Field Types

Learn how the Record Editor handles each Salesforce field type with specific editing interfaces, validation, and formatting.

Overview

Salesforce has many field types, each with unique behaviors. The Record Editor provides specialized editing interfaces for each type to ensure valid data entry and a smooth experience.

Field Categories:

Simple Types - Text, Number, Boolean
Date Types - Date, DateTime
Selection Types - Picklist, Multi-Select Picklist
Relationship Types - Lookup, Master-Detail
Complex Types - Address, Geolocation
Read-Only Types - Formula, Rollup Summary, Auto-Number

Field Type Detection

The editor automatically detects field types from Salesforce metadata and renders the appropriate input interface. You don't need to specify the type—it just works.

Text and Textarea

Text

Single-line text fields for short strings.

Salesforce Field Types:

Text
Email
Phone
URL

Editing:

Press i
Type or paste text
Press Esc

Example:

Field: FirstName (Text)
Press i
Type: "Jonathan"
Press Esc
Value: "Jonathan"

Features:

Free-form text input
Character limit enforced (e.g., 80, 255)
Special characters allowed
Emoji supported

Validation:

Email fields validate format on save
URL fields validate format on save
Phone fields accept any format (no validation)

Textarea

Multi-line text fields for longer content.

Salesforce Field Types:

Text Area
Text Area (Long)
Text Area (Rich)

Editing:

Press i
Type multi-line text (press Enter for new lines)
Press Esc

Example:

Field: Description (Text Area Long)
Press i
Type: "Line 1
Line 2
Line 3"
Press Esc
Value: (3-line content)

Features:

Newlines preserved
Character limit enforced (32,768 for Long)
Rich text stored as HTML but edited as plain text
Scrollable if content exceeds display area

Rich Text

Rich Text Area fields store HTML, but the editor shows plain text. Formatting (bold, italic) is not rendered or editable—only raw text.

Number, Currency, and Percent

Number

Numeric fields for integers and decimals.

Editing:

Press i
Type numeric value
Press Esc

Example:

Field: NumberOfEmployees (Number)
Press i
Type: "500"
Press Esc
Value: 500

Validation:

Only digits and decimal point allowed
Precision enforced (e.g., 2 decimal places)
Scientific notation supported (e.g., 1.5e6)
Negative numbers allowed (prefix with -)

Formatting:

Displayed with thousand separators on blur
Input: 1000000 → Display: 1,000,000

Currency

Monetary values with currency symbol.

Editing:

Press i
Type numeric value (no currency symbol)
Press Esc

Example:

Field: AnnualRevenue (Currency)
Press i
Type: "2500000"
Press Esc
Value: $2,500,000.00

Features:

Currency symbol auto-added based on org settings
Multi-currency orgs show appropriate symbol
Displayed with two decimal places
Thousand separators added

Multi-Currency:

Field: Amount (Currency)
Related Field: CurrencyIsoCode
If CurrencyIsoCode = "EUR"
Display: €2,500,000.00

If CurrencyIsoCode = "GBP"
Display: £2,500,000.00

Percent

Percentage values.

Editing:

Press i
Type numeric value (without % symbol)
Press Esc

Example:

Field: Discount_Percent__c (Percent)
Press i
Type: "15.5"
Press Esc
Value: 15.5%

Features:

Percent symbol auto-added on blur
Stored as decimal (15.5% = 0.155 internally)
Input: 15.5 → Display: 15.5%

Numeric Input

For Currency and Percent, type just the number (e.g., "100"). Don't type "$" or "%"—they're added automatically.

Date and DateTime

Date

Calendar dates without time component.

Editing:

Press i
Date picker appears
Select date from calendar
Press Esc or click outside picker

Example:

Field: StartDate (Date)
Press i
→ Calendar picker appears
→ Click "2025-11-15"
Press Esc
Value: 2025-11-15

Features:

Visual calendar picker
Navigate months with arrows
Click date to select
Today button for current date
Manual input also supported

Format:

Displayed: Based on user locale (e.g., "11/15/2025" in US)
Stored: ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
Input: Various formats accepted (MM/DD/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD)

Manual Input:

Press i
Type: "11/15/2025"
Press Esc
Value: 2025-11-15

DateTime

Date and time with timezone support.

Editing:

Press i
DateTime picker appears
Select date from calendar
Select time from dropdown
Press Esc or click outside picker

Example:

Field: EventDateTime__c (DateTime)
Press i
→ Calendar picker appears
→ Click "2025-11-15"
→ Time dropdown appears
→ Select "14:30"
Press Esc
Value: 2025-11-15T14:30:00.000Z

Features:

Calendar and time picker
Time in 24-hour or 12-hour format (based on locale)
Timezone conversion automatic
Current date/time button

Timezone Handling:

Displayed in user's timezone
Stored in UTC in Salesforce
Conversion automatic
Example: User in PST enters "2PM" → Stored as "22:00 UTC"

Manual Input:

Press i
Type: "11/15/2025 2:30 PM"
Press Esc
Value: 2025-11-15T22:30:00.000Z (if user in UTC)

Timezone Aware

DateTime fields respect your Salesforce user timezone settings. What you see is in your timezone; what Salesforce stores is UTC.

