Visualforce Developer’s Guide

Introducing Visualforce
Tools for Visualforce Development
Using the Development Mode Footer
About the Visualforce Editor
Getting a Quick Start with Visualforce
Customizing the Appearance and Output of Visualforce Pages
Standard Controllers
Standard List Controllers
Custom Controllers and Controller Extensions
Advanced Examples
Overriding Buttons, Links, and Tabs with Visualforce
Using Static Resources
Creating and Using Custom Components
Dynamic Visualforce Bindings
Dynamic Visualforce Components
Integrating Email with Visualforce
Visualforce Charting
Creating Maps with Visualforce
Render Flows with Visualforce
Templating with Visualforce
Developing for Mobile Devices
Adding Visualforce to a Force.com AppExchange App
Using JavaScript in Visualforce Pages
Best Practices
Standard Component Reference
Appendices
Glossary
PDF

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Tools for Visualforce Development

Before you begin developing Visualforce pages and components, familiarize yourself with the different places to create them:
  • The best way to build Visualforce is by enabling Visualforce development mode. Visualforce development mode is only available for users with the “Customize Application” permission. Development mode provides you with:
    • A special development footer on every Visualforce page that includes the page’s view state, any associated controller, a link to the component reference documentation, and a page markup editor that offers highlighting, find-replace functionality, and auto-suggest for component tag and attribute names.
    • The ability to define new Visualforce pages just by entering a unique URL.
    • Error messages that include more detailed stack traces than what standard users receive.
    To enable Visualforce development mode:
    1. At the top of any Salesforce page, click the down arrow next to your name. From the menu under your name, select Setup or My Settings—whichever one appears.
    2. From the left panel, select one of the following:
      • If you clicked Setup, select My Personal Information | Personal Information.
      • If you clicked My Settings, select Personal | Advanced User Details.
    3. Click Edit.
    4. Select the Development Mode checkbox.
    5. Optionally, select the Show View State in Development Mode checkbox to enable the View State tab on the development footer. This tab is useful for monitoring the performance of your Visualforce pages.
    6. Click Save.
  • You can also develop Visualforce pages through the Salesforce user interface from Setup by clicking Develop | Pages. For Visualforce components, from Setup, click Develop | Components.
  • The Force.com IDE, a plug-in for the Eclipse IDE, offers capabilities not found elsewhere. The Force.com IDE provides a unified interface for building and deploying Force.com applications, and includes tools such as source code editors, project wizards, and integrated help. The IDE is designed for advanced developers and development teams.