Map Local Tool
The Map Local tool enables you to use local files as if they were part of a remote website. You can develop your files locally and test them as if they were live. The contents of the local file is returned to the client as if it was the normal remote response.
Map Local can greatly speed development and testing in the case where you would otherwise have to upload files to a website to test the results. With Map Local you can test safely in your development environment.
Dynamic files
Dynamic files, such as files containing server-side scripting, aren't executed by Map Local so if there is any script in the file that script will be returned to the browser as is – probably not the intended result.
If you'd like to use dynamic files as if they were part of a remote website, see the Map Remote tool.
How it works
When a request matches a Map Local mapping it checks for a local file matching the path. It does not include the query string, if there is one. If the requested file is found locally then it is returned as the response, as if it was loaded from the remote site so it is transparent to the client. If the requested file isn't found locally then the request will be served by the website as usual.
Examples
If you are testing css, swf or image changes you can map those file types to your local development copy of the website so you can browse the live site with all your development assets. Create a mapping from live.com/*.css to the root of your local development copy, and similar mappings for the other file types. Alternatively you can map whole directories or individual files as required.
Location Matching
Each location match may contain protocol, host, port and path patterns to match specific URLs. Locations may include wildcards. More help for creating location matches may be found when you add a new location to this tool.