---
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title: Custom Adapter for Salesforce Connect
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/apex_adapter_about.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.apex_adapter_about.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
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content_type: documentation
content_hash: fdc251249a8dfd3dbfccde6d8f7c30c1691b0dc7c1df5133b42e7fbd5da33682
description: Connect to any data anywhere for a complete view of your business. Use the Apex Connector Framework to develop a custom adapter for Salesforce Connect.
products:
  - Salesforce Platform
  - Security
release: "264"
---
# Custom Adapter for Salesforce Connect

Connect to any data anywhere for a complete view of your business. Use the Apex Connector Framework to develop a custom adapter for Salesforce Connect.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition">
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          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: both Salesforce Classic
            and Lightning Experience (not for high-data-volume external objects)</td>

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          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <p>Available in: <strong>Developer</strong> Edition</p>
            <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Available for an extra cost in:
              <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, and <strong>Unlimited</strong> Editions
            </p>
          </td>

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Your users and the Lightning Platform interact with the external data via external objects. For each of those interactions, Salesforce Connect invokes methods in the Apex classes that compose the custom adapter. Salesforce invokes the custom adapter’s Apex code each time that:

- A user clicks an external object tab for a list view.
- A user views a record detail page of an external object.
- A user views a record detail page of a parent object that displays a related list of child external object records.
- A user performs a Salesforce global search.
- A user creates, edits, or deletes an external object record.
- A user runs a report.
- The preview loads in the report builder.
- An external object is accessed via flows, processes, APIs, Apex, SOQL, or SOSL.
- You validate or sync an external data source.

Apex code can access external objects, but some limitations and requirements apply.

- To understand the limitations on Apex code accessing external objects, see [Apex Considerations for Salesforce Connect External Objects](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.apexcode.meta/apexcode/apex_external_objects_considerations.htm).
- To know how to use a custom adapter for Salesforce Connect, see [Get Started with the Apex Connector Framework](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.apexcode.meta/apexcode/apex_connector_start.htm).

- **[External IDs for External Objects in Salesforce Connect—Custom Adapter](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.apex_external_id.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    When you access external data with a custom adapter for Salesforce Connect, the values of the External ID standard field on an external object come from the `DataSource.Column` named `ExternalId`.

#### See Also

- [Salesforce Connect](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.platform_connect_about.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Salesforce Connect provides seamless integration of data across system boundaries by letting your users view, search, and modify data that’s stored outside your Salesforce org. 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.")
- [Set Up Salesforce Connect to Access External Data with a Custom Adapter](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.apex_adapter_setup.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Let users view, search, and modify any data anywhere from within their Salesforce org.")
- [Considerations for Salesforce Connect—Custom Adapter](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.apex_adapter_considerations.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Understand the special behaviors, limits, and recommendations for using a Salesforce Connect custom adapter built with the Apex Connector Framework.")