Transitioning content from an old Windows site to a new CMS setup presents some challenges, particularly when it comes to preserving certain pdfs/images that are linked from external sources. To maintain these links without redirection, some folders and files from the old setup must remain intact.
The difference in capitalization between Windows and Linux poses another obstacle, especially when root folder names clash with new permalinks on the website. Specific rewrites are needed to address these issues while also accounting for potential misspellings or capitalization errors.
For instance, there may be a folder named Industries (with a capital 'I') on the old system and a 'industries' permalink (with a lowercase 'i') on the new site. In this case, submitting the exact URL will retrieve the correct content - site.com/industries for the webpage and site.com/Industries/whatever.pdf for the file within the leftover Industries folder.
The challenge arises when inbound links include variations like site.com/industries/whatever.pdf (no capitalization) or site.com/INDUSTRIES/whatever.pdf (all caps), resulting in 404 errors in the CMS.
To address this issue, a targeted rewrite rule is required specifically for pdf, jpg, and png files accessed through specific folders. It should accommodate common spelling variations to avoid 404 errors and gracefully handle cases where no match is found, allowing processing by the CMS to proceed uninterrupted.
In attempting to create such a rewrite rule for the example of the existing folder "Industrial," here is my current progress:
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(.*)industrial(.*(jpg|png|pdf))$ OR
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(.*)INDUSTRIAL(.*(jpg|png|pdf))$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /$1?%1Industrial%2 [L,R=301]
I am still working on refining this approach to achieve the desired outcome. Any suggestions or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.