Terms

Custom Metadata Types

Custom Metadata Types are a Salesforce feature that enables administrators and developers to create their own application configuration data. These types are similar to custom objects but are designed to hold metadata, not transactional data, allowing for the creation of reusable configuration records for things like business rules or mappings. This approach centralizes key data, making it easily deployable and referenceable across the platform in formulas, validation rules, Apex, and Flows.

Use Cases and Applications

Custom Metadata Types are incredibly versatile for managing application configurations that need to be deployed across different Salesforce orgs. They help avoid hard-coding values and make maintenance much simpler, allowing for scalable and manageable application development.

  • Mappings: Storing relationships between different systems or values, like mapping country codes to specific regions.
  • Business Rules: Defining dynamic logic, such as discount tiers or approval thresholds, that can be updated without code changes.
  • Feature Toggles: Enabling or disabling application features for different users or environments through simple configuration records.
  • Secrets: Managing API keys or credentials securely, as they can be protected and are not exposed directly in code.

Best Practices

Always use clear naming conventions and provide detailed descriptions for both the metadata type and its fields. Design for scalability by creating reusable configurations rather than overly specific ones. For sensitive data like credentials, leverage protected custom metadata types to ensure they are not exposed in your code or to unauthorized users.

Custom Metadata Types vs. Custom Settings

Choosing between Custom Metadata Types and Custom Settings depends on your specific configuration and deployment needs.

  • Deployability: Custom Metadata Types are fully deployable and packageable, supporting complex data types and advanced security. This makes them ideal for enterprises needing to migrate configurations across environments and enforce governance, though they can be more complex for simple needs.
  • Hierarchy: Custom Settings are cached for faster performance in Apex and uniquely support hierarchical configurations for different users or profiles. Mid-market companies may prefer them for simpler, user-specific settings where data deployment is not a primary concern.

Limitations and Considerations

While Custom Metadata Types are powerful, it's important to understand their limitations to use them effectively. They offer great benefits for managing configurations, but certain constraints can impact your implementation and long-term maintenance.

  • Deployment: They excel at migrating configurations between environments, but updating records can be more cumbersome than with Custom Settings, often requiring a deployment. This makes them less suitable for frequently changing data.
  • Complexity: They are highly scalable and referenceable across Salesforce, but are subject to org limits on the number of types and fields. Careful planning is needed to avoid hitting these platform ceilings in large applications.

Implementation Steps

This is how you create and use a Custom Metadata Type.

  1. From Setup, create a new Custom Metadata Type, giving it a clear label and name.
  2. Add custom fields to define the data structure for your configuration, such as text, checkbox, or picklist fields.
  3. Click 'Manage Records' on the type to create the actual configuration data records.
  4. Reference these records in formulas, validation rules, Apex, or Flows to drive your application's behavior dynamically.

Frequently Asked Questions about Custom Metadata Types

How are Custom Metadata Types different from Custom Objects?

Custom Metadata Types store configuration data that is deployable across orgs, like settings or mappings. Custom Objects hold transactional business data, such as customer records or sales opportunities, which are specific to an environment and not typically deployed.

Can I update Custom Metadata records using Apex?

No, you cannot perform DML operations (like insert or update) on Custom Metadata records directly in Apex. Updates must be managed through deployments using change sets or the Metadata API, ensuring configuration changes are controlled and tracked.

Do Custom Metadata Types count against governor limits?

SOQL queries against Custom Metadata Types do not count towards the SOQL query governor limit, which is a major performance benefit. However, the platform does impose limits on the total number of types and fields you can create.

Other terms

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