How can I re-map a static path from one location to another in ASP.NET MVC?

Question

If I have a folder full of static content, say "/Content1/CSS", but I wish for it to be served to the client as say "/Content2/CSS" is there a way I can do this programatically where route registration typically occurs in an ASP.NET MVC application?

I understand that I can use MapRoute to map URLs to areas, controllers, and actions, and I understand I can use MapPageRoute to map URLs to individual static files. But I'm looking for a way to map a whole folder at once, without having to remap each static file so that I can for example serve all the static content under the physical path from the new virtual path.

Chris Pratt · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-06 17:55:53Z

2

By default, any URL with a file extension will bypass the MVC routing infrastructure entirely and be served directly by IIS. While you can disable this, not only is it kind of a pain, but it also slows down your application. There's a non-trivial amount of work MVC has to do to just to service a route, while letting IIS serve static files directly bypasses all that.

If you want to redirect requests from one location to another, that's a job for the URL Rewrite Module in IIS. Just create a permanent redirect from /Content1/CSS to /Content2/CSS and you're done.

answered Jul 6, 2015 at 17:55

Chris Pratt

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2 Comments

Erik Philips Over a year ago

I can't imagine a CSS file or any other file being different (between file types) when MVC serves them instead of directly from IIS. That being said, according to Can asp.net-mvc return an image the overhead is only about 1-2ms, not something to worry over unless you're website has a large number of people. However I would highly recommend using the URL Rewrite, that is why it was written.

Chris Pratt Over a year ago

True, the overhead can be trivial, but I prefer to just rule the idea out completely. Unless there's actually a use case for serving via MVC (generating an image dynamically, tracking downloads, etc.), there's no point making MVC do work when IIS can handle it directly via rewrites.

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