In Salesforce, Objects are referred as database tables, fields in Salesforce are referred as columns and records are the Rows. For every Salesforce object, Identity, system, and name fields are standard. In Salesforce.com, every standard object comes with a set of predefined, standard fields. Standard objects can be customized by adding relevant custom fields. Custom fields can also be added to custom objects.
Different fields in Salesforce?
There are two types of fields:
- Standard fields
- Custom fields
Standard fields
Standard fields are predefined fields that are included within the Salesforce application. These fields can neither be edited nor be deleted, but non-required standard fields can be removed from page layouts whenever needed. Both standard and custom objects contain a few common standard fields such as Name, CreateDate, LastModifiedDate, and Owner fields.
Custom fields
Custom fields are unique to your business needs. These fields can be created and deleted. Creating custom fields helps in storing the information that is necessary for your organization. Custom fields are identified by a __c suffix. Every field has a data type. A data type of a field indicates what kind of information the field can store. There are various data types such as ID, String, Boolean, and Double.
What are the different field types in Salesforce?
| Field Type | Description |
| Address | A compound data type that contains address field data |
| AnyType | A polymorphic data type that returns a string, picklist, reference, Boolean, currency, int, double, percent, ID, date, DateTime, URL, or email data depending on the kind of field involved |
| Calculated | A field that is defined by a formula |
| Combobox | A Combobox, which includes a set of enumerated values and allows the user to specify a value, not on the list |
| Currency | Currency values |
| DataCategoryGroupReference | Reference to a data category group or a category unique name |
| Email addresses | |
| EncryptedString | An encrypted text field that contains any combination of letters/numbers/symbols stored in an encrypted form; you can set up a maximum length of up to 175 characters; available in API versions 11.0 and later |
| ID | A primary key field for an object |
| JunctionIdList | A string array of referenced ID values representing the many-to-many relationship of an underlying junction entity; you have to query and manipulate the string array to query and manipulate the underlying junction entities in a single API call |
| Location | A compound data type that contains latitude and longitude values for geolocation fields |
| Master-record | When records are merged, the ID of the record that is saved (the other records are deleted) |
| Multi-picklist | Multi-select picklist includes a set of enumerated values from which multiple values can be selected |
| Percent | Percentage values |
| Phone | Phone numbers; values can include alphabetic characters; client applications are responsible for phone number formatting |
| Picklist | Picklist includes a set of enumerated values from which one value can be selected |
| Reference | Cross-references to a different object; analogous to a foreign key field in SQL |
| Textarea | A string that is displayed as a multi-line text field |
| URL | URL values; usually, client applications should display these as hyperlinks |
In our next Salesforce admin tutorial, we will learn about How to create a custom field in Salesforce.