Changing Virtual Directory Settings
Plesk Control Panel

Changing Virtual Directory Settings

To change settings of a virtual directory within a website:

1. Go to Websites & Domains and find the website's domain name.
2. Click Virtual Directories.
3. Browse to the directory whose preferences you want to change, and click the corresponding icon , or click Directory Properties when inside the required directory.
4. Change the settings as required:
   • Name - specify virtual directory name.
   • Path - specify the path to the physical directory to which the virtual directory is linked.
   • Script source access - select this checkbox to allow users to access source code if either Read or Write permissions are set. Source code includes scripts in ASP applications.
   • Read permission - select this checkbox to allow users to read files or directories and their associated properties.
   • Write permission - select this checkbox to allow users to upload files and their associated properties to the virtual directory or to change content in a write-enabled file. Write access is allowed only if browser supports the PUT feature of the HTTP 1.1 protocol.
   • Directory browsing - select this checkbox to allow users to see a hypertext listing of the files and subdirectories in the virtual directory.
   • Log visits - select this checkbox if you want to store the information about visits to the virtual directory.
   • Create application - select this checkbox to make the web directory an IIS application. The directory becomes logically independent from the rest of the website.
   • Execute permissions - select the appropriate program execution level allowed for the virtual directory.
     • None - allow access only to static files such as HTML or image files.
     • Scripts only - allow running scripts only, not executables.
     • Scripts and Executables - remove all restrictions so that all file types can be executed.
   • Allow to use parent paths - select this checkbox to allow using double period in the path name when referring to a folder above the current directory. This enables users to move up the folder tree without knowing the folder name or the whereabouts in the hierarchy. If the option is selected, parent path directories should not have the Execute permission checkbox selected in their properties, so that applications do not have the ability of unauthorized running of programs in the parent paths.
   • Allow application execution in MTA (multi-threaded apartment) mode - select this checkbox to allow the application execution in multi-threaded apartment (MTA) mode. Otherwise, the application will run in a single-threaded apartment (STA) mode. Using STA, each application pool is executed in a dedicated process. With MTA, several concurrent application pools are executed in one thread which can increase performance in some cases.
   • Use default documents - select this checkbox to allow the use of default documents for the current directory. The default document is sent when users access the directory on the web without a specific file name (for example, using http://www.example.com as opposed to http://www.example.com/index.html). If this checkbox is cleared and the Directory browsing checkbox is selected, the web server returns a folder listing. If this checkbox is cleared and the Directory browsing checkbox is cleared as well, the web server returns an "Access Forbidden" error message.
   • Default documents search order - specifies the order in which IIS searches for the default document, sending user the first available file it finds. If no match is found, IIS behaves as in the cases when the default content page is disabled.
   • Allow anonymous access - select this checkbox if you want to make the directory public so that the Internet users could access it without authentication.
   • Require SSL/TLS - select this checkbox to enable access to the folder only via SSL/TLS-encrypted connections.
   • ASP Settings - set specific settings for ASP-based web applications.
     • If you are using ASP-based applications that cannot operate correctly under data transfer restrictions set by IIS, clear the Defined by parent directory checkbox corresponding to the field you want to change and type in the required number.
     • If you want to enable debugging of ASP applications on the server side, clear the corresponding Defined by parent directory checkbox and select the Enable ASP server-side script debugging checkbox.
     • If you want to enable debugging of ASP applications on the client side, clear the corresponding Defined by parent directory checkbox and select the Enable ASP client-side script debugging checkbox.

       Note that if you are trying to change ASP Settings for the root directory, the default checkbox names will be Defined by IIS instead of Defined by parent directory.

5. Click OK to save changes.