---
schema_version: "1"
id: 9efbc40e7d27467ced60a84ff0947471828336367208e28e58b232ef84770f70
title: CustomTab
collection: legacydeveloper
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/legacydeveloper/current/en-us/api_meta/meta_tab.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_tab.htm
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 052521d1bdd807b6ba922b5d83dd63817a06168da70a46ca5a96c557eb268571
description: Represents a custom tab. Custom tabs let you display custom object data or other web content in Salesforce. When you add a custom tab to an app in Salesforce Classic, it appears as a tab. When you add a custom tab to an app in Lightning Experience, it appears as an item in the app’s navigation bar and in the App Launcher. When a tab displays a custom object, the tab name is the same as the custom object name. For page, s-control, or URL tabs, the name is arbitrary.
---
# CustomTab

Represents a custom tab. Custom tabs let you display custom object data or other web content in Salesforce. When you add a custom tab to an app in Salesforce Classic, it appears as a tab. When you add a custom tab to an app in Lightning Experience, it appears as an item in the app’s navigation bar and in the App Launcher. When a tab displays a custom object, the tab name is the same as the custom object name. For page, s-control, or URL tabs, the name is arbitrary.

For more information, see Custom Tabs in Salesforce Help. This type extends the [Metadata](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/metadata.htm "The base class for all metadata types. You can’t edit this object. A component is an instance of a metadata type.") metadata type and inherits its fullName field.

## File Suffix and Directory Location

The file suffix is .tab. There’s one file for each tab, stored in the tabs folder in the corresponding package directory.

![Note](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/images/icon_note.png)

#### Note

Retrieving a component of this metadata type in a project makes the component appear in any Profile and PermissionSet components that are retrieved in the same package.

## Version

Tabs are available in API version 10.0 and later.

## Fields

This metadata type contains the following fields:

<table class="featureTable sort_table" summary="">



          <thead class="thead sorted" align="left">
            <tr>
              <th class="featureTableHeader  " id="d890685e107">Field Name</th>

              <th class="featureTableHeader  " id="d890685e110">Field Type</th>

              <th class="featureTableHeader  " id="d890685e113">Description</th>

            </tr>

          </thead>

          <tbody class="tbody">
            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="tab_actionOverrides"><a name="tab_actionOverrides"><!-- --></a>actionOverrides</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">
                <a class="xref" href="https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/actionoverride.htm#actionoverride" title="Represents an action override on a standard or custom object. Use it to create, update, edit, or delete action overrides. You can access ActionOverride only by accessing its encompassing CustomObject.">ActionOverride</a>[]
              </td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">
                <span class="ph" id="tab_actionOverrides_desc"><a name="tab_actionOverrides_desc"><!-- --></a>A list of the action overrides
                  that are assigned to the tab.</span> Only one override is allowed
                per <a class="xref" href="https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/actionoverride.htm#actionoverride_formfactor"><span class="keyword parmname">formFactor</span></a> for a given
                tab.<p class="p">This field is available in API version 37.0 and
                  later.</p>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="tab_auraComponent"><a name="tab_auraComponent"><!-- --></a>auraComponent</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">
                <span class="ph" id="auraComponent"><a name="auraComponent"><!-- --></a>The name of the Aura component to display
                  in this tab.</span>
                <p class="p">Only one of these fields can have a value
                  set:</p>
                <ul class="ul bulletList">
                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">auraComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">customObject</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">flexiPage</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">lwcComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">page</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">scontrol</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">url</span></li>

                </ul>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="tab_customobject"><a name="tab_customobject"><!-- --></a>customObject</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">boolean</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">Indicates whether this tab is for a custom object (<samp class="codeph java">true</samp>) or not (<samp class="codeph java">false</samp>). If set to <samp class="codeph java">true</samp>, the name of the tab matches the
                name of the custom object.<p class="p" id="only_one_tab"><a name="only_one_tab"><!-- --></a>Only one of these
                  fields can have a value set:</p>
                <a name="tab_ul_only_one"><!-- --></a>
                <ul class="ul bulletList" id="tab_ul_only_one">
                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">auraComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">customObject</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">flexiPage</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">lwcComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">page</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">scontrol</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">url</span></li>

