Big Objects Implementation Guide

Big Objects
Async SOQL
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CustomObject

Represents a custom object that stores data unique to your organization or an external object that maps to data stored outside your org.This type extends the Metadata metadata type and inherits its fullName field.

You must specify all relevant fields when you create or update a custom object. You cannot update a single field on the object. For more information about custom objects, see Administer Custom Objects in the Salesforce online help.

You can also use this metadata type to work with customizations of standard objects, such as accounts. For an example, see Standard Objects.

All metadata components have a fullName field, which must be fully specified for any custom object.

For example, the following are fully specified names for a standard object and a custom object respectively:

1Account
2MyCustomObject__c

And the following is a fully specified name for an external object:

1MyExternalObject__x

For sample Java code that creates a custom object, see Step 3: Walk Through the Java Sample Code.

Declarative Metadata File Suffix and Directory Location

Custom object names are automatically appended with __c. The file suffix is .object for the custom object or standard object file.

External object names are automatically appended with __x. The file suffix is .object for the external object file.

Custom, standard, and external objects are stored in the objects folder in the corresponding package directory.

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.

Note

Version

Custom objects are available in API version 10.0 and later. External objects are available in API version 32.0 and later.

Fields

Unless otherwise noted, all fields are createable, filterable, and nillable.

Field Name Field Type Description
actionOverrides ActionOverride[] A list of action overrides on the object.

This field is available in API version 18.0 and later.
allowInChatterGroups boolean Indicates whether records of this custom object type can be added to Chatter groups.

This field is available in API version 34.0 and later.
businessProcesses BusinessProcess[] A list of business processes associated with the object.

This field is available in API version 17.0 and later.
compactLayoutAssignment string The compact layout assigned to the object.

This field is available in API version 29.0 and later.
compactLayouts CompactLayout[] A list of compact layouts associated with the object.

This field is available in API version 29.0 and later.
customHelp string The s-control that contains the help content if the object has customized help content. This field is available in API version 14.0 and later.
customHelpPage string The Visualforce page that contains the help content if the object has customized help content. This field is available in API version 16.0 and later.
customSettingsType CustomSettingsType (enumeration of type string) When this field is present, this component is not a custom object, but a custom setting. This field returns the type of custom setting. The following string values are valid:
  • List—static data stored in cache and accessed as part of your application and available organization-wide.
  • Hierarchy—static data stored in cache and accessed as part of your application and available based on a hierarchy of user, profile or organization. This is the default value.

This field is available in API version 17.0 and later.
customSettingsVisibility CustomSettingsVisibility (enumeration of type string) When this field is present, this component is not a custom object, but a custom setting. This field returns the visibility of the custom setting. The following string values are valid:
  • Public—if the custom setting is packaged, it is accessible to all subscribing organizations.
  • Protected—if the custom setting is in a managed package, it is only accessible to the developer organization. Subscribing organizations cannot access it. This is the default value.

This field is available in API versions 17.0 through 33.0. In versions 34.0 and later, use the visibility field instead of this field.
deploymentStatus DeploymentStatus (enumeration of type string) Indicates the deployment status of the object.
deprecated boolean Reserved for future use.
description string A description of the object. Maximum of 1000 characters.
enableActivities boolean Indicates whether the object is enabled for activities (true) or not (false).

Not available for external objects.
enableBulkApi boolean When enabled, the object is classified as an Enterprise Application object for usage tracking.

When enabled, enableSharing and enableStreamingApi must also be enabled.

This field is available in API version 31.0 and later.
enableChangeDataCapture boolean Reserved for future use.
enableDivisions boolean Indicates whether the object is enabled for divisions (true) or not (false). For more information about the Division object, see the SOAP API Developer's Guide.
enableEnhancedLookup boolean Indicates whether the object is enabled for enhanced lookups (true) or not (false). In API version 28.0 and later, this field can also be used for the Account, Contact, and User objects. Enhanced lookups provide an updated lookup dialog interface that gives users the ability to filter, sort, and page through search results as well as customize search result columns. For more information about enhanced lookups, see “Enable Enhanced Lookups” in the Salesforce online help.
enableFeeds boolean Indicates whether the object is enabled for feed tracking (true) or not (false). For more information, see “Customize Chatter Feed Tracking” in the Salesforce online help.

