Editing

Learn how to modify field values, track changes, undo mistakes, and copy data between fields in the Record Editor.

Insert Mode

Insert mode allows you to edit field values. Enter Insert mode from Normal mode, make your changes, then return to Normal mode.

Entering Insert Mode

Key	Action	Description
`i`	Insert	Edit current field
`a`	Append	Edit current field (same as `i`)

How It Works:

Navigate to desired field with j/k
Press i to enter Insert mode
Field becomes editable
Border changes to dark blue
Mode indicator shows "INSERT"

Example:

Normal mode:
  Name [====blue border====]
  Value: "John Doe"

Press i:
  Name [====dark blue====]
  Value: "John Doe|" (cursor appears)
  Mode: INSERT

Type "Smith":
  Name [====dark blue====]
  Value: "John DoeSmith|"

Press Backspace 5 times, type "Jane Smith":
  Name [====dark blue====]
  Value: "Jane Smith|"

No Difference Between i and a

Unlike vim, where i inserts before cursor and a appends after, the Record Editor treats both as "edit this field". This simplifies the interface since you're editing entire field values, not text at specific cursor positions.

Exiting Insert Mode

Return to Normal mode to navigate or execute commands.

Key	Action
`Esc`	Exit Insert mode, return to Normal mode

What Happens:

Border changes back to blue
Mode indicator shows "NORMAL"
Changes are tracked but not saved
Field shows orange border (unsaved changes)
You can navigate away and return

Example:

In Insert mode editing Email:
  Email [====dark blue====]
  Value: "newemail@example.com|"

Press Esc:
  Email [====orange border====] (modified, unsaved)
  Value: "newemail@example.com"
  Mode: NORMAL

Unsaved Changes

Exiting Insert mode does NOT save changes. You must use :w in Command mode to save. Orange borders indicate unsaved modifications.

Edit Field Values

Different field types have different editing interfaces.

Text Fields

Free-form text input.

Field Types:

Text
Email
Phone
URL
Textarea (Long Text Area)

Editing:

Press i
Type or paste text
Press Esc

Example:

Field: Description
Before: "Old description"
Press i → Type "New detailed description"
Press Esc
After: "New detailed description" (orange border)

Special Characters:

Newlines supported in Textarea fields
Special characters allowed (emoji, unicode)
HTML not rendered (stored as plain text)

Number Fields

Numeric input with validation.

Field Types:

Number
Currency
Percent

Editing:

Press i
Type numeric value
Press Esc

Example:

Field: AnnualRevenue (Currency)
Before: 1000000
Press i → Type "2500000"
Press Esc
After: 2500000 (orange border)

Validation:

Only numbers and decimal point allowed
Currency symbol auto-added on save
Percent symbol auto-added on save
Invalid input shows error message

Boolean Fields

Checkbox for true/false values.

Field Types:

Checkbox

Editing:

Press i
Click checkbox or press Space
Press Esc

Values:

true - Checkbox checked
false - Checkbox unchecked
empty - No value (if allowed)

Example:

Field: IsActive
Before: true (checked)
Press i → Press Space
After: false (unchecked, orange border)

Date and DateTime Fields

Date/time picker interface.

Field Types:

Date
DateTime

Editing:

Press i
Date picker appears
Select date (and time if DateTime)
Press Esc or click outside

Example:

Field: StartDate
Before: 2025-01-15
Press i → Select 2025-02-20 from picker
Press Esc
After: 2025-02-20 (orange border)

Format:

Date: YYYY-MM-DD
DateTime: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ
Displays in user's timezone
Stored in UTC

Picklist Fields

Dropdown with predefined values.

Field Types:

Picklist
Multi-select Picklist

Editing:

Press i
Dropdown appears with valid values
Select value(s)
Press Esc

Example:

Field: Status
Values: Draft, In Review, Approved, Rejected
Before: Draft
Press i → Select "Approved"
Press Esc
After: Approved (orange border)

Dependent Picklists:

Controlling field changes reset dependent field
Dependent values filtered by controlling value
Invalid combinations prevented

Multi-Select:

Press i
Check multiple values
Press Esc
Values: "Value1;Value2;Value3" (semicolon-separated)

Reference/Lookup Fields

Link to related records.