                </ul>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname">description</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The optional description text for the tab.</td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="tab_flexipage"><a name="tab_flexipage"><!-- --></a>flexiPage</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">
                <span class="ph" id="flexipage_field_desc"><a name="flexipage_field_desc"><!-- --></a>The name of the Lightning page to
                  display in this tab.</span>
                <p class="p">Only one of these fields can have a
                  value set:</p>
                <ul class="ul bulletList">
                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">auraComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">customObject</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">flexiPage</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">lwcComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">page</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">scontrol</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">url</span></li>

                </ul>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname">frameHeight</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">int</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The height, in pixels of the tab frame. Required for s-control
                and page tabs.</td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="fullName"><a name="fullName"><!-- --></a>fullName</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The name of the tab. The value of this field depends on the type
                of tab, and the API version.<ul class="ul bulletList">
                  <li class="li">For custom object tabs, the <span class="keyword parmname">fullName</span> is
                    the developer-assigned name of the custom object
                    (MyCustomObject__c, for example). For custom object tabs,
                    this name must be the same as the custom object name, and
                    <a class="xref" href="#tab_customobject"><span class="keyword parmname">customObject</span></a> must be set to
                    <samp class="codeph java">true</samp>.
                  </li>

                  <li class="li">For web tabs, the <span class="keyword parmname">fullName</span> is the
                    developer-assigned name of the tab (MyWebTab, for
                    example).</li>

                </ul>
                <p class="p">The <span class="keyword parmname">fullName</span> can contain only
                  underscores and alphanumeric characters. It must be unique,
                  begin with a letter, not include spaces, not end with an
                  underscore, and not contain two consecutive underscores. This
                  field is inherited from the <a class="xref" href="https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/metadata.htm" title="The base class for all metadata types. You can’t edit this object. A component is an instance of a metadata type.">Metadata</a> component.</p>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname">hasSidebar</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">boolean</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">Indicates if the tab displays the sidebar panel.</td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="field_icon"><a name="field_icon"><!-- --></a>icon</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The optional reference to the image document for the tab if the
                tab isn’t using one of the standard tab styles. This field is
                available in API version 14.0.</td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname">label</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The label of the tab, for web tabs only.</td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="tab_lwccomponent"><a name="tab_lwccomponent"><!-- --></a>lwcComponent</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The name of the Lightning web component to display in this
                tab.<p class="p">Only one of these fields can have a value set:</p>
                <ul class="ul bulletList">
                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">auraComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">customObject</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">flexiPage</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">lwcComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">page</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">scontrol</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">url</span></li>

                </ul>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname">motif</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">Required. The tab style for the color scheme and icon for the
                custom tab. <p class="p">For example, “'Custom70: Handsaw,” is
                  the handsaw icon.</p>

                <p class="p">Valid Values for this field are: Custom1:Heart, Custom2:Fan,
                  Custom3:Sun, Custom4:Hexagon, Custom5:Leaf, Custom6:Triangle,
                  Custom7:Square, Custom8:Diamond, Custom9:Lightning,
                  Custom10:Moon, Custom11:Star, Custom12:Circle, Custom13:Box,
                  Custom14:Hands, Custom15:People, Custom16:Bank, Custom17:Sack,
                  Custom18:Form, Custom19:Wrench, Custom20:Airplane,
                  Custom21:Computer, Custom22:Telephone, Custom23:Envelope,
                  Custom24:Building, Custom25:Alarmclock, Custom26:Flag,
                  Custom27:Laptop, Custom28:Cellphone, Custom29:PDA,
                  Custom30:Radardish, Custom31:Car, Custom32:Factory,
                  Custom33:Desk, Custom34:Insect, Custom35:Microphone,
                  Custom36:Train, Custom37:Bridge, Custom38:Camera,
                  Custom39:Telescope, Custom40:Creditcard, Custom41:Cash,
                  Custom42:Treasurechest, Custom43:Jewel, Custom44:Hammer,
                  Custom45:Ticket, Custom46:Stamp, Custom47:Knight,
                  Custom48:Trophy, Custom49:CD/DVD, Custom50:Bigtop,
                  Custom51:Apple, Custom52:Balls, Custom53:Bell, Custom54:Boat,
                  Custom55:Books, Custom56:Bottle, Custom57:BuildingBlock,
                  Custom58:Caduceus, Custom59:Can, Custom60:Umbrella,
                  Custom61:Castle, Custom62:Chalkboard, Custom63:Chip,
                  Custom64:Compass, Custom65:Cup, Custom66:Dice, Custom67:Gears,
                  Custom68:Globe, Custom69:Guitar, Custom70:Handsaw,
                  Custom71:Headset, Custom72:Helicopter, Custom73:HighwaySign,
                  Custom74:HotAirBalloon, Custom75:IPPhone, Custom76:Keys,
                  Custom77:Locked, Custom78:Map, Custom79:MeasuringTape,
                  Custom80:Motorcycle, Custom81:MusicalNote, Custom82:Whistle,
                  Custom83:Pencil, Custom84:Presenter, Custom85:RealEstateSign,
                  Custom86:RedCross, Custom87:Safe, Custom88:Sailboat,
                  Custom89:Saxophone, Custom90:Scales, Custom91:Shield,
                  Custom92:Ship, Custom93:ShoppingCart, Custom94:Stethoscope,
                  Custom95:Stopwatch, Custom96:StreetSign, Custom97:Thermometer,
                  Custom98:Truck, Custom99:TVCRT,
                  Custom100:TVWidescreen.</p>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="tab_page"><a name="tab_page"><!-- --></a>page</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The name of the Visualforce page to display in this tab.<p class="p">Only
                  one of these fields can have a value set:</p>
                <ul class="ul bulletList">
                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">auraComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">customObject</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">flexiPage</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">lwcComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">page</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">scontrol</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">url</span></li>