This field is available in API version 18.0 and later.
enableHistory boolean Indicates whether the object is enabled for history tracking (true) or not (false). Also available for standard objects in API version 29.0 and later.
enableReports boolean Indicates whether the object is enabled for reports (true) or not (false). Support for external objects is available in API version 38.0 and later.
enableSearch boolean Indicates whether the object’s records can be found via SOSL and Salesforce searches. Corresponds to Allow Search in the user interface.

By default, search is disabled for new custom objects. This field is available for custom objects in API version 35.0 and later.

By default, search is disabled for new external objects. However, you can validate and sync an external data source to automatically create external objects. Syncing always enables search on the external object when search is enabled on the external data source, and vice versa. This field is available for external objects in API version 37.0 and later.
enableSharing boolean When enabled, the object is classified as an Enterprise Application object for usage tracking.

When enabled, enableBulkApi and enableStreamingApi must also be enabled.

This field is available in API version 31.0 and later.
enableStreamingApi boolean When enabled, the object is classified as an Enterprise Application object for usage tracking.

When enabled, enableBulkApi and enableSharing must also be enabled.

This field is available in API version 31.0 and later.
eventType PlatformEventType (enumeration of type string) This field applies only to platform events. Indicates whether the event is a standard or a high-volume event. High-volume events are available as part of a pilot. Valid values are:
  • HighVolume (Part of a pilot)
  • StandardVolume

This field is available in API version 41.0 and later.
externalDataSource string Required and available for external objects only. The name of the external data source that stores the data for the external object. The data source is represented by the ExternalDataSource component.

This field is available in API version 32.0 and later.
externalName string Required and available for external objects only. The name of the table in the external data source that contains the data for the external object.

This field is available in API version 32.0 and later.
externalRepository string Available for Salesforce Connect external objects only. Corresponds to Display URL Reference Field in the user interface.

The external object’s Display URL standard field values are automatically generated from the external system. For example, with the OData 2.0 adapter for Salesforce Connect, the value is based on the link href that’s defined on the OData producer. You can override the default values with the values of a custom field on the same external object. Select the field name, and make sure that the custom field’s values are valid URLs.

This field is available in API version 32.0 and later.
externalSharingModel SharingModel(enumeration of type string)
Indicates the external organization-wide defaults for the object, which determines the access level for external users, such as portal and community users. This field is supported for these objects:
  • Accounts and their associated contracts and assets
  • Cases
  • Contacts
  • Opportunities
  • Custom Objects
  • Users

This field is available in API version 31.0 and later.
fields CustomField[] Represents one or more fields in the object.
fieldSets FieldSet Defines the field set that exists on this object.
fullName string Inherited from Metadata, this field is not defined in the WSDL for this metadata type. It must be specified when creating, updating, or deleting. See create() to see an example of this field specified for a call.

This value cannot be null.
gender Gender Indicates the gender of the noun that represents the object. This is used for languages where words need different treatment depending on their gender.
household boolean This field supports relationship groups, a feature available only with Salesforce for Wealth Management. For more information, see “Salesforce for Wealth Management” in the Salesforce online help.
historyRetentionPolicy HistoryRetentionPolicy Reserved for future use.
indexes Index[] Defines the index for a custom big object.
label string Label that represents the object throughout the Salesforce user interface.

We recommend that you make object labels unique across all standard, custom, and external objects in the org.
listViews ListView[] Represents one or more list views associated with the object.
namedFilter NamedFilter[] Represents the metadata associated with a lookup filter. This metadata type is used to create, update, or delete lookup filter definitions. This component has been removed as of API version 30.0 and is only available in previous API versions. The metadata associated with a lookup filter is now represented by the lookupFilter field in the CustomField component.

This field is available in API version 17.0 and later.

This field has been removed as of API version 30.0 and is only available in prior versions. The metadata associated with a lookup filter is now represented by the lookupFilter field in the CustomField component.
nameField CustomField Required for custom objects. External objects may instead specify the name field by setting isNameField to true in the CustomField component.

The field that this object's name is stored in. Every custom object must have a name, usually a string or autonumber.

Identifier for the custom object record. This name appears in page layouts, related lists, lookup dialogs, search results, and key lists on tab home pages. By default, this field is added to the custom object page layout as a required field.

pluralLabel string Plural version of the label value.
recordTypes RecordType[] An array of one or more record types defined for this object.
recordTypeTrackFeedHistory boolean Indicates whether the record type is enabled for feed tracking (true) or not (false). To set this field to true, the enableFeeds field on the associated CustomObject must also be true. For more information, see “Customize Chatter Feed Tracking” in the Salesforce online help.

