help with URL rewrite for a multilanguage site with .htaccess (Apache)

Question

Hello, I have a multilanguage site and I'm trying to rewrite the URL's with a fake directory something like this:

http://localhost/theSite/page.php?id=param&cat=param?lang=en,fr,es to http://localhost/theSite/(en|fr|es)/page/param/param

.htaccess
Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^(fr|en|en)/(.*) $2.php?id=$1&cat=$2&lang=$3 [NL,QSA]

This resolves as a 404 error.

Any help will be apreciate.

Answer 1

You're second capture will capture everything until the end of the URL. So it is possible you are doubling up on the extension or the wrong directory.

Although it shouldn't affect the redirect, you don't have a third capture, so where is $3?

Look at your headers and see where it is really redirecting to and comment back.

Answer 2

RewriteRule ^(en|fr|es)/(.*?)/(.*?)/(.*) $2.php?id=$3&cat=$4&lang=$1 [NC,QSA]

I suppose you meant NC (no case), not NL. You referred to capture groups that didn't exist and repeated $2.