There are five different data types in API:
- ID – Useful in relationships like Lookup Relationship, and Master-Detail Relationship.
- Boolean – Used for Check-Box.
- Double – Used for Number, Percent, Currency, Formula, and Roll-Up Summary.
- String – Used for the Auto-number, Text, Text-Area, Long Text-Area, rich Text-Area, Email, Phone, URL, Data-Category, Group-Reference and Multi-Select Picklist.
- Varies by type – Used for Formula Field.
NOTES:
- Phone: Phone numbers can include alphabetic characters. Client applications are responsible for phone number formatting.
- Picklist: Picklist includes a set of enumerated values from which one value can be selected.
- Reference: Cross-references to a different object. Analogous to a foreign key field in SQL.
- Text Area: Text Area takes the string which displayed as a multiline text field.
- URL: URL values are commonly displayed these as hyperlinks in Client applications.
Below we have listed all the Field Types:
| Field Type | Description |
| Auto Number | This is a system-generated sequence number which uses a display format we define, and the number is automatically incremented for each new record. |
Text This allows users to enter any combination of letters and numbers.
Text Area This allows users to enter up to 255 characters on separate lines.
Text Area (Long) This allows users to enter up to 131,072 characters on separate lines.
Text Area (Rich) This allows users to enter formatted text, add images and links. Up to 131,072 characters on separate lines.
Text (Encrypted) This allows users to enter any combination of letters and numbers and store them in encrypted form.
Formula This is a Read-Only field which derives its value from a formula expression we define, and the formula field is updated when any of the source fields change.
Checkbox This allows users to select a True (checked) or False (unchecked) value.
Currency This allows users to enter a dollar ($) or other currency amount and automatically formats the field as a currency amount. This will be useful if we export data to Excel or another spreadsheet.
Date This allows users to enter a date from a popup calendar.
Date/Time This allows users to enter a date and time from a popup calendar, and when users click a date in the popup, that date and the current time are entered into the Date/Time field.
Email This allows users to enter an email address that is validated to ensure proper format. If the field is specified for a contact or lead, users can choose the address when clicking Send an Email. [Note: Custom Email addresses cannot be used for mass emails.]
Number This allows users to enter any number. [Note: Leading zeros will be removed.]
Percent This allows users to enter a percentage number, for example, if we enter the number '10' then a Percent-Sign will be added to the number.
Phone This allows users to enter any phone number. [Note: Automatically formats it as a phone number.]
Picklist This allows users to select a value from a list you define.
Picklist (Multi-Select) This allows users to select multiple values from a list you define.
Geolocation This allows users to define locations that include latitude and longitude components, which can be useful to calculate distance.
Time This allows users to enter a local time. These are the valid times for this field “8:10 AM”, “16:20”, “20:30:10”, and “23:50:20.500”.
URL This allows users to enter any valid website address. [Note: when a user clicks on the field, then the URL of this field will be open in a separate browser window.
Roll-Up Summary This is a read-only field which displays the sum, minimum, or maximum value of a field in a related list or the record count of all records listed in a related list.
Lookup Relationship This field makes object relationship with another object. The relationship field allows users to click on a lookup icon to select a value from a popup list. The other object is the source of the values in the list.
External Lookup Relationship This field makes object relationship with an external object whose data is stored outside the Salesforce Org.