majiayu000 Schema Design & Permission Management
You are a Salesforce schema and metadata specialist. Generate valid SFDX source format metadata.
Custom Object
<!-- force-app/main/default/objects/Invoice__c/Invoice__c.object-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomObject xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<label>Invoice</label>
<pluralLabel>Invoices</pluralLabel>
<nameField>
<label>Invoice Number</label>
<type>AutoNumber</type>
<displayFormat>INV-{000000}</displayFormat>
</nameField>
<deploymentStatus>Deployed</deploymentStatus>
<sharingModel>Private</sharingModel>
<enableActivities>true</enableActivities>
<enableHistory>true</enableHistory>
<enableReports>true</enableReports>
</CustomObject>
Custom Fields
<!-- force-app/main/default/objects/Invoice__c/fields/Amount__c.field-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomField xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<fullName>Amount__c</fullName>
<label>Amount</label>
<type>Currency</type>
<precision>18</precision>
<scale>2</scale>
<required>true</required>
</CustomField>
Common Field Types
<!-- Text -->
<type>Text</type>
<length>255</length>
<!-- Long Text Area -->
<type>LongTextArea</type>
<length>32768</length>
<visibleLines>5</visibleLines>
<!-- Picklist -->
<type>Picklist</type>
<valueSet>
<restricted>true</restricted>
<valueSetDefinition>
<sorted>false</sorted>
<value><fullName>Active</fullName><default>true</default><label>Active</label></value>
<value><fullName>Inactive</fullName><default>false</default><label>Inactive</label></value>
</valueSetDefinition>
</valueSet>
<!-- Lookup -->
<type>Lookup</type>
<referenceTo>Account</referenceTo>
<relationshipLabel>Invoices</relationshipLabel>
<relationshipName>Invoices</relationshipName>
<!-- Master-Detail -->
<type>MasterDetail</type>
<referenceTo>Account</referenceTo>
<relationshipLabel>Invoices</relationshipLabel>
<relationshipName>Invoices</relationshipName>
<reparentableMasterDetail>false</reparentableMasterDetail>
<writeRequiresMasterRead>false</writeRequiresMasterRead>
<!-- Checkbox -->
<type>Checkbox</type>
<defaultValue>false</defaultValue>
<!-- Date -->
<type>Date</type>
<!-- DateTime -->
<type>DateTime</type>
<!-- Number -->
<type>Number</type>
<precision>18</precision>
<scale>0</scale>
<!-- Formula -->
<type>Text</type>
<formula>Account__r.Name & ' - ' & TEXT(Amount__c)</formula>
Validation Rules
<!-- force-app/main/default/objects/Invoice__c/validationRules/Amount_Required.validationRule-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ValidationRule xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<fullName>Amount_Must_Be_Positive</fullName>
<active>true</active>
<errorConditionFormula>Amount__c <= 0</errorConditionFormula>
<errorDisplayField>Amount__c</errorDisplayField>
<errorMessage>Amount must be greater than zero.</errorMessage>
</ValidationRule>
Permission Sets
<!-- force-app/main/default/permissionsets/Invoice_Manager.permissionset-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<PermissionSet xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<label>Invoice Manager</label>
<hasActivationRequired>false</hasActivationRequired>
<objectPermissions>
<object>Invoice__c</object>
<allowCreate>true</allowCreate>
<allowDelete>false</allowDelete>
<allowEdit>true</allowEdit>
<allowRead>true</allowRead>
<modifyAllRecords>false</modifyAllRecords>
<viewAllRecords>true</viewAllRecords>
</objectPermissions>
<fieldPermissions>
<field>Invoice__c.Amount__c</field>
<editable>true</editable>
<readable>true</readable>
</fieldPermissions>
<fieldPermissions>
<field>Invoice__c.Status__c</field>
<editable>true</editable>
<readable>true</readable>
</fieldPermissions>
</PermissionSet>
Custom Permissions (for Flow Bypass)
<!-- force-app/main/default/customPermissions/Bypass_Automation.customPermission-meta.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomPermission xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<label>Bypass Automation</label>
<isLicensed>false</isLicensed>
</CustomPermission>
Additional Field Types
Formula Field:
<CustomField xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<fullName>FullName__c</fullName>
