Joomla SEF on ccgi platform: .htaccess problems

[#1]

Hi all,
I've been tryng to get Joomla working on the ccgi platform. All works well, except that I can't get the URL re-writting to work. This is referred to as SEF in Joomla.
After many hours of trying, I've identified a possible issue:
I am required to rename the htaccess.txt file in my root to .htaccess  Every time I do this, the file dissapears (as viewed by my FTP client, Filezilla).  I get a confirmation that the change has happened, and I can see the file, but on refresh, it dissapears from the file list.
Am I doing something wrong here, is it meant to be invisible or something?
Any help would be appreciated.
Also am I correct in thinking that the ccgi platform is ok for this, or should I really be looking to pay extra for the PAYH site?
Cheers

[#2]

File names that begin with a full-stop are hidden and FileZilla does not display them unless told to. The way to do this is to turn on "Force showing hidden files" at the bottom of the "Server" menu.
I'm not sure whether .htaccess works on ccgi, I don't have one on that box. However this UserTools Tutorial implies it did at one time. I do know it works on PAYH.

[#3]

Thank you!
Now I can see it, I can properly change it.
Any thoughts as to if the ccgi platform is suitable for joomla, or if the PAYH would be better?