Create Custom Picklist Field in Salesforce

In this Salesforce Tutorial, we will learn how to create a custom picklist field in Salesforce.

While working as a Salesforce admin, I got a requirement to create a field that has a limited set of values. For this, I decided to create this field as a picklist.

So, If you want to how do I create a custom picklist filed in Salesforce Lightning as well as Salesforce Classic, read the complete article. And, the following are the topics that we will cover in this salesforce tutorial:

• How to create custom picklist field in Salesforce Lightning
• How to create custom picklist field in Salesforce Classic

How to create custom picklist field in Salesforce Lightning

Here, are the steps to create a custom picklist field in Salesforce Lightning:

Step 1: Log in to Salesforce Lightning mode, navigate to the right corner of the page, click on the gear icon (⚙), and from the dropdown menu (⬇) select “Setup”.

Step 2: On the left side of the menu, click on “Object Manager”.

Step 3: Look up the object for which a custom picklist field is needed. I want to create a picklist field for the “Campaign” object, for instance.

Step 4: Click on the “Campaign” object.

Step 5: Now, select the “Field & Relationships” option from the menu’s left side.

Step 6: Then, click on the “New” button to create a new custom picklist field.

Step 7: Choose the field type as “Picklist” and click on the “Next” button.

Step 8: Next, we will be prompted to the “New Custom Field” page. Here, we have to enter the “Field Label” and the “Field Name” will be automatically populated. For example, here we set the “Field Label” to “Campaign Objective”.

Step 9: In the “Values” section, check the radio button in front of “Enter values, with each value separated by a new line”.

Step 10: On the click, it will open the box, where we add the picklist values. Here, I enter picklist values such as Brand Awareness, Lead Generation, and Sales.

How to create Picklist (multi-select) field in Salesforce

Step 11: Next to it, we have three multiple checkboxes as defined below, select them as per your requirement.

• Display values alphabetically, not in the order entered: If you want to display the picklist values in alphabetical order, check this box.
• Use first value as default value: If you want to display the first entered picklist value as the default one, check this box. Note down one more thing, If you enter a valid Default Value formula, it overrides this setting.
• Restrict picklist to the values defined in the value set: If you want to limit the available options to a pre-defined set of values to ensure that only valid and meaningful data is entered, check this box.

Step 12: If we want, we can add “Description” and “Help Text”. This is the optional option.

Step 13: We can also make this field required, for this check the checkbox next to “Required”.

Step 14: Click “Next” to proceed.

Step 15: Next, a suitable field-level security should be chosen. In this case, I want it to select it for every profile, so click on the checkbox next to “Visible”.

Step 15: Now, click on the “Next” button to continue.

Step 16: Select the page layout where we want the custom field to appear. Then, to complete the procedure of creating the custom picklist field click on the “Save” button.

With this, we have successfully created a custom picklist field in Salesforce Lightning Component. Next, we will move ahead and learn to create a custom picklist field in Salesforce Classic Component.

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How to create custom picklist field in Salesforce Classic

Here, are the steps to create a custom picklist field in Salesforce Classic:

Step 1: First, we need to log in to Salesforce Classic. For this, click on “Avatar” and select “Switch to Salesforce Classic”.

Step 2: After that, click on the “Setup” option.

Step 3: Now, scroll down to the “Build” section. Then under “Customize”, select the object for whom we want to create a picklist field. Here, I choose the “Product” object.

Step 4: Click on the “Fields” option to create a new field in the selected object.

Step 5: Now, scroll down to the page, and click on the “New” button located in the “Custom Fields & Relationships” section.

Step 6: Choose the field type as “Picklist” and click on the “Next” button.

Step 7: Enter the “Field Label” and the “Field Name” will be automatically populated. Here, I set the “Field Label” to “Payment Method”.

Step 8: Now, in the “Values” section, check the radio button in front of “Enter values, with each value separated by a new line”.

Step 9: On the click, it will be prompted the box, where we add the picklist values. Here, I enter picklist values such as Credit Card, Check, and Wire Transfer.

Step 10: Following it, we have three different checkboxes as defined below, select them as per your prerequisite.

• Display values alphabetically, not in the order entered: Check this box If you need to show the picklist values in alphabetical order.
• Use first value as default value: If you want to show the first entered picklist value as the default one, check this box. Note down one more thing, If you enter a valid Default Value formula, it overrides this setting.
• Restrict picklist to the values defined in the value set: Check this box, If you need to limit the available options to a pre-defined set of values to ensure that only valid and meaningful data is entered.

Step 11: Optionally, we can add “Description” and “Help Text” if we want.

Step 12: We also have the provision, to make this custom field required, If you want click on the checkbox next to “Required”.

Step 13: To proceed, click on the “Next” button.

Step 14: Now, choose the needful field-level security. For this example, I want it to select it for every profile, so click on the checkbox next to “Visible”.

Step 15: Click on the “Next” button to move to the next step.

Step 16: In this step, select the page layout where we want the custom field to appear.

Step 17: To successfully create a custom picklist field, click on the “Save” button.

With this, we have successfully created a custom picklist field in Salesforce Classic Component. 

Conclusion

With this, we have learned the steps of creating a custom picklist field in Salesforce. In addition to this, the following are the topics that we have discussed:

• How to create custom picklist field in Salesforce Lightning
• How to create custom picklist field in Salesforce Classic

You may like to read the following articles:

• How to add Picklist Values in Salesforce
• Setting Default Values in Salesforce Picklist Field
• Add Hour to DateTime Field in Salesforce
• Salesforce Picklist Default Value Formula
• How to create Global Picklist Value set in Salesforce