Field Display Types

When a field is added to an object, the Field Display Type must be defined, as well as parameters specific to the field.

About the Field Display Types

A Picklist might have options like these:

Yes | No | Maybe
Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Not Sure | Agree | Strongly Agree
OK | Good | Better | Best

See Picklist for more information

A Date and Time fields might have data like this:

Date: 10/27/2008
DateTime: 10/27/2008 11:30pm
Time: 11:30pm

See Date Format for more information

A Checkbox field is used for a Yes / No or True / False choice.

Field Display Types

These are field types you can choose when creating a field.

Auto Number

Generates a unique number based on simple format rules and a specified starting value.
Auto Number fields default to YYYY-MM-DD-{0000}, where the number between the curly braces {0000} increments automatically.

Curly braces {} are required to generate an auto number. The number inside specifies the starting value, and the number of digits. (In this case, the values will be 0001, 0002, ...)
The YYYY-MM-DD- prefix is optional. It generates values for year, month, and day.
Any prefix can be used.

Checkbox

A single check box, where the checked value is "Yes/True" and unchecked value is "No/False"
To apply a filter to a checkbox, or import a checkbox field, use:

Yes/True = 1 or No/False = 0

When specifying a formula for a default value, the formula must resolve to 1, 0, true, or false.
When typing a value into a formula, enter one of those values with no quotes around it.

Currency

Displays currency in the format determined by the user's locale.

Date and DateTime

A date (Date) or a date and a time (DateTime).

As Entered - The date/time is stored and displayed exactly as entered.
Convert to Local Date/Time - (Default) Value is presumed to be entered in user's local time zone. The value is converted to the System Time Zone for storage in the database. When displayed, it is converted the user's time zone.

Note:
These options are available for new fields in Custom Objects. They are not available for standard Date/Time fields (for example: modified_time) or for Date/Time fields in the System Objects. Those fields are always converted.

Learn more:

Dependent Picklist

A picklist that is dynamic based on values provided in another field.
For example, a Picklist for T-Shirt Sizes might include entries for Adult, Teen and Child.
The Adult list might include entries for S, M, L, XL, and XXL sizes.
A Teens list might include similar entries, while the Child list might include entries for 0 - 6 mos., 6 - 12 mos., 1T, 2T, and 3T.
The resulting hierarchy would be:

Size

Adult

Adult Small
Adult Medium

etc.

Child

Child 0 - 6 mos.
Child 6 - 12 mos.
etc.

Teen

Teen Small
etc.

Best Practice:
Include the entire hierarchy "path" in the entry, so that Adult Small is distinguished from Teen Small. (If the entries said simply, "Small", a shipping clerk might not be able to tell which size was intended.)

Email Address

A text string of the form {name}@{domain}, or a comma-separated list of such strings.
Example: friend@somewhere.com

External Lookup

Lets a user select a record provided by Web Service.
Data returned from the Web Service is then copied into specified fields in the platform record.

File Field

Allows a file to be uploaded as part of the record

Formula

Provides the ability to calculate dynamic values using Expressions and standard Functions

If the formula return type is a DateTime or Time, then the time zone conversion options are available:
As Entered - The date/time is stored and displayed exactly as entered.
Convert to Local Date/Time - (Default) Value is presumed to be entered in user's local time zone. The value is converted to the System Time Zone for storage in the database. When displayed, it is converted the user's time zone.

Note:
These options are available for new fields in Custom Objects. They are not available for standard Date/Time fields (for example: modified_time) or for Date/Time fields in the System Objects. Those fields are always converted.

Geolocation

A Geolocation field is accompanied by two buttons:

[Update Current Location] stores current latitude and longitude in the field as a strong.
[View in Map] allows the viewer of a record to see the location on a map.

Global Picklist

A Global Picklist is a type of field that contains a list of values, and performs much the same as a Picklist field
Global Picklists contain the kind of default values commonly used in all applications

Example: US states, status level, priority, hat size, apparel size, component part numbers, etc.

These predefined fields save time and can be used in any object.
When adding a Global Picklist field to an object, you select from the set of Global Picklists that has been defined for this application.