                </ul>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="tab_scontrol"><a name="tab_scontrol"><!-- --></a>scontrol</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The name of the s-control to display in this tab.<p class="p">Only one of
                  these fields can have a value set:</p>
                <ul class="ul bulletList">
                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">auraComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">customObject</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">flexiPage</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">lwcComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">page</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">scontrol</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">url</span></li>

                </ul>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname">splashPageLink</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The custom link used as the introductory splash page when users
                click the tab. References a <a class="xref" href="https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_homepagecomponent.htm" title="Represents the metadata associated with a home page component. You can customize the Home tab in Salesforce Classic to include components such as sidebar links, a company logo, a dashboard snapshot, or custom components that you create. Use to create, update, or delete home page component definitions.">HomePageComponent</a>.</td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname" id="tab_url"><a name="tab_url"><!-- --></a>url</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">string</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The URL for the external web-page to embed in this tab.<p class="p">Only
                  one of these fields can have a value set:</p>
                <ul class="ul bulletList">
                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">auraComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">customObject</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">flexiPage</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">lwcComponent</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">page</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">scontrol</span></li>

                  <li class="li"><span class="keyword parmname">url</span></li>

                </ul>
              </td>

            </tr>

            <tr>
              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e107" data-title="Field Name"><span class="keyword parmname">urlEncodingKey</span></td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e110" data-title="Field Type">Encoding
                (<a class="xref" href="https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_objects_intro.htm#enumeration_title">enumeration</a> of type string)</td>

              <td class="entry" headers="d890685e113" data-title="Description">The default encoding setting is Unicode: <samp class="codeph xml">UTF-8</samp>. Change it if you’re passing information to a
                URL that requires data in a different format. This option is
                available when the value <samp class="codeph nolang">URL</samp> is
                selected in the tab type.</td>

            </tr>

          </tbody>

        </table>

## Declarative Metadata Sample Definition

The following is the definition of a tab:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomTab xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <description\>Myriad Publishing</description\>
    <frameHeight\>600</frameHeight\>
    <motif\>Custom53: Bell</motif\>
    <url\>https://www.example.com</url\>
    <urlEncodingKey\>UTF-8</urlEncodingKey\>
</CustomTab\>

## Wildcard Support in the Manifest File

This metadata type supports the wildcard character \* (asterisk) in the package.xml manifest file. For information about using the manifest file, see [Deploying and Retrieving Metadata with the Zip File](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.264.0.api_meta.meta/api_meta/file_based_zip_file.htm).

#### See Also

- [CustomApplication](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_meta.meta/api_meta/meta_customapplication.htm "CustomApplication represents a custom or standard application. In API version 29.0 and earlier, CustomApplication represents only a custom application. An application is a list of tab references, with a description and a logo. This type extends the Metadata metadata type and inherits its fullName field.")