---
schema_version: "1"
id: dce28d112925d846c8486544576dd39ae5580e106ecceacc9126a64f7ef2b613
title: Considerations for Creating a Custom Field
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/adding_fields_considerations.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.adding_fields_considerations.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: b8c91b9c004cba66ca81031bf6cce508cfc8e45259722d323d9cd9d70931f9a3
description: Keep these considerations in mind when you create a custom field.
products:
  - Salesforce Platform
  - Security
release: "264"
---
# Considerations for Creating a Custom Field

Keep these considerations in mind when you create a custom field.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition">
      <colgroup>
        <col>
      </colgroup>
      <tbody>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <p>Available in: <strong>Contact Manager</strong>, <strong>Group</strong>, <strong>Essentials</strong>,
              <strong>Starter</strong>, <strong>Professional</strong>, <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>,
              <strong>Unlimited</strong>, <strong>Developer</strong>, and <strong>Database.com</strong> Editions
            </p>
            <p>Salesforce
              Connect external objects are available in: <strong>Developer</strong> Edition and for an extra
              cost in: <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, and <strong>Unlimited</strong>
              Editions</p>
            <p>Custom fields aren't available on Activities in <strong>Group</strong>
              Edition</p>
            <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Layouts aren't available in <strong>Database.com</strong></p>
          </td>

        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>

![Important](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-extend_click-264-0-0-production-enus/5f7d9219-b7b1-4552-8891-f1aba9b289fc/images/icon_important.png)

Important Where possible, we changed noninclusive terms to align with our company value of Equality. We maintained certain terms to avoid any effect on customer implementations.

## Data Types

- Some data types are available for certain configurations only. For example, the Master-Detail Relationship option is available for custom objects only when the custom object doesn’t already have a master-detail relationship.
- Custom settings and external objects allow only a subset of the available data types.
- Relationship fields count toward custom field limits.
- Field types correspond to API data types.
- If your org uses Shield Platform Encryption, ensure that you understand how to encrypt custom fields using the Shield Platform Encryption offering.
- Only dates within a certain range are valid. The earliest valid date is 1700-01-01T00:00:00Z GMT, or just after midnight on January 1, 1700. The latest valid date is 4000-12-31T00:00:00Z GMT, or just after midnight on December 31, 4000. These values are offset by your time zone. For example, in the Pacific time zone, the earliest valid date is 1699-12-31T16:00:00, or 4:00 PM on December 31, 1699.

## Availability

- You can’t add a multi-select picklist, rich text area, or dependent picklist custom field to opportunity splits.
- Additional field types can appear if an AppExchange package using those field types is installed.
- The [Roll-Up Summary](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.fields_about_roll_up_summary_fields.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "A roll-up summary field calculates values from related records, such as those in a related list. You can create a roll-up summary field to display a value in a master record based on the values of fields in a detail record. The detail record must be related to the master through a master-detail relationship. For example, you want to display the sum of invoice amounts for all related invoice custom object records in an account’s Invoices related list. You can display this total in a custom account field called Total Invoice Amount.") option is available only on certain objects.
- By default, a custom field isn’t visible or editable for portal profiles unless the field is [universally required](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.fields_about_universally_required_fields.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Improve the quality of data that users enter in Salesforce by creating universally required fields.").
- When you’re close to the limit of 800 custom fields and you delete or create fields, field creation can fail. The physical delete process reclaims and cleans fields, making them count temporarily toward the limit. The delete process runs only when the queue is full, so it can take days or weeks to start. In the meantime, the deleted fields are still counted as part of the limit. To request immediate deletion of fields, contact Salesforce Support.
- For lead custom fields, you can click **Map Lead Fields** to specify which custom lead fields to map to custom account, contact, and opportunity fields during a lead conversion.
- If your org uses Translation Workbench, notify your translators that new fields need translation.

## Merge Fields

- Ensure that the custom field name and label are unique for the object.
    
    - If standard and custom fields have identical names or labels, the merge field displays the custom field value.
    - If two custom fields have identical names or labels, the merge field can display an unexpected value.
    
    If you create a custom field label called Email and a standard field labeled Email exists, the merge field is unable to distinguish between the fields. Add a character to the custom field name to make it unique. For example, Email2.

## Layouts

- Newly created custom fields are added as the last field in the first two-column section of the page layout, with these exceptions.
    
     
    | Field | Location on Page Layout |
    | --- | --- |
    | Long text area | End of the first one-column section. |
    | User | Bottom of the user detail page. |
    | Universally required | Can’t remove it from page layouts or make it read only. |
- When new custom fields are added to Dynamic Forms-enabled Lightning pages, here's what happens.
    - Fields are added as the last field in the first column on the first field section on the page in top-down, left-to-right order. If the field section is in a container, such as a Tabs or Accordion component, then the first field section is chosen from the first tab or the first accordion section. The “active” tab doesn’t matter. If the first field section on a page is the Dynamic Highlights Panel, then new fields are added to the second field section instead.
    - After the field creation wizard is complete, it can take up to 5 seconds after you save the field for the page you selected to be updated with the new field. This process can take longer if your system is under heavy loads.
    - Standard Lightning pages and pages installed from managed packages don’t appear in the list of available pages for your custom field.

## Notifications

- Creating fields can require changing a large number of records at once. If your request is queued to process these changes efficiently, you receive an email notification when the process is completed.
- Sometimes an error notification email is sent even if a field is successfully created.