Boolean (Checkbox)

True/false fields.

Editing:

Press i
Click checkbox or press Space
Press Esc

Example:

Field: IsActive (Checkbox)
Current: ☑ (true)
Press i
Press Space
Value: ☐ (false)
Press Esc

Values:

true - Checkbox checked
false - Checkbox unchecked
null - Empty (if field is not required)

Keyboard:

Space - Toggle checkbox
Click - Toggle checkbox

Display:

Checked: ☑ or "true"
Unchecked: ☐ or "false"

Picklist (Single-Select)

Dropdown with predefined values.

Editing:

Press i
Dropdown appears with all valid values
Click a value or use arrow keys + Enter
Press Esc

Example:

Field: Status (Picklist)
Values: Draft, In Review, Approved, Rejected
Current: Draft
Press i
→ Dropdown shows all 4 values
→ Select "Approved"
Press Esc
Value: Approved

Features:

Only valid values selectable
Invalid values prevented
Search within dropdown (type to filter)
Current value highlighted

Keyboard Navigation:

Press i
↓ to move down list
↑ to move up list
Enter to select
Esc to close without changing

Search in Dropdown:

Press i
Type: "app"
Dropdown filters to: "Approved"
Press Enter
Value: Approved

Dependent Picklists

Picklists whose values depend on another field (controlling field).

How It Works:

Controlling field (e.g., Country) determines available values in dependent field (e.g., State)
Change controlling field → dependent field values update
If current dependent value is invalid for new controlling value, it's cleared

Example:

Controlling Field: Country
Dependent Field: State

Country = "USA"
→ State values: Alabama, Alaska, ..., Wyoming

Change Country to "Canada"
→ State values update: Alberta, British Columbia, ..., Yukon
→ Previous State value ("California") cleared (invalid for Canada)

Visual Indicator:

Dependent fields show "(Depends on: Country)" in label

Editing Workflow:

1. Edit controlling field (Country)
2. Press Esc
3. Navigate to dependent field (State)
4. Press i
5. Dropdown shows values filtered by controlling field
6. Select value

Dependent Field Clearing

Changing a controlling field may clear the dependent field. Always set the controlling field first, then the dependent field.

Multi-Select Picklist

Select multiple values from a list.

Editing:

Press i
Multi-select interface appears
Check/uncheck values
Press Esc or click outside

Example:

Field: Interests__c (Multi-Select Picklist)
Values: Sports, Music, Reading, Travel, Technology
Current: Sports;Reading
Press i
→ Checkboxes appear
→ Check "Technology"
→ Uncheck "Sports"
Press Esc
Value: Reading;Technology

Features:

Multiple values separated by semicolons (;)
Order preserved
Maximum selections enforced (if configured)
Search to filter values

Display:

Selected: Value1;Value2;Value3
Single: Value1
None: (empty)

Keyboard:

Press i
↓ / ↑ to navigate
Space to check/uncheck
Tab to move to next value
Esc to close

Reference/Lookup Fields

Link to related records.

Salesforce Field Types:

Lookup
Master-Detail
External Lookup

Editing:

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

Example:

Field: AccountId (Lookup to Account)
Current: 001xx...AAW (Acme Corp)
Press i
Type: "Burlington"
→ Search results appear:
   - Burlington Textiles Corp
   - Burlington Industries
→ Click "Burlington Textiles Corp"
Press Esc
Value: 001xx...BAW (Burlington Textiles Corp)

Features:

Autocomplete search
Searches Name field by default
Shows up to 10 results
Recent records shown when search empty
Click ID to navigate to related record

Search Behavior:

Type 2+ characters → Search executes
Results shown in dropdown
Navigate with ↑/↓
Press Enter to select

Clear Lookup:

Press i
Delete all text (Backspace)
Press Esc
Value: (empty)

Polymorphic Lookups:

Some lookups reference multiple object types (e.g., WhoId can be Contact or Lead).

Field: WhoId (Polymorphic: Contact, Lead)
Press i
Type: "John"
→ Results show both Contacts and Leads named "John"
→ Type label indicates object type
   - John Doe (Contact)
   - John Smith (Lead)
Select desired record

Click any Salesforce ID in the Value column to open the related record.

