Salesforce Docs Portal

Create Custom Object Help with a PDF File in Salesforce Classic

Create Custom Object Help with a PDF File in Salesforce Classic

Add help to your custom objects by creating Visualforce pages that redirect to PDF help files or a URL. No need to learn Visualforce. Just use the template that we provide.

Required Editions

Available in: Salesforce Classic

Custom objects are available in: Contact Manager, Group, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions

Salesforce Connect external objects are available in: Developer Edition and for an extra cost in: Enterprise, Performance, and Unlimited Editions

Visualforce is available in: Contact Manager, Group, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions

User Permissions Needed
To define or change object-level help: Customize Application
To create or edit Visualforce pages: Customize Application

You can write your help content in an authoring tool such as Microsoft Word and convert it to a PDF file.

  1. Upload your PDF file as a static resource.
    Users see this PDF file when they request help with the custom object.
  2. From Setup, enter Visualforce Pages in the Quick Find box, then select Visualforce Pages.
  3. Click New.
    The Visualforce page editor opens with a new page.
  4. Complete the following fields.
    Field Description
    Label The human-friendly name of the page used to identify the page in Setup tools. It’s a great idea to have a naming convention for your custom help pages. For example, start all custom help pages with “Help_” and then the object name.
    Name The API name for the page. You can use the auto-filled value.
    Description An optional description of the page.
    Available for Lightning Experience, Experience Builder sites, and the mobile app Select this option if your custom object is available in the Salesforce mobile app.
  5. Click Quick Save.
  6. In the Visualforce Markup tab code editor, select the default code and delete it.
  7. Paste the following help template code into the code editor. 
    <apex:page showHeader="false" action="{! URLFOR($Resource.YourCustomHelpResource) }">

    <!-- This page redirects to the URL in the action attribute above -->

    <p>Redirecting to help content...</p>
    
</apex:page>
  8. Replace YourCustomHelpResource in the action attribute with the name of the static resource that you uploaded.
  9. Click Save.

You can now add this page as help. When users click Help for this Page, they’re redirected to the resource you set in the action attribute.

Note
Note The user’s browser controls the behavior of a PDF link, not your Visualforce page. The PDF content might display in the browser or be downloaded as a PDF file.

See Also