ASP.NET 2.0: RewritePath breaks HyperLink's ImageUrl in App_Theme file when path with slash is rewritten

Rewriting a path with a slash (“/”) in it will cause a HyperLink’s image specified in the ImageUrl property within an App_Theme file to not be displayed. This can also lead to a “Cannot use a leading …” error when running the website within IIS.

Here’s a screenshot of the issue occuring:

This is kind of a strange bug, since doing the same thing with an Image works just fine. It’s only the HyperLink that breaks. I experienced this issue the other day, and it took me a little bit to figure out what was causing the problem. The answer is ASP.NET, kind of.

Download Code: ASPNETRewritePathHyperLinkBug.zip (3.28 kb)

Chris Pietschmann
Chris Pietschmann
Microsoft MVP | App Innovation Leader | Azure, AI & DevOps Architect | HashiCorp Ambassador | Author
I'm a Practice Leader, App Innovation specialist, solution architect, developer, SRE, trainer, and author with 25+ years of experience helping enterprises turn AI, app modernization, cloud architecture, and DevOps into real business outcomes.