Example:

Field: AccountId
Value: 001xx000003DH1QAAW (clickable link)
Click the ID
→ Account record opens in split view or new tab
→ Edit related record
→ Close to return

Lookup Workflow

Common workflow: Edit a Contact → Click AccountId → Edit Account → Close Account tab → Back to Contact editing.

Address Fields

Compound fields for addresses.

Components:

Street
City
State/Province
Postal Code
Country

Two Display Modes:

JSON Mode (Default)

json

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

Editing JSON Mode:

Press i
Edit JSON directly
Press Esc

Section Mode

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

Editing Section Mode:

Press i on any component (e.g., City)
Edit that component
Press Esc

Toggle Between Modes:

Press Ctrl+A
→ Switch from JSON to Section or Section to JSON

Example Workflow:

Field: BillingAddress
Display: JSON mode (default)
Press Ctrl+A
→ Section mode
Press i on Street
Type: "456 Oak Ave"
Press Esc
Press j to City
Press i
Type: "Los Angeles"
Press Esc
Press Ctrl+A
→ Back to JSON mode to verify

Which Mode to Use

Use Section mode for editing individual components. Use JSON mode for bulk copy/paste or viewing the complete address structure.

Geolocation Fields

Latitude and longitude coordinates.

Components:

Latitude (decimal degrees)
Longitude (decimal degrees)

Editing:

Press i
Edit latitude and longitude
Press Esc

Example:

Field: Location__c (Geolocation)
Value: Lat: 37.7749, Long: -122.4194
Press i
→ Two inputs appear
→ Edit Latitude: 40.7128
→ Edit Longitude: -74.0060
Press Esc
Value: Lat: 40.7128, Long: -74.0060 (New York coordinates)

Validation:

Latitude: -90 to 90
Longitude: -180 to 180
Decimal precision up to 6 places

Formula Fields

Read-only calculated fields.

Characteristics:

Cannot be edited (calculated by Salesforce)
Displayed in gray text
No Insert mode on these fields
Shows calculated value

Example:

Field: Total_Value__c (Formula: Amount * Quantity)
Value: $5,000.00
Press i
→ Nothing happens (read-only)

Display:

Name                Value
Total_Value__c      $5,000.00 [gray text]

Types:

Text formulas
Number formulas
Date formulas
Boolean formulas
Currency formulas

Why Read-Only

Formula fields are calculated by Salesforce based on other field values. Editing them directly would break the calculation. To change a formula field value, edit the fields it depends on.

Rollup Summary Fields

Aggregate values from related records.

Characteristics:

Cannot be edited (calculated from child records)
Displayed in gray text
Shows aggregated value (SUM, COUNT, MIN, MAX, AVG)

Example:

Field: Total_Opportunities__c (Rollup: COUNT of Opportunities)
Value: 12
Press i
→ Nothing happens (read-only)

Common Rollups:

SUM: Total_Amount__c = SUM(Opportunity.Amount)
COUNT: Number_of_Contacts__c = COUNT(Contact.Id)
MIN: Earliest_Close_Date__c = MIN(Opportunity.CloseDate)
MAX: Latest_Activity__c = MAX(Task.ActivityDate)

Updating Rollups

To change a rollup field, edit the related child records. For example, to increase Total_Amount__c, add or edit Opportunities associated with the Account.

Auto-Number Fields

System-generated sequential numbers.

Characteristics:

Cannot be edited (auto-generated)
Displayed in gray text
Format defined by admin (e.g., "CASE-{0000}")

Example:

Field: CaseNumber (Auto-Number)
Value: CASE-0012345
Press i
→ Nothing happens (read-only)

Formats:

CASE-{0000} → CASE-0001, CASE-0002, ...
INV-{YYYY}-{000} → INV-2025-001, INV-2025-002, ...
{00000} → 00001, 00002, ...

System Fields

Read-only fields managed by Salesforce.

Common System Fields:

Id - Record ID (18-character)
CreatedById - User who created record
CreatedDate - When record created
LastModifiedById - User who last modified record
LastModifiedDate - When last modified
SystemModstamp - Last system modification timestamp
OwnerId - Record owner (editable in some cases)

Editing:

Field: CreatedDate
Value: 2025-10-15 10:30:00
Press i
→ Nothing happens (read-only system field)

OwnerId Exception:

Field: OwnerId (Lookup to User)
Value: 005xx...AAW (John Doe)
Press i
→ Editable! (can change record owner)
Type: "Jane"
Select: Jane Smith
Press Esc
Value: 005xx...BAW (Jane Smith)

Encrypted Fields

Fields with encryption at rest.

