Understanding CI URL Structure

[eluser]Krumpet[/eluser]
I'm using the following in my .htaccess file:

Code:

DirectoryIndex index.php
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine on
  RewriteBase /affiliate
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
  RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php/$1 [L,QSA]
</IfModule>
<IfModule !mod_rewrite.c>
  ErrorDocument 404 index.php
</IfModule>

When I load my home page, everything is fine. However, when I try to get access to the search function (which is part of the default controller class), I'm forced to use the following URL:

http://www.example.com/index.php/application/search

Any idea why I can't just say:

http://www.example.com/search

Thanks for the fast response!