Creating a page layout or modifying a page layout in Salesforce is both simple but can get extremely complex.
This is highly dependent upon the different pieces of information that are needed in the page layout.
Things like fields, custom buttons, links, actions, related lists, etc are all things that can add to the information to the page layout.
Although, the most complex thing I have seen is a coded solution for a page layout is a trigger that updates specific related lists dependent upon the fields that correspond. It was a lot of testing every time we even needed to move a field around!
A note about users
One thing I will always be passionate about is our users and creating a great experience for them!
So be sure to get user input on different things that will help them on page layouts before changing.
As well as educating them on the options you believe will be helpful in their day-to-day workflow.
Youtube Video
Did you know that I have a youtube video on this specific topic?
If that’s easier for you, I will drop it below.
Although, sometimes you can’t always watch a video so keep scrolling to read/look at screenshots of this task.
Learning Page Layouts
So in this step by step we will go through how to get to the page layout section and create a new page layout.
As well as some of the different aspects of the page layouts that you have the option to add.
My best advice for learning page layouts is twofold.
One, answer a question! Typically, people learn better when they have an objective to learn for. Questions are a great way to do this.
Questions also come in the form of requests from managers or users on the platform.
Two, dink around in some type of sandbox. Seriously, just get your ‘hands dirty in an org.
Try to complete a daily task of your users, like creating a record. Document the process and what might be hold-ups or time waisters in that process.
If they are spending 10 minutes looking for a field you’ll need to reduce the fields or categorize them.
Users will love you for making things more simple and automating their lives.
Step-by-Steps
First thing you’ll need to do to get to a page layout is to navigate to the object manager.
To get there you’ll need to go to the top right section and hit the gear icon, then set up.
There will be a tab called ‘object manager’ click on it.
You will see something like this:
Navigating to page layouts
The next thing you will need to do is select the object you want to create a page layout for.
I chose the account object. It will look something like this:
So after that click on page layouts from the right-hand section.
Then you will see the current page layout list.
New page layouts
Then click the new button in the top right corner of the page layouts. It will look something like this:
After clicking new you will need to complete some basic metadata details about the page layout.
This will help you to have a starting point because you need to copy an existing page layout.
Also, please name this layout something that is very indicative of the purpose you’ll use is for.
In this example I labeled it lead gen, because it was going to be used mainly for lead gen!
Next, you’ll see a few different aspects of the editing process.
At the top, you will have options for fields, buttons, custom links, quick actions, etc.
These are a lot of tools that will help you if they are used sparingly and only when needed.
Also, these tools are dragged and drop onto the canvas.
You will see a list of all the available things to you for your page layout. So for fields, you will see all available fields.
Same for buttons, links, actions, and related lists.
Here you’ll see the canvas that you can drag the options to. Mainly you’ll see the different fields.
These can be divided into sections which are extremely helpful.
Also, creating collapsible sections was probably the favorite day one change I made for my users.
Then you’ll be able to move around buttons and actions. These will dictate the different shortcuts you see on desktop and mobile.
There are many more options for customization on the page layout, but the number one thing that you can do is play around.
At the top, there are a few different options.
First is to save, this saves and takes you back to the page layout list.
Then quick save saves, but keeps you on the current editor.
Then preview as, allows you to preview your changes as the users would see it.
You will need to choose the profile beacuse it dictates the security of the page layout and what can be seen on a user by user basis.
This is what the preview looks like:
Conclusion
Big congrats to you for making it through this tutorial!
You can check out more from us on our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCka5mwxtdkUE7AoScLcG2DA/featured
You can learn more about us here: https://salesforceemily.com/?page_id=314