Characteristics:

Editable like regular text fields
Encrypted value not visible in editor
Displayed as masked or placeholder text

Example:

Field: SSN__c (Encrypted Text)
Value: ********1234 (last 4 digits visible)
Press i
Type: "123-45-6789"
Press Esc
Value: ********6789 (encrypted, last 4 shown)

Encryption Types:

Classic Encryption (masked display)
Shield Platform Encryption (full encryption)

Encryption Visibility

Encrypted field values may not be fully visible even to admins. The editor respects encryption settings and shows masked values.

Field Type Quick Reference

Field Type	Editable	Input Method	Example
Text	✅	Text input	"John Doe"
Textarea	✅	Multi-line input	"Line 1\nLine 2"
Email	✅	Text input (validated)	"john@example.com"
Phone	✅	Text input	"555-1234"
URL	✅	Text input (validated)	"https://example.com"
Number	✅	Numeric input	12345
Currency	✅	Numeric input	$1,000.00
Percent	✅	Numeric input	15.5%
Date	✅	Date picker	2025-11-15
DateTime	✅	DateTime picker	2025-11-15T14:30:00Z
Boolean	✅	Checkbox	true/false
Picklist	✅	Dropdown	"Approved"
Multi-Select Picklist	✅	Multi-select	"A;B;C"
Lookup	✅	Search + select	001xx...AAW
Master-Detail	✅	Search + select	001xx...AAW
Address	✅	JSON or section
Geolocation	✅	Lat/Long inputs	37.7749, -122.4194
Formula	❌	Read-only	(calculated)
Rollup Summary	❌	Read-only	(calculated)
Auto-Number	❌	Read-only	CASE-00123
Id	❌	Read-only	001xx...AAW
CreatedDate	❌	Read-only	2025-10-15
LastModifiedDate	❌	Read-only	2025-11-02

Troubleshooting

Can't Edit Field

Symptom: i key doesn't activate Insert mode Solution:

Check if field is read-only (gray text)
Verify field type (formulas, rollups, system fields are read-only)
Check field-level security permissions
Ensure you're in Normal mode (press Esc)

Invalid Value Error

Symptom: Save fails with "Invalid value" error Solution:

Check field type validation (e.g., email format)
Verify picklist value is in the valid list
Ensure number is within allowed range
Check required fields are populated

Lookup Search Returns Nothing

Symptom: No results when searching in lookup Solution:

Type at least 2 characters
Check spelling
Verify related records exist
Try searching by ID instead
Check record access (sharing rules)

Date Picker Won't Open

Symptom: Clicking date field doesn't show picker Solution:

Ensure you pressed i to enter Insert mode
Click inside the date input field
Check browser compatibility
Try manual input (type date)

Dependent Picklist Values Wrong

Symptom: Dependent picklist shows unexpected values Solution:

Check controlling field value
Verify dependent picklist configuration in Salesforce
Try refreshing record (:refresh)
Set controlling field before dependent field

Next Steps

Navigation - Move through fields efficiently
Editing - Insert mode, undo/redo, copy/paste
Command Mode - Save, quit, and utility commands
Advanced Features - Split-screen, related lists, power techniques

Know Your Fields

Understanding field types helps you edit faster. Learn which fields are read-only, which use pickers, and which need special formatting. The editor guides you, but knowledge accelerates your workflow.

Field Types ​

Overview ​

Text and Textarea ​

Text ​

Textarea ​

Number, Currency, and Percent ​

Number ​

Currency ​

Percent ​

Date and DateTime ​

Date ​

DateTime ​

Boolean (Checkbox) ​

Picklist (Single-Select) ​

Dependent Picklists ​

Multi-Select Picklist ​

Reference/Lookup Fields ​

Navigate to Related Record ​

Address Fields ​

JSON Mode (Default) ​

Section Mode ​

Geolocation Fields ​

Formula Fields ​

Rollup Summary Fields ​

Auto-Number Fields ​

System Fields ​

Encrypted Fields ​

Field Type Quick Reference ​

Troubleshooting ​

Can't Edit Field ​

Invalid Value Error ​

Lookup Search Returns Nothing ​

Date Picker Won't Open ​

Dependent Picklist Values Wrong ​

Next Steps ​

Field Types

Overview

Text and Textarea

Text

Textarea

Number, Currency, and Percent

Number

Currency

Percent

Date and DateTime

Date

DateTime

Boolean (Checkbox)

Picklist (Single-Select)

Dependent Picklists

Multi-Select Picklist

Reference/Lookup Fields

Navigate to Related Record

Address Fields

JSON Mode (Default)

Section Mode

Geolocation Fields

Formula Fields

Rollup Summary Fields

Auto-Number Fields

System Fields

Encrypted Fields

Field Type Quick Reference

Troubleshooting

Can't Edit Field

Invalid Value Error

Lookup Search Returns Nothing

Date Picker Won't Open

Dependent Picklist Values Wrong

Next Steps