Custom objects are database tables that allow you to store data specific to your company in Salesforce. You can use custom objects to extend sales, support, marketing, and any other business process where you need to track data. For example, you might want to create a custom object to track information about your company’s products, customers, or suppliers.
Salesforce provides a powerful set of tools for working with custom objects. You can use the Salesforce user interface to create custom fields, define relationships between objects, and build page layouts. You can also use the Salesforce API to access your custom objects from external applications.
Custom Objects Basics:
Custom objects are database tables that allow you to store data specific to your company in Salesforce. You can use custom objects to extend sales, support, marketing, and any other business process where you need to track data. For example, you might want to create a custom object to track information about your company’s products, customers, or suppliers.
Salesforce provides a powerful set of tools for working with custom objects. You can use the Salesforce user interface to create custom fields, define relationships between objects, and build page layouts. You can also use the Salesforce API to access your custom objects from external applications.
Creating a Custom Object:
To create a custom object, you must have the “Customize Application” permission. This permission is included in the following profiles:
- System Administrator
- Customize Application
- Customize Application Users
- To create a custom object:
- From Setup, enter Objects in the Quick Find box, and then select Objects.
- Click New Custom Object.
- Enter the required information on the Object Detail page, then click Save.
- After creating a custom object, you can add fields, relationships, page layouts, and other customizations. For more information, see the following topics:
- Adding Fields to a Custom Object
- Defining Relationships Between Two Custom Objects
- Creating a Custom Field
- Creating Page Layouts for a Custom Object
- Adding Validation Rules to a Custom Field
- Customizing Record Types for a Custom Object
- Working with Custom Objects in the Salesforce API
- Configuring Field-Level Security for a Custom Field
- Using a Custom Object as an External Data Source
- Creating a Report Type for a Custom Object
- For more information about custom objects, see the following resources:
- An Introduction to Custom Objects (pdf)
- Custom Objects Developer Guide
- Schema Builder Developer Guide
Field Types for Custom Fields:
When you create a custom field, you must specify a field type. The field type determines the kind of data that can be stored in the field, and how the data is displayed in Salesforce. For example, you can use the Number field type to store numerical data and the Date/Time field type to store date and time values.
The following table lists the field types that are available for custom fields.
Text Field Types:
The following text field types are available for custom fields.
Field Type Description
The text allows the entry of any characters. The maximum number of characters that can be entered in a Text field is 255. This field type is the default text field type.
Text Area allows the entry of up to 3,000 characters. Use a Text Area field to store lengthy descriptions and comments. You can specify whether a Text Area field should use rich-text formatting, which allows you to insert images and format your text using HTML markup tags. If rich-text formatting is enabled, the maximum number of characters that can be entered in a Text Area field is 1,000.
Text Area (Long) allows the entry of up to 32,000 characters. Use a Long Text Area field to store lengthy descriptions and comments. You can specify whether a Long Text Area field should use rich-text formatting, which allows you to insert images and format your text using HTML markup tags. If rich-text formatting is enabled, the maximum number of characters that can be entered in a Long Text Area field is 13,000.
Conclusion:
Custom objects are a powerful tool that you can use to track data in Salesforce. You can use the Salesforce user interface to create custom fields, define relationships between objects, and build page layouts. You can also use the Salesforce API to access your custom objects from external applications.
