Hi Folks, I am successful to map an external directory by creating an xml file like : <Context path="/uploads" docBase="C:\uploads\photos" crossContext="true"/> And I named this xml file as uploads.xml and saved under "#Tomcat\conf\Catalina\localhost" here # = Directory where Tomcat has been installed. And when I start Tomcat(5) from cammand line (batch file) i.e. startup.bat The images can be accessed normally like "http://localhost:8080/uploads/user1.png" It works. Actually I am using IntelliJ Idea 8 for devevelopment. When I start Tomcat from IntelliJ Idea, I am not able to access the context i.e. the images. "http://localhost:8080/uploads/user1.png" It shows "HTTP 400 Bad Request" The context path for my project is "http://localhost:8080/spark/" Any help or suggestion is needed at the earliest time. Looking forward to as many appreciative responses as possible. Thanx Pink