Is .htaccess Only available on Dedicated servers?
 

I want to add a forum archiver hack, but the hack requires that I edit this file.

Can I add the hack if my site is on a virtual shared server?

.htaccess can be used on any server, shared or dedicated .. but it must be running *nix i believe.

Just create the .htaccess file thats needed and save it to the server. Also...this file is hidden by default so in your ftp app you need to add -la to your remote file mask so you can see the file.

It's still possible, though, for a server admin to turn off .htaccess parsing.

Gutspiller, some virtual hosts don't let you use mod rewrite though. Be prepared for it to not work. VO shut it down on my last year when I was on a virtual server. I had to move to a VPS to get it back.