Field Types:

Lookup
Master-Detail
External Lookup

Editing:

Press i
Type to search related records
Select from dropdown
Press Esc

Example:

Field: AccountId (Lookup to Account)
Before: 001xx000003DH1QAAW (Acme Corp)
Press i → Type "Burlington"
Dropdown shows: Burlington Textiles
Select "Burlington Textiles"
Press Esc
After: 001xx000003DH2RBAW (Burlington Textiles, orange border)

Search:

Type at least 2 characters
Searches Name field by default
Shows up to 10 results
Empty search shows recent records

Clear Lookup:

Press i
Clear the field (delete all text)
Press Esc
Value: (empty)

Lookup Navigation

Click any Salesforce ID in the Value column to open that record in the editor. Great for editing related records!

Address Fields

Compound fields with multiple components.

Field Types:

Address (Billing, Shipping, etc.)

Two Display Modes:

JSON Mode (default):

json

{
  "street": "123 Main St",
  "city": "San Francisco",
  "state": "CA",
  "postalCode": "94105",
  "country": "USA"
}

Section Mode (toggle with Ctrl+A):

Street: 123 Main St
City: San Francisco
State: CA
Postal Code: 94105
Country: USA

Editing:

Press i
Edit JSON or individual fields
Press Esc

Toggle Mode:

Press Ctrl+A to switch between JSON and Section views

Undo and Redo

Track and reverse changes with full undo history.

Undo

Reverse the last change.

Key	Action
`u`	Undo last change

Example:

Original: Name = "John Doe"

Edit 1: Change to "Jane Smith"
Edit 2: Change to "Bob Johnson"
Edit 3: Change to "Alice Williams"

Press u → "Bob Johnson" (undid Edit 3)
Press u → "Jane Smith" (undid Edit 2)
Press u → "John Doe" (undid Edit 1)

Undo Stack:

All changes tracked per field
Undo history unlimited (until save)
:w (save) clears undo history
Undo only affects current field

Redo

Reapply an undone change.

Key	Action
`U`	Redo last undone change

Example:

Current: "John Doe"

After Edit 1: "Jane Smith"
Press u → "John Doe" (undid)
Press U → "Jane Smith" (redid)

Redo Behavior:

Only available after undo
New edits clear redo stack
Redo also unlimited
Works per field

Combined Undo/Redo Workflow:

1. Name = "Original"
2. Edit to "Change 1"
3. Edit to "Change 2"
4. Edit to "Change 3"
5. Press u u → Back to "Change 1"
6. Press U → Forward to "Change 2"
7. Edit to "Change 4" → Redo stack cleared
8. Press u → Back to "Change 2"
9. Press U → Forward to "Change 4"

Experimental Edits

Use undo/redo to try different values and see which looks best. Make a change, press u to revert, try another, press u again. When you find the right value, leave it and move on.

Copy and Paste

Copy values between fields with yank and paste commands.

Copy (Yank)

Copy the current field's value to clipboard.

Key	Action
`y`	Yank (copy) field value

Example:

Navigate to Email field
Value: "john.doe@example.com"
Press y
Message: "Copied: john.doe@example.com"

What Gets Copied:

Text fields: Full text content
Numbers: Numeric value as text
Dates: ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD)
Booleans: "true" or "false"
Lookups: Salesforce ID (18-character)
Picklists: Selected value(s)

Paste

Paste the copied value into the current field.

Key	Action
`p`	Paste yanked value

Example:

1. Navigate to Email field
2. Press y (copy "john.doe@example.com")
3. Navigate to Secondary_Email__c field
4. Press p
5. Value becomes "john.doe@example.com" (orange border)

Paste Validation:

Target field type must match
Numbers can't paste into picklists
Text can paste into most field types
Lookups require valid Salesforce ID

Copy/Paste Workflow:

Copy email to multiple fields:
1. Navigate to Email
2. Press y
3. Navigate to Backup_Email__c
4. Press p
5. Navigate to Contact_Email__c
6. Press p
7. Type :w to save all changes

System Clipboard

y copies to the system clipboard, so you can paste into other applications with Ctrl+V. Similarly, you can copy text from elsewhere and paste with p in the editor.

Copy API Names

Copy field API names for use in code, formulas, or queries.

Copy Label API Name

Key	Action
`Ctrl+C`	Copy field label API name

Example:

Navigate to "Annual Revenue" field
Press Ctrl+C
Copied: "AnnualRevenue"

Use Cases:

Writing SOQL queries
Creating formulas
Developing Apex code
Documentation

Copy Full API Name

Key	Action
`Ctrl+Shift+C`	Copy full field API name with object

Example:

Navigate to "Custom Field" on Account
Press Ctrl+Shift+C
Copied: "Account.Custom_Field__c"

Format:

Standard fields: ObjectName.FieldName
Custom fields: ObjectName.FieldName__c
Relationship fields: ObjectName.RelationshipName__r.FieldName

Workflow:

1. Navigate to field you need in SOQL
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+C
3. Switch to SOQL Query Tool (Ctrl+Shift+Q)
4. Paste into query

Quick SOQL Building

Use Ctrl+Shift+C to copy field API names while browsing a record, then paste them into your SOQL queries. Faster than looking up field names in Object Manager!

