How do I edit my hosts file on Windows or Mac? Print

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This knowlegebase explains how to edit your hosts file in Mac OS X or Windows to enable you to preview your site on Create Hosting, without modifying your domain name. You may want to do this when previewing your site before migrating, or during development to test the site before pointing the nameservers to Create Hosting.

To view your website before actually changing your DNS records or nameservers, you will need to change your HOSTS file on your computer to point to your designated IP address on the Create Hosting network. Please contact support if you do not know what your IP address is for your account.

If you're on a Mac, you could download Gas Mask, a simple and free hosts file manager for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard.

Apple OS X Snow Leopard & Leopard

1. Open Terminal
2. Type the following code into Terminal
    sudo vi /etc/hosts

3. Press Enter and continue to enter your password
4. Scroll to the end of the file. Type i to insert.
4. Insert your Create Hosting designated IP Address and domain name (also enter the www. domain on a new line). See typical example below.
5. Press esc to exit out of insert, then :wq! and Enter to save.
6. Restart your browser and type in your domain to view your site.

Example HOSTS file

##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting.  Do not change this entry.
## 

255.255.255.255 broadcasthost

60.234.72.71 example.com
60.234.72.71 www.example.com

Apple OSX 10.4.X Tiger

1. Open Terminal
2. In Terminal type, sudo vi /etc/hosts, press Enter.
3. Scroll to the end of the file. Type i to insert.
4. Insert your Create Hosting designated IP Address and domain name (also enter the www. domain on a new line). See typical example above.
5. Press esc to exit out of insert, then :wq! and Enter to save.
6. Type sudo niload -v -m hosts . < /etc/hosts', press Enter
7. Type lookupd -flushcache, press Enter.
8. Restart your browser and type in your domain to view your site.

Microsoft Windows 7 & Windows Vista

1. Click Start > All Programs > Accessories.
2. Right click Notepad and select Run as administrator
3. Click Yes if prompted by UAC.
4. Click File > Open.
5. Change the file filter drop down box from Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files (*.*).
6. Browse to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc.
7. Select hosts and click Open.
8. Insert your Create Hosting designated IP Address and domain name (also enter the www. domain on a new line). See typical example above.
9. Close Notepad. Click Save when prompted.
10. Restart your browser and type in your domain to view your site.

Microsoft XP/2003/2000

1. Browse to Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad.
2. Click File > Open.
3. Browse to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc.
4. Select All Files (*.*) from the Files of Type drop-down menu.
5. Select hosts and click Open.
6. Insert your Create Hosting designated IP Address and domain name (also enter the www. domain on a new line). See typical example above.
7. Close Notepad.  Save when prompted.
8. Restart your browser and type in your domain to view your site.

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