program will be started in the same directory as the `.htrc`
file itself.
-*match* [*directory*]::
+*match* ['TYPE']::
Specifies a filename pattern-matching rule. The
pattern-matching procedure and the follow-up lines accepted by
To match a file, any *match* stanzas specified by any `.htrc` file or
in the global configuration files are searched in order of their
-"distance" (see CONFIGURATION above) from the actual file. If it is a
-directory which is being considered, only *match* stanzas with the
-*directory* parameter are considered; otherwise, if it is a file, only
-*match* stanzas without the *directory* parameter are considered.
+"distance" (see CONFIGURATION above) from the actual file. Which
+*match* stanzas are considered depends on the type of the file being
+matched: if an ordinary file is being matched, only *match* stanzas
+without any 'TYPE' parameter are considered, while if it is a
+directory, only those with type 'TYPE' parameter specified as
+*directory* are considered. 'TYPE' can also take the value *notfound*,
+described below under 404 RESPONSES.
A *match* stanza must contain at least one follow-up line specifying
match rules. All rules must match for the stanza as a whole to match.
* The mapping procedure results in a file which is not matched by any
*match* stanza.
-By default, *dirplex* will send a built-in 404 response, but any
-`.htrc` file or global configuration may define a request handler
-named `.notfound` to customize the behavior. Note that, unlike
-successful requests, such a handler will not be passed the
-`X-Ash-File` header.
+By default, *dirplex* will send a built-in 404 response, but there are
+two ways to customize the response:
+
+First, *match* stanzas with the type *notfound* will be matched
+against any request that would result in a 404 error. The filename for
+such matching is that of the last succesfully found component, which
+may be a directory, for example in case a name component could not be
+found in the real filesystem; or a file, for example in case a file
+was found, but not matched by any *match* stanzas.
+
+Otherwise, any request that would result in a 404 response but is
+matched by no *notfound* stanza is instead passed to a default handler
+named `.notfound`, which is handled internally in *dirplex* by
+default, but may be overridden just as any other handler may be in a
+`.htrc` file or by global configuration. Note, however, that any
+request not matched by a *notfound* stanza will not have the
+`X-Ash-File` header added to it.
The built-in `.notfound` handler can also be used in *match* or
*capture* stanzas (for example, to restrict access to certain files or