Introduction

We’ll be creating a Custom App for a supplier of solar components and systems. The supplier is now offering personalized energy assessments to its customers and needs a place to track and manage the results. We’ll be creating a Custom App for this purpose, but before we do that, we’ll create a Custom Object called Energy Audit, followed by a Custom Object Tab to make the Energy Audit Object easily accessible to the Users, following which we’ll create Custom Fields for the Object and finally create Energy Audit Records.

By the end of this hands-on exercise, we’ll understand the business value of custom objects, and we’ll learn how to use them to our advantage. Let’s get one step closer to being an Admin!

Create a Custom Object

Custom Objects fulfill requirements that Standard Objects such as Accounts, Leads and Opportunities fail to. These Objects are unique and tailored just for your business. Follow these steps to create a Custom Object – Energy Audit – for the supplier.

1. Click on the gear icon in the top right corner of your org and select Setup.

2. Click Object Manager.

3. On the Object Manager Page, click Create →Custom Object.

4. Fill in the following :

• Label: Energy Audit
• Plural Label: Energy Audits

Check the following boxes :

• Starts with a Vowel Sound
• Allow Search
• After saving the custom object, launch New Custom Tab Wizard ( We check this box to make the process of creating a Custom Tab for this Object a breeze, if you leave this box unchecked, you will need to search for Tabs in the Quick Find Box in Setup and create a new Custom Object Tab there).

5. Leave the rest of the values as is, and click Save.

We just created a Custom Object, Energy Audit! Way to go!

Create a Custom Object Tab

Since we checked the box Launch New Custom Tab Wizard after saving this custom object, we’ll be immediately directed to the New Custom Object Tab page. Let’s make this object accessible for our Users by creating a Custom Tab for Energy Audit.

1. Choose a Tab Style of your choice for the Object. I’ve selected the Sun here.

2. Enter a short description.

3. Click Next.

4. Click Next, again.

5. For Add to Custom Apps, deselect Include Tab, and select only Sales (standard__LightningSales). For now, only the Sales Users can view this tab.

6. Click Save.

Create Custom Fields

We created a Custom Tab for the Energy Audit Object but this alone isn’t good enough. The Object needs to hold relevant fields to make it meaningful and usable.

We require the following Custom Fields:

Now, follow the given steps to create a Custom Field, Annual Energy Usage(kWh) in the Energy Audit Object.

1. Navigate to Object Manager in Setup.

2. Select Energy Audit from the list of Objects.

3. Click Fields & Relationships on the sidebar.

4. Click New in the top-right corner.

5. For Field Type, Select Number.

6. Click Next.

7. Enter the following:

• Field Label: Annual Energy Usage(kWh)
• Field Name: Annual_Energy_Usage_kWh
• Help Text: Usage per square foot.
• Now Select “Always require a value in this field.”

It should look like the image given below.

8. Click Next, Next, and Save & New.

We created just one Custom Field, similarly create the rest of the fields. And we’re good to go!

Create Energy Audit Records

All that’s left for us to do is create Records of Energy Audit. Let’s create a couple of records to fill the object out.

1. From Sales, select Energy Audits from the navigation bar, if you can’t find it there, click More and select it from the drop-down menu.

1. Click New

2. Fill in the following parameters:

1. 1. Energy Audit Name: Burlington evaluation
   2. Type of Installation: Rooftop
   3. Average Annual Electric Cost: 1.86
   4. Annual Energy Usage (kWh): 23
   5. Account: Burlington Textiles Corp of America

3. Click Save & New.

Similarly, create a couple more Records with the information given below, and we’re done.

Image Sources