This field is available in API version 19.0 and later.
recordTypeTrackHistory boolean Indicates whether history tracking is enabled for this record type (true) or not (false). To set recordTypeTrackHistory to true the enableHistory field on the associated custom object must also be true.

This field is available in API version 19.0 and later.
searchLayouts SearchLayouts The Search Layouts related list information for the object.
sharingModel SharingModel(enumeration of type string) Indicates the organization-wide defaults for the object.

Using API version 29.0 and earlier, this field is read-only and you can't set this field through Metadata API; you must use the Salesforce user interface. Using API version 30.0 and later, you can set this field for internal users using the API and the Salesforce user interface.

Note
sharingReasons SharingReason[] The reasons why the object is being shared.
sharingRecalculations SharingRecalculation[] A list of custom sharing recalculations associated with the object.
startsWith StartsWith (enumeration of type string) Indicates whether the noun starts with a vowel, consonant, or is a special character. This is used for languages where words need different treatment depending on the first character. Valid values are listed in StartsWith.
validationRules ValidationRule[] An array of one or more validation rules on the object.
visibility SetupObjectVisibility (enumeration of type string) When this field is present, this component is not a custom object, but a custom setting or custom metadata type. This field returns the visibility of the custom setting or custom metadata type. The following values are valid.
  • Public—If the custom setting or custom metadata type is packaged, it’s accessible to all subscribing organizations.
  • Protected—If the custom setting or custom metadata type is in a managed package, it’s only accessible to the developer organization; subscribing organizations can’t access it.

The default value is Public.

This field is available in API version 34.0 and later. For custom settings, this field replaces the customSettingsVisibility field.
webLinks WebLink[] An array of one or more weblinks defined for the object.

Declarative Metadata Additional Components

CustomObject definitions may include additional components which are defined in the custom object for declarative metadata. The following components are defined in the CustomObject:

  • ActionOverride
  • BusinessProcess
  • CompactLayout
  • CustomField
  • FieldSet
  • HistoryRetentionPolicy
  • ListView
  • RecordType
  • SearchLayouts
  • SharingReason
  • SharingRecalculation
  • ValidationRule
  • WebLink

Declarative Metadata Sample Definition

1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
2<CustomObject xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
3    <deploymentStatus>Deployed</deploymentStatus>
4    <description>test object with one field for eclipse ide testing</description>
5    <fields>
6        <fullName>Comments__c</fullName>
7        <description>add your comments about this object here</description>
8        <inlineHelpText>This field contains comments made about this object</inlineHelpText>
9        <label>Comments</label>
10        <length>32000</length>
11        <type>LongTextArea</type>
12        <visibleLines>30</visibleLines>
13    </fields>
14    <label>MyFirstObject</label>
15    <nameField>
16        <label>MyFirstObject Name</label>
17        <type>Text</type>
18    </nameField>
19    <pluralLabel>MyFirstObjects</pluralLabel>
20    <sharingModel>ReadWrite</sharingModel>
21</CustomObject>

The following is the metadata definition of an external object for Salesforce Connect.

