View source for Enabling Search Engine Friendly (SEF) URLs on Apache/en

==Verify .htaccess is Enabled==
Check that your Apache config file allows .htaccess overrides. You must make sure overrides are enabled or the .htaccess file in your Joomla! root directory will be ignored or cause an error. In the <Directory> section of your virtual host configuration file or in the main (<code>httpd.conf</code>) configuration file you must have something similar to the example below enabling overrides:
<pre>
<Directory "/home/user/public_html">
  AllowOverride All
</Directory>

<Directory "/path/to/htdocs">
  AllowOverride All Options=[an option],[an option],...
</Directory>
</pre>
There are other ways to test if <code>.htaccess</code> is enabled if you do not have access to your site's configuration files. Please refer to the [http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/howto/htaccess.html .htaccess tutorial] found on [http://www.apache.org/ The Apache Software Foundation] website for additional information.