Overview
Layouts in Salesforce refer to the information that users see when they are viewing a record. They are comprised of fields and related lists and can be customized as desired within the platform.
Types of Page Layouts
Standard
Historically utilized with classic, and compatible with lightning, standard layouts allow for minimal customization capabilities. They are made up of single or double column sections, the fields are only available to be set to read only/required, no hide/show capabilities.
Dynamic
Introduced for both Standard and Custom objects with the arrival of lightning. These are built within the lightning page. They allow users to define groupings and hide/show logic for fields, giving greater flexibility when compared to standard versions.
Components
Fields
Fields are the main components of a page layout. Just adding a field to a layout doesn’t make it appear for users. Admins should ensure that users have the correct Field Level permissions as well. As noted above, with dynamic layouts, admins can add hide/show logic to individual fields.
Sections
Utilized in both standard and dynamic, sections are the “groups” of fields users can see. They will have headers. In Dynamic layouts, you can control visibility to sections.
Related Lists
Objects that have references within other objects will have the option to display “related lists”. These views are similar to list views, and show you the records of other objects. Related lists can be displayed in both standard or enhanced views. Enhanced gives a more “lightning” look, with more available columns and records for view.
How to Configure
Admins can configure standard page layouts within the Page Layout section of standard or custom objects.
Admins can configure Dynamic Layouts within the Lightning Page editor. You can’t display both standard and dynamic pages on a single record, so Admins should take this into consideration when building layouts. From here they can add the hide show logic, section groupings and required fields.
Related Lists are added to the bottom of Standard page layouts, and then must also be added to the Lightning Page as needed.
Benefit of Page Layouts
Having the appropriate page layouts and styles configured is key to the user experience. Ensuring that fields placed are also visible to users ensures you are not constantly troubleshooting issues. Utilizing multiple page layouts or hide show logic, you can tailor views to specific users or groups, to expose or hide information as necessary.
You also have the ability to control buttons and actions users have access to, so ensuring those are added improves user experience dramatically.
Who is Impacted?
End Users
Users rely on page layouts to see the correct record information and have access to the actions they need to perform their job duties.
Administrators
Administrators can ensure their user base’s needs are met and that they have a secure and functional record viewing experience.