1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
2<CustomObject xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
3    <actionOverrides>
4        <actionName>CancelEdit</actionName>
5        <type>Default</type>
6    </actionOverrides>
7    <actionOverrides>
8        <actionName>Delete</actionName>
9        <type>Default</type>
10    </actionOverrides>
11    <actionOverrides>
12        <actionName>Edit</actionName>
13        <type>Default</type>
14    </actionOverrides>
15    <actionOverrides>
16        <actionName>Follow</actionName>
17        <type>Default</type>
18    </actionOverrides>
19    <actionOverrides>
20        <actionName>List</actionName>
21        <type>Default</type>
22    </actionOverrides>
23    <actionOverrides>
24        <actionName>New</actionName>
25        <type>Default</type>
26    </actionOverrides>
27    <actionOverrides>
28        <actionName>SaveEdit</actionName>
29        <type>Default</type>
30    </actionOverrides>
31    <actionOverrides>
32        <actionName>Tab</actionName>
33        <type>Default</type>
34    </actionOverrides>
35    <actionOverrides>
36        <actionName>View</actionName>
37        <type>Default</type>
38    </actionOverrides>
39    <deploymentStatus>InDevelopment</deploymentStatus>
40    <description>Products</description>
41    <enableFeeds>false</enableFeeds>
42    <externalDataSource>OData</externalDataSource>
43    <externalIndexAvailable>false</externalIndexAvailable>
44    <externalName>Products</externalName>
45    <fields>
46        <fullName>DiscontinuedDate__c</fullName>
47        <description>DiscontinuedDate</description>
48        <externalDeveloperName>DiscontinuedDate</externalDeveloperName>
49        <externalId>false</externalId>
50        <isFilteringDisabled>false</isFilteringDisabled>
51        <isNameField>false</isNameField>
52        <isSortingDisabled>false</isSortingDisabled>
53        <label>DiscontinuedDate</label>
54        <required>false</required>
55        <type>DateTime</type>
56    </fields>
57    <fields>
58        <fullName>ID__c</fullName>
59        <description>ID</description>
60        <externalDeveloperName>ID</externalDeveloperName>
61        <externalId>false</externalId>
62        <isFilteringDisabled>false</isFilteringDisabled>
63        <isNameField>false</isNameField>
64        <isSortingDisabled>false</isSortingDisabled>
65        <label>ID</label>
66        <precision>18</precision>
67        <required>false</required>
68        <scale>0</scale>
69        <type>Number</type>
70        <unique>false</unique>
71    </fields>
72    <fields>
73        <fullName>Name__c</fullName>
74        <description>Name</description>
75        <externalDeveloperName>Name</externalDeveloperName>
76        <externalId>false</externalId>
77        <isFilteringDisabled>false</isFilteringDisabled>
78        <isNameField>false</isNameField>
79        <isSortingDisabled>false</isSortingDisabled>
80        <label>Name</label>
81        <length>128</length>
82        <required>false</required>
83        <type>Text</type>
84        <unique>false</unique>
85    </fields>
86    <fields>
87        <fullName>Price__c</fullName>
88        <description>Price</description>
89        <externalDeveloperName>Price</externalDeveloperName>
90        <externalId>false</externalId>
91        <isFilteringDisabled>false</isFilteringDisabled>
92        <isNameField>false</isNameField>
93        <isSortingDisabled>false</isSortingDisabled>
94        <label>Price</label>
95        <precision>16</precision>
96        <required>false</required>
97        <scale>2</scale>
98        <type>Number</type>
99        <unique>false</unique>
100    </fields>
101    <fields>
102        <fullName>Products__c</fullName>
103        <externalDeveloperName>Products</externalDeveloperName>
104        <externalId>false</externalId>
105        <isFilteringDisabled>false</isFilteringDisabled>
106        <isNameField>false</isNameField>
107        <isSortingDisabled>false</isSortingDisabled>
108        <label>Products</label>
109        <length>20</length>
110        <referenceTo>Products__x</referenceTo>
111        <relationshipLabel>Products</relationshipLabel>
112        <relationshipName>Products</relationshipName>
113        <type>ExternalLookup</type>
114    </fields>
115    <fields>
116        <fullName>Rating__c</fullName>
117        <description>Rating</description>
118        <externalDeveloperName>Rating</externalDeveloperName>
119        <externalId>false</externalId>
120        <isFilteringDisabled>false</isFilteringDisabled>
121        <isNameField>false</isNameField>
122        <isSortingDisabled>false</isSortingDisabled>
123        <label>Rating</label>
124        <precision>18</precision>
125        <required>false</required>
126        <scale>0</scale>
127        <type>Number</type>
128        <unique>false</unique>
129    </fields>
130    <fields>
131        <fullName>ReleaseDate__c</fullName>
132        <description>ReleaseDate</description>
133        <externalDeveloperName>ReleaseDate</externalDeveloperName>
134        <externalId>false</externalId>
135        <isFilteringDisabled>false</isFilteringDisabled>
136        <isNameField>false</isNameField>
137        <isSortingDisabled>false</isSortingDisabled>
138        <label>ReleaseDate</label>
139        <required>false</required>
140        <type>DateTime</type>
141    </fields>
142    <label>Products</label>
143    <pluralLabel>Products</pluralLabel>
144    <searchLayouts>
145        <customTabListAdditionalFields>ExternalId</customTabListAdditionalFields>
146        <lookupDialogsAdditionalFields>ExternalId</lookupDialogsAdditionalFields>
147        <lookupPhoneDialogsAdditionalFields>ExternalId</lookupPhoneDialogsAdditionalFields>
148        <searchResultsAdditionalFields>ExternalId</searchResultsAdditionalFields>
149        <searchResultsAdditionalFields>DisplayUrl</searchResultsAdditionalFields>
150        <searchResultsAdditionalFields>ID__c</searchResultsAdditionalFields>
151    </searchLayouts>
152</CustomObject>