Record Types in Salesforce

Record Types in Salesforce allows organization admin to create different data structures as per the specific needs.

In this Salesforce tutorial, I will explain record type in Salesforce. I will also explain the steps to create a record type in Salesforce Lightning and Classic.

Additionally, I will explain how you can create an opportunity record type in Salesforce.

Table of Contents

What is Record Type in Salesforce

In Salesforce, record type is used to define the set of picklist values, fields, and page layouts for users when they create or edit the record. Using it, the administrator divides the data and customizes the user interface based on different requirements.

The record type categorizes the records of an object, and the object can be standard or custom. It is used on records that have a common concept but need different implementations. So, it shows the pop-up to allow the user to choose which record type they want to use.

Note: Before creating a record type in Salesforce, make sure you include all the possible record type values in the master list of picklists that have all the picklist values you need in the record type.

Record Type in Salesforce Example

Let’s take an example to clearly understand the concept of record type in Salesforce.

Suppose a “Car Dealership” company uses Salesforce and wants to create record types for its two different zones: “North Zone” and “South Zone”, as each zone has different car availablity.

For the “North Zone” record type, they need only “Mustang”, “Chevrolet”, and “Jeep” as picklist values in the “Car” picklist field,

For the “South Zone” record type, they need only “Tesla”, “Dodge”, and “Chrysler” as picklist values in the “Car” picklist field.

So, by creating the record type for the above-stated, the company ensures that users are presented with the appropriate picklist values based on the record type they selected.

How to Create Record Type in Salesforce

You can create record types in both Salesforce Lightning and Salesforce Classic user interfaces. The feature of record type is available in the following editions: Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer.

Moreover, to create a record type, the user needs the permissions to customize the application.

How to Create Record Types in Salesforce

The following are the steps to create a record type in Salesforce Lightning:

Step-1: Go to the “Gear” icon, select the “Setup” option, and then click on the “Object Manager”.

Step-2: Click on the “Quick Find” box, enter the object name for which you want to create the record type, and click on it.

Step-3: Click on the “Record Types” that are present in the left sidebar.

Step-4: Click on the “New” button to create the new record type in Salesforce.

Step-5: Choose the “Existing Record Type” as “Master”, or you can choose any other existing record type to clone its picklist values.

Then enter the “Record Type Label” and the “Record Type Name” will be automatically fetched on the bases of that.

To make sure this record type is available for working, check the “Active” checkbox.

Step-6: Select the “Make Available” checkbox to assign users to the profile with the ability to create and clone records of this record type. Then, click on the “Next” to move.

Step-7: You need to select a layout that you want to show other profile users so that they can see records with record type and choose picklist values.

Here are two options:

Apply one layout to all profiles: That means which layout you select that layout will assign all profile users.
Apply a different layout for each profile: Using this option, we can assign page layouts separately to different profiles.

After that, click on the “Save” button.

Step-8: The “Record Type Page” is open, and you can see that below, there is a “Picklists Available for Editing” section. are available. Edit the picklist whose value you want to divide into a created record-type page.

Step-9: Transfer the picklist values from “Selected Values” to “Available Values” that you don’t want to include in the created record type.

Finally, click on the “Save” button.

how to create a record type in salesforce

In this way, you can create a record type in Salesforce Lightning.

How to Create Record Type in Salesforce Classic

Below are the steps to create a record type in Salesforce Classic:

Step-1: Go to the “Setup” option. Choose the object for which you want to create the record type.

If you want to create the record type for the standard object, Move to the “Build” section -> Click the “Customize” section -> Choose “Object”.

If you want to create the record type for the custom object, Move to the “Build” section -> Click “Create” section -> Choose “Object”.

