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

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

[Dismounted]

Originally Posted by Pebbled

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... (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