---
schema_version: "1"
id: 2d036001b51d2d3617a05445bfeec890fbcaedc28da9eb8a595a83e21ac22984
title: Edit a Custom Field
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/editing_fields.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.editing_fields.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: cd9c676fbd6fac6be74bfb3742bf6b80ba108ec85d3a033c48b6410e1469600f
description: You can modify the field attributes of a custom field. The attributes vary according to the field data type.
products:
  - Salesforce Platform
  - Security
release: "264"
---
# Edit a Custom Field

You can modify the field attributes of a custom field. The attributes vary according to the field data type.

### Required Editions

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            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience</td>

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              <p>Available in: all editions</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Standard Objects aren’t available in
                <strong>Database.com</strong>
              </p>
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            <th scope="colgroup" class="slds-cell-wrap" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" id="d196128e65">User Permissions
              Needed</th>
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            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d196128e65 ">To create or change fields:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d196128e65 ">Customize Application</td>

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![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.

1. From the management settings for the field’s object, go to Fields & Relationships.
2. Click the field’s name, then click **Edit**.
3. Modify the field attributes. The attributes differ depending on the field type.
    
    If you’re editing a picklist, you can change its definition and its values. For picklist settings, see [Add or Edit Picklist Values](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.updating_picklists.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Add new values or rename existing values in a custom picklist from the fields area of an object. If the picklist uses a global picklist value set, you can change its values only by editing the global value set. Your changes affect all picklists that inherit their values from that global value set.").
    
    To change the type of this custom field, see [Change the Custom Field Type](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.customize_fieldtype.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "You can modify the data type of a custom field. For example, you can change a field from Text to Text Area (Long).").
4. Optionally, define custom help text for the field.
5. For lookup and master-detail relationship fields, optionally define a lookup filter.
6. For formula fields, click **Next** to modify the formula.
7. In Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, and Developer Editions, click **Next** to set the field-level security for the field.

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

- Editing fields can require changing a large number of records at once. To process these changes efficiently, your request can be queued and you receive an email notification when the process has been completed.
- To customize the way a custom object’s related list appears on a parent record’s detail page, edit the parent record’s page layout. For example, if you want to edit which fields appear on a custom object’s related list on accounts, you would edit the account page layout.
- You can’t change the Field Name if a custom field is referenced in Apex.
- When editing fields for accounts, opportunities, cases, contacts, or custom objects, check for any criteria-based sharing rules that use the field in the rules. A field change can affect which records are shared.

#### See Also

- [Define Default Field Values](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.fields_defining_default_values.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Define a default value for a field. Use a formula to generate dynamic values or constants for static values.")
- [Find Object Management Settings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.extend_click_find_objectmgmt_parent.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Salesforce lets you personalize your object model with features like custom fields, page layouts, and validation rules. Depending on which experience of Salesforce you have enabled, these customizations are located in different areas of Setup.")