Image Field

Allows an image file to be uploaded as part of the record.

Lookup

A field used to link an object to another object.
Learn more: Relating Objects Using Lookups
Automatically becomes a Multi Value Lookup type whenever two objects are joined by a many-to-many relationship
Optionally, Customize Lookup Field Option or create Self Reference Lookup
This field type has additional display options that can be set when you use it in a Form. For example, you can choose to display it as Popup or Drop Down, and specify the sort order for the records that are shown to the user.
Learn more: Lookup attributes in a Form

Multiple Checkboxes

Multiple checkboxes are displayed and are associated with a single field.
For example, choose your favorite movie genres:

Action / Animation / Comedy / Drama / Romance / Documentary / Sport / Thriller / Western

Multiple checkboxes can be selected, for example: Comedy, Romance, Western
When you select this type for an object field, a text area lets you enter values.
- Enter the names of the values, one per line, in the order they will be displayed.
- When the user makes a selection, the value that is stored is the text entered on that line. So:
  1. If you change the order later, existing values are not affected.
  2. If you remove an entry at a later date, or change the spelling of a value, existing records that have that value are not affected. Either clean up the object data, or take that possible value into account in your design for backward compatibility.

Considerations

The value stored in the database is a comma-separated list of labels, one for each selection. So:

If you change the order of the values, new values may be stored differently than old ones.
To avoid a Data Truncation Error at runtime, make sure the field is large enough to contain all possible selections.
Calculate the size as the sum of the entry lengths, plus N-1 for the commas between them, where N is the number of entries.

To test for a checkbox selection in a Rule condition, use {fieldName} contains {checkboxLabel}

(Single quotes are automatically added around the label to create a valid expression.)

The easiest way to change the value of the field (for example) is to assign it a value that is a comma-separated list of checkbox labels. For example: 'Apples,Oranges,Bananas", where "Apples" is the label for the first checkbox, and so on.
Use an expression like this one to mark a single box in a Rule action:

IF( ISNULL(field), 'checkboxLabel', field+', checkboxLabel')

If the field is empty, the label is assigned to it. If the field has a value, the checkbox label is appended to it.
The checkbox label is case-sensitive, and must match the configured value exactly.
Spaces are allowed between items in the value-list (but be sure to size the field appropriately.)

To uncheck a box in a rule, you need one of two expressions:

REPLACE(field, ', checkboxlabel', '') - for multiple selections, or

REPLACE(field, 'checkboxLabel', '') - for a single selection

The expressions then need to be placed inside of a nested IF statement to see if either one applies:

IF (CONTAINS(field, ', checkboxLabel'), -first replacement-,

IF (CONTAINS(field, 'checkboxLabel'), -second replacement-, field) )

This expression does the appropriate substitutions of the label is present. Otherwise, it returns the original field.

Multi Object Lookup

A two stage-lookup where the user first selects the object to use, and then looks up a record in that object.

Multi Select Picklists

Multi Select Picklist
(Multi Select Global Pick List)

A picklist containing multiple values from a Global Picklist
Multiple values can be selected from the list and associated with a single field

Considerations

The value stored in the database is a comma-separated list of labels, one for each selection. So:

If you change the order of the values, new values may be stored differently than old ones.
To avoid a Data Truncation Error at runtime, make sure the field is large enough to contain all possible selections.
Calculate the size as the sum of the entry lengths, plus N-1 for the commas between them, where N is the number of entries.

Use an expression like this one to mark a single box in a Rule action:

IF( ISNULL(field), 'checkboxLabel', field+', checkboxLabel')

If the field is empty, the label is assigned to it. If the field has a value, the checkbox label is appended to it.
The checkbox label is case-sensitive, and must match the configured value exactly.
Spaces are allowed between items in the value-list (but be sure to size the field appropriately.)

