It\'s possible to setup a magento multistore with subfolders/subdirectories without need of create symlinks?
For example:
www.mainstore
www.mainstore/store1
www.
Take a look @ Magento Multi store setup sub folders
To setup multi store using the same folder using .htaccess.
After setting up your stores in magento update your .htaccess file
SetEnvIf Host www\.store1\.com MAGE_RUN_CODE=base
SetEnvIf Host www\.store1\.com MAGE_RUN_TYPE=website
SetEnvIf Host ^store1\.com MAGE_RUN_CODE=base
SetEnvIf Host ^store1\.com MAGE_RUN_TYPE=website
SetEnvIf Host www\.store2\.com MAGE_RUN_CODE=store2
SetEnvIf Host www\.store2\.com MAGE_RUN_TYPE=store
SetEnvIf Host ^store2\.com MAGE_RUN_CODE=store2
SetEnvIf Host ^store2\.com MAGE_RUN_TYPE=store
Read more @
Multi-Site, Multi-Domain Setup
Setting Up MAGENTO with Multiple Websites or store