A custom object is a record type your association uses for its own data, such as “Education History.” When you add it to another record type, its rows appear in a table on that record. This article explains each custom object setting, how to add a custom object to a record type such as contacts, and why Rhythm sometimes prevents deletion. For the concept behind custom objects, see Custom Objects Explained.
Where to Find It
- System & Security › Custom Objects shows your custom objects. The list includes the Name, Last Changed, and Status columns, plus the Filter Custom Objects box. Rows that are not protected from deletion offer Clone, Edit, and Delete.
- System & Security › Custom Objects › Name opens the home page for one custom object. Select an object’s name to open it. The page shows Name:, Name (plural):, and Sorting:, the Edit and Delete buttons, and the Custom Fields, Layouts, and Calculated Fields tabs.
- Edit opens the custom object form, where you manage most of the settings below.
Settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name: | Any text; required | Empty | The singular name, such as “Film.” If you change it, Rhythm rewrites Name (plural):, even after the object already exists. |
| ID: | Lowercase letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores; required | Built from the name | The permanent identifier. You can’t change it after the first save. If another object already uses it, you see A record already exists with this name. |
| Name (plural): | Any text; required | Filled from the name | The plural name used in lists. Check it after every name change. |
| Table Fields (Field, Label) | One row for each column: one of the object’s fields and a heading | None | Sets the columns and headings wherever the object’s rows appear in a table. Use Add Field to add a column. The row order is the column order, so remove and add rows to reorder columns. |
| Sorting | Enabled, Disabled; then a field and Ascending or Descending per row | Disabled | Keeps rows in order. Use Add Sort Field to sort by more than one field. Rhythm sorts the rows when their parent record is saved. |
| Web Components | Enabled, Disabled; Tag for Creating/Editing this Custom Object: and Tag for Viewing this Custom Object: | Disabled, tags empty | Uses custom web components that someone has built for you instead of the standard screens for adding, editing, or viewing a row. |
| Support for Querying | Enabled, Disabled; with Table Name: | Disabled | You see this setting only when querying for custom objects is available to your organization. It creates a separate queryable copy of the object’s rows. Keep the suggested Table Name: because it can’t be changed once querying is saved. Any secondary index name generated for querying may contain only letters and numbers; a name with a space or other character fails to save. |
| Deletion Protection: | Locked/On, Unlocked/Off | Unlocked/Off | Rhythm turns this on for a custom object that other configuration depends on and that needs to stay available, so it is not deleted by accident. Only Rhythm staff can see or use this switch; in your account, you only see that the object is system locked. A locked object can’t be edited or deleted, and the list offers only Clone for it. |
| Default page layout (Layouts tab, (make default)) | One of the object’s layouts | None | Sets the layout used to show and edit a single row. The default row reads This is the default page layout. |
The Custom Fields tab holds fields for the object. Create Custom Field opens the same field editor used for custom fields elsewhere; see Custom Fields. Each field’s required setting can be scoped separately for the Portal and the Console, so a field can be required in one and optional in the other. Some components that build on the custom object editor have been observed to require a field in the Portal while leaving it optional in the Console, but not the reverse, so confirm both directions before you rely on this for a specific component. The Layouts tab offers Create Page Layout, plus clone, edit, and delete for each layout; see Page Layouts. The Calculated Fields tab offers Create Field Calculation for rules that fill in values when a row is saved. The delete and move arrows on this tab currently do not remove or reorder a rule, so contact Rhythm Support if you need a rule removed.
Put a Custom Object on a Record Type
To give contacts, or any other record type, a table of rows, add a custom field of the Table/List type to that record type. In Table Options, choose the object in Custom Object:. That field becomes the table, and its columns come from the object’s Table Fields. You see Table/List only when custom objects are switched on for your organization. After the field is set up, add that Table/List custom field to the record’s form so users can enter and edit rows; creating the field does not place the table on a form by itself.
Prerequisites
If a Portal form lets users add or update rows for this custom object, include every required field enforced by the object’s configuration somewhere in that form, or supply those values another way. If a required field is missing from a Portal add or edit experience, the row cannot be saved.
Dependencies and Precedence
- Setup takes two passes. The Table Fields card and sort field choices appear only after the object is saved and has fields. Save the object, add fields on the Custom Fields tab, then return to Edit to choose table fields and sort fields.
- Page layouts can override columns. A Table component on a page layout has its own Table Fields. If you do not choose fields there, Rhythm uses the custom object’s default table fields. The component also sets the layouts used for new and edited rows, the add-button text, the empty-table text, and the minimum and maximum rows.
