ASP.NET in a Nutshell

Name

RewritePath

Synopsis

Context.RewritePath(ByVal newURL As String)

Assign s an internal rewrite path.

Parameters

newURL

A String containing a local path to redirect the user silently.

Example

The example below shows how to change the path in a way that is completely transparent to the user. The URL shown in the address bar remains the original URL, and the redirection to the new page does not require a round trip to and from the server. RewritePath is almost always called from global.asax rather than an actual page. That is what this example shows.

Sub Application_BeginRequest(ByVal sender As Object, _ 
   ByVal e As EventArgs)
   ' No matter the URL, redirect to this URL...
   Context.RewritePath("/aspnetian/ShowGetConfig.aspx")
End Sub

Notes

This method seems to be redundant when compared with methods like Server.Transfer, which allow the developer to change the page being displayed. In fact, RewritePath serves a very unique purpose.

Perhaps you have seen or registered at Web sites that give registered users a unique URL. For instance, you might be given a URL like this:

http://www.SomeDomain.com/YourName/default.aspx

Implementing such a system that gives a virtual directory to each user is not practical unless you have very few registered users. Using RewritePath, the developer can essentially remove a level of directory hierarchy. This removal occurs without a redirect that would require a round trip to the server, and without changing the URL as it appears in the browser. Some information ...