An organization relies on proper data storage and handling to ensure that their workflows are going well. But with the complexity and overwhelmingly large number of an organization’s data, it’s hard to store them properly. That’s where Salesforce comes to help. Salesforce uses objects to store various kinds of information inside an org’s database.
External objects are used in Salesforce to store critical information that’s only known to a particular company. In this post, users are walked through the process of creating external objects to store their data properly.
External Objects Defined
An external object is used to store data that are specific to the company. It functions like any usual custom object. However, one unique function of an external object is its ability to map itself to data found outside the Salesforce system.
Salesforce connects the data found in external storage systems by mapping them against an external object. Hence, Salesforce org users are able to freely search and use essential data from external sources using external objects.
Outside data sources that Salesforce users can connect to include SAP, IBM WebSphere, and Microsoft Sharepoint. Using Salesforce Connect, data from these sources can be linked to Salesforce via external objects.
Creating New External Objects
Follow these simple steps to start creating new external objects:
- Navigate to Setup.
- Locate the Quick Find box and type External Objects. Click on the External Objects options that will appear.
- Select New External Object.
- The following fields will appear. Fill them out with their corresponding data:
- Label
- Plural Label
- Starts with vowel sound
- Object name
- Description
- Context-Sensitive Help Setting
- Content Name
- External Data Source
- Table Name
- Display URL Reference Field
- Allow Reports
- Deployment Status
- Allow Search
Some of these fields are optional, and some might not be appropriate for the external data source. Fill out these fields according to the external object data source that’s being used.
- Hit Save once done with the fields.
The new external object is now created. The external object’s detail page will appear. Here, a user can view and modify fields, create mappings, and assign page layouts for the org’s users.