MIME Types
MIME types tell browsers how to handle specific extensions.
Most MIME types are set globally on the server. For
example, the text/html MIME type equates to htm, html,
and shtml extensions on most servers, and this tells
your browser to interpret all files with those extensions
as HTML files. You can alter or add new MIME types specifically
for your site (note that you can not alter the global
MIME type values, only add to them). MIME types are
often used to handle new technologies as they appear.
When WAP technology first appeared no one had these
extensions set up on their server. With MIME types,
however, you could have set it up yourself and begun
serving WAP pages immediately.
Warning: Make sure you check the
list of pre-existing MIME types before adding new ones.
Check with your hosting administrator before
adding a MIME type, as they can easily alter the correct
functioning of your web site.
Note: People often get confused as
to the difference between MIME types and Apache handlers.
Basically, MIME types tell your browser
how to handle files, while Apache handlers tell the
server how to handle files.
To add a MIME type:
-
Click on the MIME Types button
on the home page.
-
Enter the MIME type that you want to add in the
MIME Type field. Have a look at
the list of system-wide MIME types to show you how
to add a new one or add to a pre-existing one.
-
Enter the file extension in the Extension(s)
field.
-
Click on the Add button.
Topics:
Deleting a MIME type
Family Website Hosting
