How do I add multiple .htaccess rules?

[Pebbled]

How do I combine two sets of .htaccess rules into one file named .htaccess and if so, how do I do it?

OK then, though I've been using vbulletin and adding various mods over the years, the .htaccess file and coding still confuses the hell out of me and I need a little bit of help over what I'm doing with htaccess rules.

Currently I have one .htaccess file for a simple seo sitemap, though google webmaster tells me I've even got those settings wrong!

Here's the current code:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^((urllist|sitemap_).*\.(xml|txt)(\.gz)?)$ forum/vbseo_sitemap/vbseo_getsitemap.php?sitemap=$1 [L]

Now if I want to add a .htaccess code to protect against hotlink protection I believe the code is:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?examplesite1.com [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?examplesite2.com [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?examplesite3.com [NC]
RewriteRule \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif)$ - [NC,F,L]

Note that examplesite1.com is my own website where the images are stored and examplesite2.com and examplesite3.com are sites that I wish to be able to hotlink to without being blocked.

My question is -- How do I combine these two sets of .htaccess rules into one file named .htaccess and if so, how do I do it?

Any help as always is much appreciated!

[Dismounted]

RewriteEngine On

RewriteRule ^((urllist|sitemap_).*\.(xml|txt)(\.gz)?)$ forum/vbseo_sitemap/vbseo_getsitemap.php?sitemap=$1 [L]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?examplesite1.com [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?examplesite2.com [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?examplesite3.com [NC]
RewriteRule \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif)$ - [NC,F,L]

[Pebbled]

Thank you so much for the information, will give it try.

I didn't realise it was as simple as that :o

Out of interest, are there any sites or books you can recommend which can provide information on what all the code means?

[Dismounted]

Out of interest, are there any sites or books you can recommend which can provide information on what all the code means?
If you insist... :o (Might be a tough read.)

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_rewrite.html

[Pebbled]

Hi Dismounted and thanks again for the link providing info on mod_rewrite - Having taken a look over the information I think I will give it a read in the morning with a strong cup of coffee!

Seriously though, I like to have a rough understanding of what all the code means rather than blindly copying and pasting, though in this instance think I may be struggling.

Don't think I will be giving up my day job just yet though :D