How do I set up a server in a local directory?

I have xampp and I can connect to localhost and view a site provided I have saved it in htdocs. But I am interested in being able to save a project in a different directory, for example documents, and still be able to access it. I did something similar in a work experience where it was saved on the desktop and I would simply type dev.websitename to access it. I think this was using nginx. How would I do this in my own device? Can this be achieved with xampp? I don't want to simply change the configuration for xampp, I want to be able to save multiple projects in different places and only have to edit a configuration file for the project.