To create a custom tab for our Position object, we're going to use the New Custom Object Tab wizard that was so helpfully launched for us when we clicked Save after defining the object. However, in case you forgot to select the Launch New Custom Tab Wizard after saving this custom
object option or if you're coming back to work that you previously saved, have no fear! There's another way to launch the wizard.
1. From Setup, enter Tabs in the Quick Find box, then select Tabs.
2. In the Custom Object tabs area, click New.
Easy. Now that we're all on the same page, let's get started working through the wizard.
3. In the Object drop-down list, select Position.
If you launched the wizard directly after defining the custom object, the Position object is automatically selected for you.
4. Click the Tab Style icon to launch the Tab Style Selector as shown in the following screenshot.
Every object that appears as a tab must have a unique color scheme and icon. This color scheme is what identifies the object, not only on its tab but also in different places in the user interface, such as in related lists and search results.
Custom Object Tab Setup Page and Tab Style Selector
In the Tab Style Selector, you can choose a predefined color and icon or you can create your own. To keep things simple, we're going to select an existing style.
5. Click the Hide values which are used on other tabs link to make sure you choose a unique style.
6. Click any colored box to choose a color scheme and icon.
Leave the Splash Page Custom Link drop-down list set to --None--. We'll learn more about custom links in Moving Beyond Point-and-Click App Development on page 323.
7. In the Description field, enter A tab and color scheme for the Position custom object.
8. Click Next.
9. Click Next again to accept the default user profile visibility.
Just as we controlled access to our Recruiting app by selecting user profiles in the New Custom App wizard, we can also control access to our Positions tab by selecting user profiles here. We'll learn more about user profiles and what they do in Securing and Sharing Data on page 143. For now, just know that accepting the defaults will make the tab visible to all users.
10. Deselect all of the Include Tab checkboxes except the one for our Recruiting app.
In performing this step, we're providing access to the Positions tab only when someone has access to our Recruiting app. Unless an employee is interested in recruiting, he or she probably doesn't need to see this tab.
11. Select the Append tab to users' existing personal customizations checkbox.
If you don't select this option, any users who have personalized their tab display will not immediately see the Positions tab. Also, if you've already created a new tab and didn't turn this option on, you have to first delete the existing tab and then recreate it with this option turned on to automatically push the tab to existing users. What a pain! Do yourself a favor and just always keep this option selected.
12. Click Save.
You'll notice when the page refreshes that the Positions tab has automatically been added next to the Home tab at the top of the page. If you don’t see the Positions tab, click All Tabs (+) to see more.
Look at What We've Done
To truly appreciate what we've just built with a few clicks, let's take a look at what we've done.
1. First, click the Positions tab to display the Positions tab home page, as shown in the following screenshot. Although the list is empty because we haven't yet created any records, you can see how this page will become the gateway to viewing, creating, editing, and deleting all of the positions that we create in our Recruiting app. It looks just like the tab home page of any other standard object.
The Positions Tab Home Page
2. Now, check out the contents of the Create New... drop-down list in the left sidebar. As promised, our custom object has been seamlessly incorporated into the platform with the other standard objects like Event and Task. An end user need never know that the Positions tab was created with a custom object, because it shows up alongside the standard objects as well.
3. Select Position from the Create New... drop-down list, or click New in the Positions tab home page. Voilà—it's the Position edit page! Sadly, though, our position still doesn't have much room for data. At this point, all we have is a field for Position Title (the record identifier) and
Owner, a default field that appears on every object to identify the user who created the object.
4. Click Cancel. It doesn't do much to create a position record with hardly any interesting data. We need more fields! And sure enough, that's what we'll get to next. First, though, we'll revisit our Position custom object and orient ourselves to what else is available through a custom object detail page in the Setup area.
5.
Notice the arrow icon ( ) on the right side of the page. Click it to open the Force.com quick access menu. When you're building apps, the quick access menu makes it easy to switch between object records and setup pages. This menu appears from the list pages and record detail page for any object, so you can easily jump to the setup pages for an object and its tabs, fields, and more.
You'll get a chance to try out the quick access menu in a little while.
Force.com Quick Access Menu
Note: You can see this menu because you have the “Customize Application” permission, which allows you to create apps, objects, tabs, and fields. Users who don't build apps, like those with the Standard User profile, won't see this menu.