To uncheck a box in a rule, you need one of two expressions:

REPLACE(field, ', checkboxlabel', '') - for multiple selections, or

REPLACE(field, 'checkboxLabel', '') - for a single selection

The expressions then need to be placed inside of a nested IF statement to see if either one applies:

IF (CONTAINS(field, ', checkboxLabel'), -first replacement-,

IF (CONTAINS(field, 'checkboxLabel'), -second replacement-, field) )

This expression does the appropriate substitutions of the label is present. Otherwise, it returns the original field.

Number

A numeric (integer) field, for which you specify minimum and maximum values. The default minimum is 0. To go lower, specify a negative number, like -20. The maximum value is 999999999 (999,999,999). That number can be varied as well, up to the maximum integer size 2,147,483,647. (The smallest possible negative value is -2,147,483,646.)

Number with decimals

A numeric field, for which you specify the number of decimal digits.

Percentage

A decimal field in the range 0 to 1, for which you specify the number of decimal digits.

Phone/Fax

If a string of digits is entered without formatting, that is the way it appears when editing, but the numbers are automatically formatted when the field is displayed:

7 digits ("1234567") displays as "123-4567".
10 digits "1234567890" displays as "(123) 456-7890".
11 digits ("12345678901") displays 1-234-567-8901

Note:
If the field has more than 11 digits, they are displayed as entered.
In that case, it's helpful to provide the desired formatting.

Free-format text is displayed exactly as entered. For example:

123.456.7890
1-800-COMPANY
+44 7123 456 789

Picklist

A picklist is a type of field that contains a list of values, usually presented in a drop-down list; Examples:

Types of things: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
T-Shirt Size: Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large

A single value can be selected from the list
When you select this type for an object field, a text area lets you enter values.
- Enter the names of the values, one per line, in the order they will be displayed.
- When the user makes a selection, the value that is stored is the text entered on that line. So:
  1. If you change the order later, existing values are not affected.
  2. If you remove an entry at a later date, or change the spelling of a value, existing records that have that value are not affected. Either clean up the object data, or take that possible value into account in your design for backward compatibility.

Radio Buttons

A list used to limit user selection to a single, specific value from a supplied list of values.

When you select this type for an object field, a text area lets you enter values.
- Enter the names of the values, one per line, in the order they will be displayed.
- When the user makes a selection, the value that is stored is the text entered on that line. So:
  1. If you change the order later, existing values are not affected.
  2. If you remove an entry at a later date, or change the spelling of a value, existing records that have that value are not affected. Either clean up the object data, or take that possible value into account in your design for backward compatibility.

Rich Text Area

An HTML-formatted text area

HTML formatting can include font styles, such as Bold, Italics, numbered lists and bullets or images (logos or art)
Formatting tools are provided

Considerations:

<wbr> and </wbr> tags are not supported, as they are problematic when switching between edit and display modes. (To prevent issues, those tags are therefore removed before the content is displayed.)

Text Area

A multi-line Text area that can contain alphanumerics (A-Z, a-z, 0-9) and special characters: / @ . - $ %
Height and width are defined when the field is created

Text Field

A single-line Text that can contain alphanumerics (A-Z, a-z, 0-9) and special characters: / @ . - $ %

Time

A time. For example, "6:50 PM".

As Entered - The date/time is stored and displayed exactly as entered.
Convert to Local Date/Time - (Default) Value is presumed to be entered in user's local time zone. The value is converted to the System Time Zone for storage in the database. When displayed, it is converted the user's time zone.

Note:
These options are available for new fields in Custom Objects. They are not available for standard Date/Time fields (for example: modified_time) or for Date/Time fields in the System Objects. Those fields are always converted.

Learn more: Dates and Times#Time Format

URL

A web address. For example: http://yourCompany.com

Search

where to start

Feedback

customize and design

resources

Tools

Personal tools

Field Display Types

Contents

About the Field Display Types

Field Display Types

Auto Number

Checkbox

Currency

Date and DateTime

Dependent Picklist

Email Address

External Lookup

File Field

Formula

Geolocation

Global Picklist

Image Field

Lookup

Multiple Checkboxes

Multi Object Lookup

Multi Select Picklists

Number

Number with decimals

Percentage

Phone/Fax

Picklist

Radio Buttons

Rich Text Area

Text Area

Text Field

Time

URL