Learn All About Objects and Fields in Salesforce | Salesforce Developer Guide

Objects

Objects are database tables that allow us to store data and information specific to the organization in Salesforce.
We can store data and information unique to the organization in Salesforce by using objects, which are database tables.
Users can interact with data by using objects.
The concept of objects is similar to database table.
Object fields are similar in concept to a database column.
Records in objects are similar in concept to a database row.

Types of Objects

There are two types of objects in Salesforce:
- Standard Objects
- Custom Objects

Standard Objects

Standard objects are the kind of objects that are provided by salesforce.com.
Standard Objects are the objects which already exist in the Salesforce platform to manage the configurations and settings of the environment.
Account, Contact, and User are some of the various standard objects provided by the salesforce.
We can customize the standard objects with the help of custom fields.

Custom Objects

Custom Objects are those objects that are created by users to store information that’s specific to the company or industry.
User can add all the fields required in the custom objects.

Don't forget to check out: Find Newly Created Fields in Salesforce

Fields

Fields in Salesforce represent what the columns represent in relational databases.
Field can store data values which are required for a particular object in a record.
Every standard and custom object has fields attached to it.

Types Of Fields

There are two types of fields in the Salesforce:
- Standard Fields
- Custom Fields

Standard Fields

Standard fields are predefined fields that are included as standard within the Salesforce application.
Standard fields cannot 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.
For example - Name, CreateDate, LastModifiedDate, and Owner fields.

Custom Fields

Custom Fields are the fields that are created by the user on standard or custom objects according to their requirements.
Every field has a data type.
A data type indicates what kind of information the field stores.
Salesforce supports a bunch of different data types.

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The custom fields provided by Salesforce are:

Auto Number – Auto Number is used to assign a unique number to every record automatically.
Checkbox – Checkbox allows a user to check a box, indicating a true or false attribute of a record.
Currency – Currency helps the user to enter a currency amount.
Date – Date allows users to enter a date or pick a date from popup calendar.
Date/Time - Date/Time allows users to enter a date or pick a date from popup calendar. They can also add the current date and time by clicking the date and time link next to the field.
Email – Email allows users to enter an email address of up to 80 characters, which is validated to ensure proper format.
Geolocation – Geolocation allows users to specify a location by its latitude and longitude.
Number – Number allows users to enter any number. The number is treated as real number and any leading zeroes are removed. Percent – Percent allows users to enter a percentage number as a decimal.
Phone – Phone allows users to enter any phone number. Character limit is 40.
Picklist – Picklist allows users to select a single value from a list that you defined.
Picklist(Multi-select) - Picklist(Multi-select) allows users to select more than one value from a list that you defined.
Text – Text allows users to enter any combination of letters, numbers or symbols.
Text(Encrypted) - Text(Encrypted) allows users to enter any combination of letters, numbers or symbols.
Text Area - Text Area allows users to enter characters that display on separate lines similar to a Description field.
Text Area(Long) - Text Area(Long) allows users to enter up to 131,072 characters that display on separate lines similar to a Description field. You can set the length of this field type to a lower limit, if desired. Any length from 256 to 131,072 characters is allowed. The default is 32,768 characters.
Text Area(Rich) - With the use of a toolbar, users can format the field content and add images and hyperlinks. The toolbar allows the user to undo, redo, bold, italicize, underline, strike-out, add a hyperlink, upload or link to an image, modify alignment, add a numbered or non-numbered list, indent and outdent.
Url - Url allows users to enter to enter up to 255 characters of any valid website address.