--- schema_version: "1" id: 8c6c470ca3277e8f794b38b663d7c47164e35301445c4cda20f24025f80167d8 title: Create and Edit Custom Headers collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/xcloud/264-0-0/nc_create_custom_headers.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.nc_create_custom_headers.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 8491895b4c217c2e55f5c5e99df9487f76f1086cd2e259b166816f172c36c6c1 description: Use custom headers to make unique secure connections to external data sources. products: - Security release: "264" --- # Create and Edit Custom Headers Use custom headers to make unique secure connections to external data sources. ### Required Editions
Available in: both Salesforce Classic (not available in all orgs) and Lightning Experience
Available in: all editions
User Permissions Needed
To view named credentials: View Setup and Configuration
To create, edit, or delete named credentials: Manage Named Credentials or Customize Applications
Before you create custom headers, note the following. - You can use custom headers in named credentials and external credentials. If you create custom headers for both, a single callout combines them. - Headers are sorted by source and sequence number. Headers from named credentials are placed before headers from external credentials. - Headers from named credentials overwrite headers from external credentials if the names duplicate. - Headers are allowed to have duplicate header names if they’re from the same source. To create custom headers: 1. From [Setup](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.basics_nav_setup.htm&type=5&language=en_US), use the Quick Find box to find and select **Named Credentials**. 2. Click either **Named Credentials** or **External Credentials**. 3. If you’re creating a custom header, click **New**. If you’re editing an existing custom header, select **Edit** from the Actions menu dropdown for that header. 4. Fill in the fields for the custom header.
Field Description
Name The name of the custom header for this credential.
Value

The value of the header, evaluated as a formula. For more on setting custom header values, see Use API Keys in Custom Headers with Named Credentials, Use Custom Headers for Basic Authentication with Named Credentials, and Use Named Credential Formula Functions in Custom Headers.

If you’re using a formula in a custom header and you’ve chosen Named Principal as your identity type, don’t use $User in the formula.
Sequence Number A number that determines the order in which headers are sent out in the callout. Headers with lower numbers are sent out first.
5. Save the custom header. By default, Salesforce generates a standard authorization header for each callout to a named-credential-defined endpoint. After you create a custom header, disable **Generate Authorization Header** in the associated named credential. #### See Also - [Named Credentials](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.named_credentials_about.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Intended to secure and simplify authenticated API callouts to external systems, a named credential specifies the URL of a callout endpoint and its required authentication parameters in one definition. To streamline your Apex code and simplify the setup of authenticated callouts, specify a named credential as the callout endpoint.") - [Create Named Credentials and External Credentials](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.nc_named_creds_and_ext_creds.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "To simplify the setup of authenticated callouts, create an external credential to specify an authentication protocol and then specify a named credential as the callout endpoint. Add custom headers to cover more use cases and security requirements. Use a permission set or profile to grant access so that users can make authenticated callouts. You can create and configure named credentials programmatically or through the Salesforce UI.") - [Use Custom Headers with Credentials](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.nc_cred_custom_headers.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Add custom headers to external credentials to cover more use cases and security requirements. With custom headers, you can set your own parameters for authentication.")