• Secure communications using SSL
• Content expiration
• Custom HTTP headers
• Content rating
• MIME mappings
• Custom HTTP errors

Figure 29-6. The Properties dialog box for the Scripts virtual directory within the Default Web Site.

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.