Text Types – Custom Fields in Salesforce

Are you learning Salesforce Admin and wondering how to work with custom fields and text types? In this tutorial, we will learn step-by-step how to create custom fields of Text, Text Area, and Rich Text Area in Salesforce Lightning with practical screenshots for your clear understanding.

Whether you are preparing for your Salesforce Admin Certification or working on a real-time Salesforce project, this guide will build your confidence to handle customization effectively.

Topics Covered in This Tutorial

Finally, here is a clean overview of what we covered:
1️⃣ Create Custom Object and Tabs in Salesforce Lightning
2️⃣ Create Custom Apps in Salesforce Lightning
3️⃣ Create Custom Fields including Text, Text Area, and Rich Text Area

By following these, you now have the clarity to manage custom fields effectively in Salesforce Lightning Experience.

Salesforce Benefits Overview Slide

This slide summarizes why Salesforce is the world’s #1 CRM platform:
✅ Builds customer relationships
✅ Improves customer service
✅ Helps close more deals
✅ Tracks customer activity
✅ Automates outreach

This context is essential as we customize Salesforce to align with these core business goals.

Accessing Setup from the App

Here, we are accessing Setup from the Salesforce Lightning App by clicking the gear icon on the top-right and selecting Setup.

This is your entry point for:
✅ Navigating Object Manager
✅ Managing users and permissions
✅ Setting up security and automation
✅ Building custom fields and layouts

Object Manager – Standard Objects List

This image displays standard objects like:

• Account
• Activity
• Address
• Agent Work
• Appointment Category

As listed in Object Manager, showing that you can create and manage custom fields on standard objects as well, not just custom objects.

Object Manager – Student Object Listed

This screenshot shows the Object Manager with the Student object listed for easy navigation.

Here, you can quickly jump into:

• Fields & Relationships
• Page Layouts
• Validation Rules
• Triggers
• Lightning Record Pages for the Student object

Using Object Manager efficiently helps you organize your customization workflow systematically.

Object Details of Student Object

In this view, you can see the object-level details:

• API Name: Student__c (indicates it is a custom object)
• Deployment Status: Deployed
• Reports, Activities, Field History Tracking are enabled.

Having tracking enabled helps you monitor changes on critical custom fields like Student Bio to maintain data quality.

Choosing the Field Type

Here, you can see the different field types available while creating a custom field on the Student object:

• Text for single-line data.
• Text Area for plain multiline.
• Text Area (Long) for longer plain text.
• Text Area (Rich) for formatted text, images, and links.

We have selected ‘Text Area (Rich)’ here to allow advanced formatting in the student bio field.

Choosing the Field Type

Here, you can see the different field types available while creating a custom field on the Student object:

• Text for single-line data.
• Text Area for plain multiline.
• Text Area (Long) for longer plain text.
• Text Area (Rich) for formatted text, images, and links.

We have selected ‘Text Area (Rich)’ here to allow advanced formatting in the student bio field.

Creating a New Custom Field on Student Object

In this screenshot, we are creating a new Rich Text Area custom field named ‘Student Bio’ on the Student custom object.

Key highlights:
✅ Field Label: Student Bio
✅ Length: 32,768 (max limit can go up to 131,072 for rich text fields)
✅ Visible Lines: 25 for better viewing while editing
✅ Field Name auto-generates as Student_Bio
✅ This setup allows capturing a student’s detailed bio with rich formatting within Salesforce.

Fields & Relationships View

This image shows the Fields & Relationships tab under the Student object, listing the standard and custom fields.

It displays:

• Created By (Lookup to User)
• Last Modified By (Lookup to User)
• Owner (Lookup to User/Group)
• Student Name (Text field, max 80 characters)

After creating our Student Bio field, it will also appear in this list for management and layout placement.

Adding Field to Page Layout

Finally, this screen shows the last step of field creation — adding the field to the page layout.

• Layout Name: Student Layout
• Field: Student Bio
• Field Type: Rich Text Area
  
  Salesforce gives you control over visibility – only the layouts selected here will display the field.

Student Bio Field in Field List

The Field Label “Student Bio” appears with:

• Data Type: Rich Text Area (32,768 characters)
  
• API Name: Student_Bio__c
  

It confirms the field is successfully created and ready to use in validation rules, formulas, or Lightning components.