Change Tracking

The editor tracks all modifications until save.

Visual Indicators

Indicator	Meaning
Orange border	Field has unsaved changes
Normal border	Field unchanged or saved
Modified count	"3 fields modified" in status bar

Example:

Edit Email: "new@example.com"
  Email [====orange border====]

Edit Phone: "555-1234"
  Phone [====orange border====]

Status bar: "2 fields modified"

View Changes

See all modified fields with the Ctrl+K popup.

Steps:

Press Ctrl+K in Normal mode
Popup shows "Changes" tab
Lists all modified fields
Shows old → new values

Example Popup:

Changes (3 fields):
  Email: john@old.com → john@new.com
  Phone: 555-9999 → 555-1234
  Status: Draft → Approved

Discard Changes

Revert a field to its original value.

Method 1: Undo

Navigate to modified field
Press u repeatedly until original value restored

Method 2: Refresh

Type :refresh
All unsaved changes discarded

Method 3: Quit Without Saving

Type :q
If changes exist, confirmation prompt appears
Confirm to discard all changes

Discard Confirmation

:q with unsaved changes shows: "You have unsaved changes. Quit anyway? (y/n)". Type y to discard or n to cancel.

Press Ctrl+K to open a popup with three tabs: Changes, Picklists, and Lookups.

Changes Tab

Shows:

All modified fields
Original values
New values
Field API names

Example:

Changes (2):
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Email                           │
│ Old: john@old.com               │
│ New: john@new.com               │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ AnnualRevenue                   │
│ Old: 1000000                    │
│ New: 2500000                    │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Navigation:

j/k to navigate changes
Enter to jump to field
Esc to close popup

Picklists Tab

Shows (when focused on picklist field):

All valid picklist values
Currently selected value highlighted
Dependent values (if applicable)

Example:

Status (Picklist):
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Draft                           │
│ In Review                       │
│ Approved          ← (selected)  │
│ Rejected                        │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Usage:

Navigate to picklist field
Press Ctrl+K
Switch to "Picklists" tab
View all options
Press Esc to close

Lookups Tab

Shows (when focused on lookup field):

Related record details
Record type
Key fields (Name, etc.)
Link to open record

Example:

AccountId (Lookup to Account):
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name: Acme Corporation          │
│ Type: Customer                  │
│ Industry: Technology            │
│ [Open in Editor]                │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Usage:

Navigate to lookup field
Press Ctrl+K
Switch to "Lookups" tab
View related record details
Click "Open in Editor" to edit

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Insert Mode

Key	Action
`i`	Enter Insert mode (edit field)
`a`	Enter Insert mode (same as `i`)
`Esc`	Exit Insert mode

Undo/Redo

Key	Action
`u`	Undo last change
`U`	Redo last undone change

Copy/Paste

Key	Action
`y`	Copy (yank) field value
`p`	Paste yanked value
`Ctrl+C`	Copy field label API name
`Ctrl+Shift+C`	Copy full field API name

Popups

Key	Action
`Ctrl+K`	Open Changes/Picklists/Lookups popup
`h`/`l`	Switch popup tabs
`j`/`k`	Navigate popup items
`Enter`	Select popup item
`Esc`	Close popup

Common Workflows

Bulk Update Multiple Fields

1. Navigate to first field (j/k)
2. Press i to edit
3. Type new value
4. Press Esc
5. Press j to next field
6. Repeat steps 2-5
7. Press Ctrl+K to review changes
8. Type :w to save all

Copy Value Across Multiple Fields

1. Navigate to source field
2. Press y to copy
3. Navigate to target field 1
4. Press p to paste
5. Navigate to target field 2
6. Press p to paste
7. Type :w to save

Experimental Editing with Undo

1. Navigate to field
2. Press i, type "Option A", press Esc
3. Review... not quite right
4. Press u (undo)
5. Press i, type "Option B", press Esc
6. Review... better!
7. Keep it, move to next field

Copy Field API Name for SOQL

1. Navigate to field
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+C
3. Switch to Query Tool (Ctrl+Shift+Q)
4. Paste into SELECT clause
5. Add to query

Review Changes Before Save

1. Edit multiple fields
2. Press Ctrl+K
3. Review all changes in popup
4. Verify values correct
5. Press Esc to close
6. Type :w to save or :q to discard

