Programming ASP.NET 3.5, 4th Edition

Modifying web.config with IIS 7.0

As you saw earlier in this chapter, you can use the Features View of IIS 7.0’s main central window to change web.config for a website or indeed within the machine-wide web.config. Which you change is decided by the selected item in its Connections pane on the left of the window, as shown before in Figure 18-5.

If you select the machine name, you’ll alter the machine-wide web.config. If you select a website, you’ll change the web.config file for the whole of that website. If you select a subfolder within a website, be it a normal, virtual, or web application, you’ll alter the web.config file for that subfolder, creating it automatically if it doesn’t already exist.

Once you’ve selected the item to configure, you can use the Features View to select the particular aspect of the site or folder to configure. Figure 18-2 shows these features grouped by area. You can also choose to view them grouped by category, as shown in Figure 18-12, and this is how we’ll review them here.

Tip

IIS 7.0 is installed with only a limited number of features by default. This is to reduce the potential number of ways for hackers to attack a website installed on it. If you cannot see a feature we describe in your copy of IIS, you may need to install it if you want to use it. The option to do this is at Start → Settings → Control Panel → Programs and Features → Turn Windows Features On or Off.

Figure 18-12. IIS 7.0 features grouped by category

Application Development

All the options ...