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javatomcattomcat6

Set up 404 page in tomcat for multiple webapps

I need to configure a custom 404 page in tomcat 6 and I want to avoid duplicating the files for each webapp (my plan B is to use symlinks but I'd like to avoid those as well).

This SO thread suggests creating a new 'error' webapp and putting the custom page files in there. But then I haven't figured out how I set up the custom 404 configuration in web.xml to use this url http://host:port/error/NotFound.html

If I set it up like this:

<error-page>
   <error-code>404</error-code>
   <location>/error/NotFound.html</location>
</error-page>

It's relative to the root of the particular webapp that the user is in at that time.

Solution

  • The "location" parameter is relative to a resource located in your app. Therefore it can not access an external file.

    And the plan B is not the best solution because in case you redeploy your app, you should also recrate the symlink.

    You may try for a plann C, using a simple jsp page (in every application) that redirects where you like. Eg:

    web.xml:

    <error-page>
   <error-code>404</error-code>
   <location>404.jsp</location>
</error-page>

    404.jsp

    <% response.sendRedirect("http://host:port/error/NotFound.html"); %>