Back to Student Record Post Edit

Post-edit, we return to the Student record view. The layout now includes:

• Student Name
• Student ID
• Student Bio
• Country, Country 2.0
• Hobbies
  

Each of these custom fields demonstrates the different types (Text, Picklist, Rich Text, Multi-Select).

Editing Rich Text Field in Action

This is the edit screen of the Student record where we can input formatted content into the Rich Text Area (Student Bio).

You can:

• Change font styles, colors, and sizes
• Insert bullet points, images, links
• Apply text alignment and formatting
  

This makes it powerful for maintaining structured yet flexible inputs like bios, notes, or detailed descriptions.

Student Object Metadata

This is the object detail page for Student (Student__c), which confirms:

• It is a Custom Object
• Reports and Activities are enabled
• Field History is being tracked
• Deployment status: Deployed

This metadata ensures that the object is production-ready and supports advanced functionality.

List of Existing Custom Fields

This screenshot displays the existing custom fields created on the Student object:

• Country (Picklist)
• Hobbies (Multi-Select Picklist)
• Owner, Created By, Last Modified By (Lookups)

As we add new fields like “Student Bio”, they will appear here and can be added to layouts or used in formulas and automation.

Initiating New Custom Field

In this view, we are in the Fields & Relationships section of the Student object and have clicked on the “New” button to create a new custom field.

This is where the journey of creating a custom field begins. Whether you choose Text, Picklist, or Lookup, this is your entry point.

Field Type Selection – Text Area (Long)

This screenshot shows the selection of Text Area (Long) while creating a new custom field on the Student object.
It highlights how different text-type fields serve different purposes:

• Text: Up to 255 characters in a single line.
  
• Text Area: Plain multi-line, 255 chars.
  
• Text Area (Long): Up to 131,072 characters, ideal for logs, bios, notes.
  
• Text Area (Rich): Adds formatting like bold, color, and image embedding.

We selected Text Area (Long) to allow users to input large unformatted data.

 Enter the Field Details

In this step, we define the new field on the Student object.

• Field Label: Student Description
• Data Type: Long Text Area
• Length: 32,768 characters (this is the default max limit)
• Visible Lines: 3 – This determines how much of the field is shown at once on the record page
• Field Name: Student_Description (automatically populated)
  

This type of field is ideal for storing notes, summaries, or large input blocks.

Set Field-Level Security

Field-Level Security ensures that only selected profiles can view or edit the new field.

• Checkboxes are used to grant Visible or Read-Only access.
  
• This page allows you to include or exclude the field from profiles like Admins, Standard Users, or Custom Profiles.
  

Field visibility must be managed carefully to ensure data privacy.

Add to Page Layout

Here, the newly created field is being added to the page layout.

• The checkbox Add Field is selected for the “Student Layout”.
  
• This means the Student Description field will be visible on the Student record UI.

If not added to a layout, the field won’t show up in the record view/edit pages.

Student Record Page – Viewing the Field

Once saved, the Student Description field appears under the details section of the Student record.

• This screen shows how the new field integrates with other fields like Country, State, and Hobbies.
  
• The field is currently blank and ready for user input.

This validates the successful addition of the Long Text Area to the UI.

Editing Student Record – Field in Action

This is the Edit View of the record.

• The Student Description field can now accept multiline text.
  
• It is useful for storing bios, student feedback, internal comments, or lengthy descriptions.

This field helps enhance record context and improves data capture for internal users.

Final Thoughts

Using custom fields in Salesforce like Rich Text Areas, Long Text, and Picklists allows organizations to tailor data capture based on their unique processes. Through the Object Manager, you can easily define field behavior, control visibility, and layout placement. This guide demonstrated the creation of such fields on a Student object, helping Admins build structured and flexible CRM experiences.

Stay tuned for more hands-on Salesforce tutorials with visual walkthroughs!

Conclusion

Adding a Long Text Area field in Salesforce is straightforward, but it’s essential to:

• Choose the right field type based on use case
  
• Secure it with appropriate profile-level access
  
• Make sure it’s added to the right page layouts for visibility
  

This tutorial offers a full walkthrough using real-time images from the Salesforce Lightning interface to make the learning journey smoother.