htaccess vs custom 404

[cometbus]

Hi,

My web host has pre-made custom 404 error handling. So when a user of my site tries to go to a page that doesn't exist they are sent to a page called 404.shtml, which I can (and have!) modify to integrate with my site. However, I have noticed that the 404 error handling page only works when users have "show friendly http error messages" turned off in their browsers. Would using an .htaccess file make any difference? Is using an .htaccess file better than using custom error handling scripts? Could I set up my own .htaccess file or is that something I'd have to get my host to do? Thanks!

shawn.

[filburt1]

I don't think it will since it's actually sending a 404 code within the headers.

You could make a PHP script that overwrites the headers or something though.