Objects
Salesforce objects are tables in the Salesforce database that stores specific information. In other words, objects are containers for your data.
There are two types of objects
- Standard objects
- Custom objects
- External objects
Standard Objects
Standard objects are objects; that Salesforce creates by default.
Objects like accounts, contacts, leads, and opportunities are an example.
Standard objects are unable to delete, but you can customize them based on your requirements.
Custom Objects
Custom objects are objects; that you create to store information specific to your company or industry.
During the custom object creation, the platform automatically builds things like page layout for the user interface.
Custom objects name contains __c at the end, and it does not allow blank spaces.
A chatter feed tracking also is created during the custom object creation process.
Chatter is a Salesforce real-time collaboration application that lets your users work together, talk to each other, and share information.
The discussions and decisions are stored on the record so everyone can stay updated on important decisions.
External Objects
External objects are similar to custom objects, but external object record data is stored outside your Salesforce organization. For example, perhaps you have data that’s stored on-premises in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Instead of copying the data into your org, you can use external objects to access the data in real-time via web service callouts. Each external object relies on an external data source definition to connect with the external system’s data. Each external object definition maps to a data table on the external system. Each of the external object’s fields maps to a table column on the external system. External objects enable your users and the Lightning Platform to search and interact with the external data.
Every standard and custom object has the following fields attached to it
Identity
A 15-character, case-sensitive field that’s automatically generated for every record. You can find a record’s ID in its URL.
An account ID looks like 0015000000Gv7qJ.
System
Read-only fields, that provide information about a record from the system. Like when the record was created or when it was last changed.
CreatedDate, LastModifiedById, and LastModifiedDate.
Name
All records need names so you can distinguish between them. You can use text names or auto-numbered names that automatically increment every time you create a record.
A contact’s name can be Julie Bean. A support case’s name can be CA-1024.
Custom
Fields you create on standard or custom objects are called custom fields.
You can create a custom field on the Contact object to store your contacts’ birthdays.
Records
Records are rows in object database tables. Records are the actual data associated with an object.
Fields
Fields are columns in object database tables. Both standard and custom objects have fields.
| DBMS | Salesforce |
| Table | Object |
| Columns | Fields |
| Rows | Records |
Data Type
Data type indicates what kind of information your fields hold or store.
Every field must have a datatype.
Field Label
The field label is what you see on the content page.
Data model
The data model is a way to model what database tables look like in a way that makes sense to humans.
When we talk about the data model, We are talking about the collection of objects and fields in an app.
Object Manager
The object manager is where you can view and customize standard and custom objects in your organization.
How To Create a Custom Object
Home -> Setup -> Obects Manager -> Create -> Custom Object
Fields in New Custom Object
Label
This name is used to refer to the object on a user interface page.
Plural Label
The plural name of the object. If you create a tab for this object, this name is used for the tab.
Starts with a vowel sound
Indicate whether “an” or “a” precedes the label.
Object Name
A unique name is used to refer to the object when using the API. Use only alphanumeric characters and underscores. The name must begin with a letter and have no spaces. It cannot end with an underscore nor have two consecutive underscores.
Description
An optional description of the object. A meaningful description helps you remember the differences between objects when you are viewing them in a list.
Context-Sensitive Help Setting
Defines the URL that displays when a user clicks Help for this Page from the object record’s home (overview), edit, and detail pages, list views, and related lists. This setting doesn’t affect the Help link at the top of a page. That link always opens the Help window.
- To display the standard Salesforce Help available for any custom object record, select Open the standard Salesforce Help & Training window.
- To display custom object-level help for your custom object, select Open a window using a Visualforce page and then select the Visualforce page to use as the target of the context-sensitive help link from that custom object’s pages.
Record Name
The Record Name appears in page layouts, key lists, related lists, lookups, and search results. Note that the Record Name field is always called “Name” when referenced via the API.
Data Type
The type of field (text or auto-number) for the record name. Records that have unique IDs instead of names are auto-numbered and always a read-only field.
Display Format
For an auto-numbered record name, enter the display format. You can have up to two sets of curly braces.
Starting Number
For an auto-numbered record name, enter the number to use when creating your first record for this custom object.
Allow Reports
Makes the data in the custom object records available for reporting purposes. You can still create and run reports without selecting Allow Reports; however, the custom report type is not visible.
Allow Activities
Allows users to associate tasks and scheduled calendar events related to the custom object records.
Track Field History
Enables your organization to track changes to fields on the custom object records. For example, it tracks who changed the field value and when, what the value was before the edit, and what it was changed to. History data is available for reporting, so users can easily create audit trail reports when this feature is enabled.
Allow in Chatter Groups
Allows users to add records of this custom object type to Chatter groups.
When true, users with permissions can create records of this object type using the group publisher. The created record is associated with the group and appears in the group record list. When false, users with permissions can use the group publisher to create records of this object type, but the record is not associated with the group.
Allow Sharing
When this setting is enabled, the custom object is an Enterprise Application object. When this setting isn’t enabled, the custom object is a Light Application object.
When this setting is enabled, you must also enable Allow Bulk API Access and Allow Streaming API Access.
Allow Bulk API Access
When this setting is enabled, the custom object is an Enterprise Application object. When this setting isn’t enabled, the custom object is a Light Application object.
When this setting is enabled, you must also enable Allow Sharing and Allow Streaming API Access.
Allow Streaming API Access
When this setting is enabled, the custom object is an Enterprise Application object. When this setting isn’t enabled, the custom object is a Light Application object.
When this setting is enabled, you must also enable Allow Bulk API Access and Allow Sharing.
Deployment Status
Indicates whether the custom object is visible to other users.
Allow Search
Allows your users to find a custom object’s records when they search.
Add Notes & Attachments…
Allows users to attach notes and attachments to custom object records. You can attach external documents to any object record in much the same way that you can add a PDF file or photo as an attachment to an email.
This option is available only when you are creating an object.
Launch the New Custom Tab Wizard
Starts the custom tab wizard after you save the custom object.
