Object Manager and Lightning App Builder
This chapter explains how administrators shape the data model with custom fields, relationships, validation, and page layouts, and how the Lightning App Builder customizes the user interface. These declarative tools let admins tailor Salesforce without code.
Fields and relationships
Object Manager is where you create custom fields, including formula fields that calculate read-only values automatically. Relationships connect objects: a lookup relationship is a loose link, while a master-detail relationship tightly couples child records to a parent so children inherit the parent's sharing and are deleted when the parent is deleted.
Data integrity with validation rules
A validation rule runs a formula when a record is saved and blocks the save with an error message when the data is invalid, such as a Close Date earlier than the Created Date. Validation rules enforce quality at the moment of entry, complementing duplicate and required-field controls.
Page layouts and Lightning App Builder
Page layouts control which fields, related lists, and buttons appear on a record, and different layouts can be assigned per profile, often alongside record types, so different user groups see tailored views. The Lightning App Builder is a drag-and-drop tool for building record pages, home pages, and app pages from standard and custom components.