Step-2: Click on the “Record Types” option. Then, click on the “New” button to create the record type.

how to deploy record types in salesforce

Step-3: Enter the following details:

Fields	Description
Existing Record Type	In the existing record type, always select Master.
Record Type Label	In this field, enter the label that you want to show on the record page while selecting the record type.
Record Type Name	This is an API name; it will automatically populate when you click anywhere on the screen.
Description	In the description, you can tell about this record type or leave it as empty. This is an optional field.
Active	You need to check the checkbox to activate the record type. Otherwise, it will not work.
Make Available	In this, on which profile you want to apply record type, you need to select those profiles.

Then, click on the “Next” button.

Step-4: In this step, select a layout that you want to show other profile users so that they can see records with record type and choose picklist values. Click on the “Save” button.

Step-5: You can see that the “Record Type” is created, and below the “Picklists Editing” section is available. Click on the “Edit” option next to the picklist whose value you want to distribute to the record page.

Step-6: Select an item from the “Available values” and add it to the “Selected values” list to include it as a picklist value for this record type. After editing the detail, click on the “Save” option.

In this way you can create a record type in Salesforce Classic.

Create Opportunity Record Type Salesforce

The opportunity record type is a way to categorize the opportunities based on the requirements. Below are the steps to create an opportunity record type in Salesforce

Step-1: Go to the “Gear” icon, select the “Setup” option, and then click on the “Object Manager”.

Step-2: Choose “Opportunity” as an object on which you want to create the record type.

how to create a new record type in salesforce

Step-3: Go to the “Record Types” option, which is present in the left sidebar.

Step-4: Click on the “New” button to create the record type in Salesforce.

Step-5: An opportunity record type associated with a sales process. If you currently do not have any active sales processes, you need to create it first.

Click on “New” on the “Sales Processes” setup page.

Enter the “Sales Process Name”, choose the “Existing Sales Process” field and click on the “Save” button.

Select a stage from the “Available Values” list and add it to the “Selected Values” list to include it in the sales process. Click on the “Save” button.

Step-6: Enter the details in the field “Existing Record Type”, “Record Type Label”, “Record Type Name”, and “Active”.

Then, “Make Available” profiles on which you want to apply this record type. After that, click on the “Next” button.

Step-7: Choose the profile on which you want to assign the page layout; click on the “Save” button.

Step-8: You will get the list of all the picklist values that are in the object. Choose the picklist value that you want to distribute on record type. Transfer the picklist value to the “Selected” from the “Available” values.

Then, click on the “Save” button.

With this, you have learned how to create an opportunity record type in Salesforce.

How to Change Account Record Type in Salesforce

There may be a requirement where you want to change the record type in Salesforce. For this, you simply need to unactive that particular record type that you don’t need and activate the other record type in Salesforce.

Below are the steps to change the record type of account object in Salesforce.

Step-1: Click on the “Object Manager” on the “Navigation Bar”, search for the “Accounts” object, click on it, and after that, click on the “Record Types” option from the left sidebar.

how to change account record type in salesforce

Step-2: Select the record type that you want to change and click on the “Edit” button to edit it. After that, uncheck the “Active” checkbox to unactivate it and then create the new record type or open the already existing record type and assign it.

Click on the “Save” button to save the changes.

Consideration: The record type cannot be deactivated because the following profiles use this record type as default

Step-1: Click on the “Profiles” from the list of profiles mentioned. “Edit” the profile and scroll down to the “Record Type Settings” section. Then, find the “Accounts” object and click on the “Edit” option.

how to create record types in salesforce

Step-2: Select the record types for this user profile. Transfer the record type from “Selected Record Types” to “Available Record Types” to make this record type unactivated. After that, click on the “Save” button.

Step-3: Go back to the “Accounts” object, click on the “Record Types” and make the new record type activated, assign it to the new profile, and “Save” the changes.

In this way, you can change the account record type in Salesforce.

Conclusion

I hope you understand record types in Salesforce. I have explained how to create record types in Salesforce Lightning and Salesforce Classic. I have also explained the process of opportunity record type Salesforce.

Additionally, I have explained step-by-step how to change the account record type in Salesforce.