I am working with a Laravel project on a local development server using XAMPP (Apache). I am facing a problem where files uploaded to the `storage’ directory are not served correctly. Specifically, when I try to access a file via its URL, I get a 404 not found error.

### Problem Description:

I am uploading the files to the `storage/app/public/documents’ directory, and they seem to be uploaded successfully. However, when trying to access the files via the URL:

“`

http://127.0.0.1:8000/storage/documents/yourfile.pdf

“`

I get a 404 not found error.

### Steps Taken:

1. **Symlink Checked:**

I ran the ‘php artisan storage:link’ command, and it showed that the encrypted link already exists.

2. **Verified File Upload:**

The file is located in the `storage/application/common/documents’ directory.

3. **Directory Structure:**

The symbolic link `public/storage’ points to `storage/app/public’ as expected.

4. **Permission:**

I tried setting permissions using `chmod -R 755 repository` but it was not recognized on Windows. I checked the file permissions and they seem correct.

5. **Apache Configuration:**

Ensure that the Apache configuration allows serving static files. Here is the relevant part of `httpd.conf`:

“` apache

<Directory “D:/Academic Affairs/Hall Reservation/Hall Reservation-System 3/name/Hall-Book/Public” >

Let everything pass

All must be given

</Directory>

“`

6. **.htaccess file:**

Verify that the `.htaccess’ file in the “public” directory is set up correctly.

### Additional Information:

– **Server Setup:** XAMPP (Apache) on Windows.

– **Laravel version:** [specify your Laravel version]

– **File location:** `storage/app/public/documents/yourfile.pdf`

### Question:

What steps should I take to resolve this issue? Why can’t files in the `storage’ directory be accessed via the URL, even though the symbolic link is set correctly?

Any help or guidance to resolve this issue would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!