---
schema_version: "1"
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title: Best Practices for Static Resources
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locale: en-us
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---

# Best Practices for Static Resources

## Displaying the Content of a Static Resource with the `action` Attribute on `<apex:page>`

You can use the `action` attribute on a `<apex:page>` component to redirect from a Visualforce page to a static resource. This functionality allows you to add rich, custom help to your Visualforce pages. For example, to redirect a user to a PDF:

1.  Upload the PDF as a static resource named `customhelp`.
2.  Create the following page:

    <!-- otherprops: resourcename=customhelp apex_page set_clipboard -->
    ```markup
    <apex:page sidebar="false" showHeader="false" standardStylesheets="false" 
          action="{!URLFOR($Resource.customhelp)}">
    </apex:page>
    ```


Notice that the static resource reference is wrapped in a `URLFOR` function. Without that, the page does not redirect properly.

This redirect is not limited to PDF files. You can also redirect a page to the content of any static resource. For example, you can create a static resource that includes an entire help system composed of many HTML files mixed with JavaScript, images, and other multimedia files. As long as there is a single entry point, the redirect works. For example:

1.  Create a zip file that includes your help content.
2.  Upload the zip file as a static resource named `customhelpsystem`.
3.  Create the following page:

    <!-- otherprops: resourcename=customhelpsystem apex_page set_clipboard -->
    ```markup
    <apex:page sidebar="false" showHeader="false" standardStylesheets="false" 
          action="{!URLFOR($Resource.customhelpsystem, 'index.htm')}">
    </apex:page>
    ```


When a user visits the page, the index.htm file in the static resource displays.

**See Also**  


-   [Using Static Resources](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-pages-developers-guide/resources/pages-resources.md)