mod_custom_redirect
Enables redirects from unknown hosts and paths to other locations. The other location can be a known path or another web site.
Redirect unknown domains
If the site dispatcher encounters an unknown host name then it notifies all modules with the #dispatch_host notification.
The Custom Redirect module observes this notification and checks against a configurable list of domains and redirects. If a domain is matched then the site dispatcher will redirect the user agent to the new location.
The list of domains and their redirects can be configured in the admin: Modules -> Domains and redirects.
The domain must be like what is typed in the browser. Examples of domains are www.example.org and mypc.local:8000.
Domain names are case insensitive, that is WWW.EXAMPLE.COM and WwW.Example.coM will both be matched with www.example.com.
Contrary to the domain name, the path is case sensitive. That is /ABOUT and /About are two different paths and will need their own redirect rules!
The redirect location can be a complete URL (for example http://www.example.com/foo/bar.html) or a path (for example /about).
Redirect unknown paths
After the site has been selected, the dispatcher matches the path to the dispatch rules.
When no dispatch rule matches, then the #dispatch notification is sent. The mod_base module observes that notification to check the path against the page_path properties of all resources. If mod_base didn’t find match then mod_custom_redirect will check all custom redirect with an empty domain and a matching path. The visitor will be redirected to the corresponding redirect location.
Permanent or temporary redirects
A redirection can be permanent or temporary. A permanent redirect will be remembered by the visiting browser (and search engines), replacing any occurence of the redirected location. A temporary redirect will not be remembered and be retried on every visit.