- Console and Portal columns. A custom object has one default set of Table Fields, not separate Console and Portal settings. To show different columns or headings, set the columns on the relevant page layout’s Table component. Each column has a field and a heading label; Rhythm does not store any other column formatting. The field-group designer also warns that Console page layouts use custom fields only, while built-in fields are allowed in the Portal.
- The default layout must exist. If Rhythm cannot find the layout named as the default when you save the object, it removes that default from the object without a message. The home page then shows the warning that no custom page layout has been set. If a record’s Portal view stays in a loading state, or shows an error while initializing the table custom field, check this object’s default page layout first. Reselect (make default) on the correct layout to resolve it. After you import a custom object, verify that its default page layout is still set and reselect it if needed, since imports can leave this setting unset.
- Web component tags aren’t checked. Rhythm saves any tag text, so confirm the exact tag with whoever built the component.
- A hard-coded portal experience may not show your layout’s prompts and help text. Some portal workflows use built-in components instead of your page layout. In that case, the Form Prompt and Help Text you set on the object’s fields may not appear there, even when they show correctly in the field’s own setup and in other layouts.
Change Impact and How to Revert
- Sorting takes effect when the parent record is saved. Rows saved before you turned sorting on keep their current order until their parent record is saved again.
- Table Fields and headings take effect wherever rows are listed. To revert, put the old table-field rows back.
- ID: can’t be changed. To use a different identifier, you need a new object.
- A custom object can’t be deactivated; every object in the list shows Active.
- Deleting is permanent. The confirmation reads “You are deleting [name]. This operation cannot be undone.” Deleting the custom object does not remove rows already saved on records, and it leaves the object’s field definitions behind. If the object was queryable, Rhythm removes its queryable table.
- A full data import can overwrite custom object configuration. If an import includes custom object definitions, it replaces the rows in your custom object configuration. This can remove settings you made after the imported data was captured. In your sandbox, an import is followed by a step meant to restore this configuration from a snapshot. A production import to your live account does not include that step, so an overwrite there is not automatically reversed. If an import restores custom fields without also restoring the custom object definition itself, object-level settings such as Web Components are not restored; check and reconfigure them after an import like this.
Why You Can’t Delete a Custom Object
- A table field still uses it. Rhythm refuses the delete, and the message begins “Unfortunately, we cannot delete…” and says how many records depend on it. Delete the Table/List field that names the object, or point it at another object, then try again.
- Deletion protection is on. The list shows only Clone for the object, with the hover text “This record is locked and cannot be edited or deleted.” Ask Rhythm Support to turn protection off.
- A lock relationship exists. A lock relationship means the record is linked to, or used by, something else in Rhythm. You cannot remove lock relationships on their own; the underlying linkage has to be addressed before the object it protects can be deleted.
Before you delete the layout that is currently the default, make another layout the default. If you try to delete the default layout, Rhythm can refuse it with a general failure message rather than one that names the custom object.
Permissions
You work with custom objects from System & Security in the Console. Rhythm creates new custom objects and manages deletion protection for you; your Console does not offer either action. Send Rhythm Support the fields you want a new object to have. Filling in rows on a record follows that record’s own access rules in its application.
Validation and Errors
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Form Errors with “You haven’t entered a valid value for Name” (or Id, Name Plural) | A required name or identifier is empty | Fill it in. After Clone, the identifier starts empty. |
| “You haven’t entered a valid value for Default Table Fields” or “…for Sort Fields” | A table-field or sort row is incomplete | Complete the row, or remove it. |
| “WARNING: You have not selected any table display fields…” | The object has no table fields | Add at least one; the save isn’t blocked. |
| “You have not specified any sort fields. Please select at least one sort field.” | Sorting is on with no sort fields | Add a sort field, or turn sorting off. |
| A toast titled Unable to save Custom Object | Rhythm refused the save; the toast body gives the reason | Correct the setting named in the toast. |
| Save fails while Support for Querying is on | A generated or entered secondary index name contains a space or another character outside letters and numbers | Remove the space or special character from the index name and save again. |
| On the home page: “No custom page layout has been set for this object…” | Layouts exist, but none is the default | Select (make default) on the Layouts tab. |
| On the home page: “Once you’ve finished setting up your custom fields, click here to set up default table fields…” | Fields exist, but no table fields are selected | Select click here and choose table fields. |
| Unable to delete Custom Object or Unable to delete custom object | The delete was refused | See Why You Can’t Delete a Custom Object. |