Tips and Tricks

Use Undo Freely

Tip: Don't be afraid to experiment

Try a value → Press u if wrong → Try another
Undo is instant and unlimited

Copy API Names While Browsing

Tip: Build SOQL queries from record exploration

1. Open record
2. Browse fields with j/k
3. Copy interesting field API names (Ctrl+Shift+C)
4. Build query from copied names

Ctrl+K for Quick Overview

Tip: Check what you've changed before saving

Edit 5 fields → Press Ctrl+K → Review changes → :w
Prevents accidentally saving wrong values

Paste to Duplicate Records

Tip: Copy fields from one record to another

Record 1: Press y on each field
Record 2: Open in split view
Record 2: Press p on each field
Creates duplicate with modified fields

Troubleshooting

Can't Edit Field

Symptom: Insert mode doesn't activate Solution:

Check if field is read-only (gray text)
Verify field-level security permissions
System fields (Id, CreatedDate) are not editable
Formula and rollup fields are read-only

Changes Not Tracked

Symptom: No orange border after editing Solution:

Ensure you pressed Esc to exit Insert mode
Verify value actually changed
Check if new value equals original value
Some fields auto-format on blur

Undo Not Working

Symptom: u doesn't revert changes Solution:

Undo works per field, not globally
Navigate to the modified field first
If already saved (:w), undo history cleared
Refresh record with :refresh to revert saves

Paste Fails

Symptom: p doesn't paste value Solution:

Ensure you copied with y first
Check field type compatibility
Verify pasted value is valid for field
Some fields reject certain formats

Symptom: Popup shows no changes Solution:

Make changes first (edit fields)
Changes must be unsaved (orange borders)
After :w, changes list clears
Switch to Picklists/Lookups tab for field info

Next Steps

Navigation - Move through fields efficiently
Command Mode - Save, quit, and utility commands
Field Types - Detailed field editing guides
Advanced Features - Split-screen and power techniques

Practice Editing

Open a test record and practice: j to navigate, i to edit, y to copy, p to paste, u to undo. These five commands handle 90% of editing workflows!

Editing ​

Insert Mode ​

Entering Insert Mode ​

Exiting Insert Mode ​

Edit Field Values ​

Text Fields ​

Number Fields ​

Boolean Fields ​

Date and DateTime Fields ​

Picklist Fields ​

Reference/Lookup Fields ​

Address Fields ​

Undo and Redo ​

Undo ​

Redo ​

Copy and Paste ​

Copy (Yank) ​

Paste ​

Copy API Names ​

Copy Label API Name ​

Copy Full API Name ​

Change Tracking ​

Visual Indicators ​

View Changes ​

Discard Changes ​

Ctrl+K Popup ​

Changes Tab ​

Picklists Tab ​

Lookups Tab ​

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference ​

Insert Mode ​

Undo/Redo ​

Copy/Paste ​

Popups ​

Common Workflows ​

Bulk Update Multiple Fields ​

Copy Value Across Multiple Fields ​

Experimental Editing with Undo ​

Copy Field API Name for SOQL ​

Review Changes Before Save ​

Tips and Tricks ​

Use Undo Freely ​

Copy API Names While Browsing ​

Ctrl+K for Quick Overview ​

Paste to Duplicate Records ​

Troubleshooting ​

Can't Edit Field ​

Changes Not Tracked ​

Undo Not Working ​

Paste Fails ​

Ctrl+K Popup Empty ​

Next Steps ​

Editing

Insert Mode

Entering Insert Mode

Exiting Insert Mode

Edit Field Values

Text Fields

Number Fields

Boolean Fields

Date and DateTime Fields

Picklist Fields

Reference/Lookup Fields

Address Fields

Undo and Redo

Undo

Redo

Copy and Paste

Copy (Yank)

Paste

Copy API Names

Copy Label API Name

Copy Full API Name

Change Tracking

Visual Indicators

View Changes

Discard Changes

Ctrl+K Popup

Changes Tab

Picklists Tab

Lookups Tab

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Insert Mode

Undo/Redo

Copy/Paste

Popups

Common Workflows

Bulk Update Multiple Fields

Copy Value Across Multiple Fields

Experimental Editing with Undo

Copy Field API Name for SOQL

Review Changes Before Save

Tips and Tricks

Use Undo Freely

Copy API Names While Browsing

Ctrl+K for Quick Overview

Paste to Duplicate Records

Troubleshooting

Can't Edit Field

Changes Not Tracked

Undo Not Working

Paste Fails

Ctrl+K Popup Empty

Next Steps