<label>Full Name</label>
<type>Text</type>
<formula>FirstName__c & ' ' & LastName__c</formula>
<formulaTreatBlanksAs>BlankAsZero</formulaTreatBlanksAs>
</CustomField>
Rollup Summary Field (master-detail only):
<CustomField xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<fullName>Total_Amount__c</fullName>
<label>Total Amount</label>
<type>Summary</type>
<summarizedField>LineItem__c.Amount__c</summarizedField>
<summaryOperation>sum</summaryOperation>
<summaryForeignKey>LineItem__c.Order__c</summaryForeignKey>
</CustomField>
Geolocation Field:
<type>Location</type>
<displayLocationInDecimal>true</displayLocationInDecimal>
<scale>6</scale>
Global Value Set (Reusable Picklist):
<GlobalValueSet xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<masterLabel>Industries</masterLabel>
<sorted>false</sorted>
<customValue><fullName>Technology</fullName><default>false</default><label>Technology</label></customValue>
<customValue><fullName>Healthcare</fullName><default>false</default><label>Healthcare</label></customValue>
</GlobalValueSet>
Relationship Types
| Type | Delete Behavior | Rollup Summary | Reparenting | Max per Object |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master-Detail | Cascade delete | Yes | Configurable | 2 |
| Lookup | Block/Clear/Restrict | No | N/A | 40 (25 std) |
| External Lookup | N/A | No | N/A | - |
| Hierarchical | N/A | No | N/A | 1 (User only) |
| Junction (M2M) | Two master-details | On both parents | - | - |
Record Types
<RecordType xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<fullName>Enterprise</fullName>
<label>Enterprise</label>
<active>true</active>
<businessProcess>Enterprise Sales Process</businessProcess>
<description>For enterprise accounts</description>
</RecordType>
Custom Metadata Types vs Custom Settings
| Feature | Custom Metadata Types | Custom Settings (Hierarchy) |
|---|---|---|
| Deployable | Yes (metadata) | No (data) |
| SOQL required | Yes (or getInstance) | No (getOrgDefaults) |
| User/Profile override | No | Yes |
| Counts against SOQL limit | Yes | No |
| Use for | Org config, mappings | User preferences |
Permission Set Groups
<PermissionSetGroup xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<label>Sales Team</label>
<permissionSets>
<permissionSet>Account_Manager</permissionSet>
<permissionSet>Opportunity_Editor</permissionSet>
<permissionSet>Report_Viewer</permissionSet>
</permissionSets>
</PermissionSetGroup>
SFDX Source Directory Structure
force-app/main/default/
├── objects/
│ └── Invoice__c/
│ ├── Invoice__c.object-meta.xml
│ ├── fields/
│ │ ├── Amount__c.field-meta.xml
│ │ └── Status__c.field-meta.xml
│ ├── validationRules/
│ │ └── Amount_Must_Be_Positive.validationRule-meta.xml
│ └── listViews/
│ └── All.listView-meta.xml
├── permissionsets/
│ └── Invoice_Manager.permissionset-meta.xml
├── customPermissions/
│ └── Bypass_Automation.customPermission-meta.xml
└── layouts/
└── Invoice__c-Invoice Layout.layout-meta.xml
Gotchas
- Max 40 custom relationships per object (25 for standard objects)
- Formula fields cannot reference LongTextArea, RichTextArea, MultiSelectPicklist, or Encrypted fields
- Rollup Summary fields work only on Master-Detail relationships — not Lookups
- Global Value Sets cannot be converted back to local picklists once shared
- Encrypted Text fields are not searchable or sortable
- Record type-dependent picklists require explicit value mapping per record type
- Permission Set Groups recalculate asynchronously — changes may take minutes to apply
- Custom Metadata Type records cannot be created/updated via DML in production — deploy only
- Profiles are notoriously merge-conflict-prone — prefer Permission Sets for everything
References
- Schema Reference — formula fields, rollup summaries, geolocation, Global Value Sets, record types, page layouts, FlexiPages, custom metadata, platform events, Big Objects, quick actions, custom labels
Workflow
- Understand object/field requirements
- Generate SFDX source format XML files
- Generate permission set for new objects/fields
- Deploy schema first, then code that references it
- Verify with:
sf org list metadata -m CustomObject --target-org myOrg