Apex Developer Guide

Apex Developer Guide
Release Notes
Getting Started with Apex
Writing Apex
Data Types and Variables
Control Flow Statements
Classes, Objects, and Interfaces
Working with Data in Apex
Working with sObjects
Data Manipulation Language
SOQL and SOSL Queries
SOQL For Loops
sObject Collections
Dynamic Apex
Apex Security and Sharing Model
Custom Settings
Document Your Apex Code
Running Apex
Debugging, Testing, and Deploying Apex
Apex Reference
Appendices
PDF

Note: This release is in preview. Features described here don’t become generally available until the latest general availability date that Salesforce announces for this release. Before then, and where features are noted as beta, pilot, or developer preview, we can’t guarantee general availability within any particular time frame or at all. Make your purchase decisions only on the basis of generally available products and features.

Custom Settings

Custom settings are similar to custom objects. Application developers can create custom sets of data and associate custom data for an organization, profile, or specific user. All custom settings data is exposed in the application cache, which enables efficient access without the cost of repeated queries to the database. Formula fields, validation rules, flows, Apex, and SOAP API can then use this data.

Protection only applies to custom settings that are marked protected and installed to a subscriber organization as part of a managed package. Otherwise, they are treated as public custom settings and are readable for all profiles, including the guest user. Do not store secrets, personally identifying information, or any private data in these settings. Use protected custom settings only in managed packages. Outside of a managed package, use named credentials or encrypted custom fields to store secrets like OAuth tokens, passwords, and other confidential material.

Warning

While custom settings data is included in sandbox copies, it is treated as data for the purposes of Apex test isolation. Apex tests must use SeeAllData=true to see existing custom settings data in the organization. As a best practice, create the required custom settings data in your test setup.

Note

There are two types of custom settings.

  • List Custom Settings: A type of custom setting that provides a reusable set of static data that can be accessed across your organization. If you use a particular set of data frequently within your application, putting that data in a list custom setting streamlines access to it. Data in list settings doesn’t vary with profile or user, but is available organization-wide. Examples of list data include two-letter state abbreviations, international dialing prefixes, and catalog numbers for products. Because the data is cached, access is low-cost and efficient: you don't have to use SOQL queries that count against your governor limits.
  • HierarchyCustom Settings: A type of custom setting that uses a built-in hierarchical logic that lets you personalize settings for specific profiles or users. The hierarchy logic checks the organization, profile, and user settings for the current user and returns the most specific, or “lowest,” value. In the hierarchy, settings for an organization are overridden by profile settings, which, in turn, are overridden by user settings.

To get custom setting data set record based on the lowest level fields defined in the hierarchy, use the getinstance() instance method for hierarchy custom settings.

The following examples illustrate how you can use custom settings.

  • A shipping application requires users to fill in the country codes for international deliveries. By creating a list setting of all country codes, users have quick access to this data without needing to query the database.
  • An application displays a map of account locations, the best route to take, and traffic conditions. This information is useful for sales reps, but account executives only want to see account locations. By creating a hierarchy setting with custom checkbox fields for route and traffic, you can enable this data for just the “Sales Rep” profile.

You can create a custom setting in the Salesforce user interface: from Setup, enter Custom Settings in the Quick Find box, then select Custom Settings. After creating a custom setting and you’ve added fields, provide data to your custom setting by clicking Manage from the detail page. Identify each data set with a name.

For example, if you have a custom setting named Foundation_Countries__c with one text field Country_Code__c, your data sets can look like the following:
Data Set Name Country Code Field Value
United States USA
Canada CAN
United Kingdom GBR
You can also include a custom setting in a package. The visibility of the custom setting in the package depends on the Visibility setting.

Only custom settings definitions are included in packages, not data. To include data, you must populate the custom settings using Apex code run by the subscribing organization after they’ve installed the package.

Note

Apex can access both custom setting types—list and hierarchy.

If Privacy for a custom setting is Protected and the custom setting is contained in a managed package, the subscribing organization can’t edit the values or access them using Apex.

Note

Accessing a List Custom Setting

The following example returns a map of custom settings data. The getAll method returns values for all custom fields associated with the list setting.
1Map<String_dataset_name, CustomSettingName__c> mcs = CustomSettingName__c.getAll();
The following example uses the getValues method to return all the field values associated with the specified data set. This method can be used with both list and hierarchy custom settings, using different parameters.
1CustomSettingName__c mc = CustomSettingName__c.getValues(data_set_name);

Accessing a Hierarchy Custom Setting

The following example uses the getOrgDefaults method to return the data set values for the organization level: 
1CustomSettingName__c mc = CustomSettingName__c.getOrgDefaults();
The following example uses the getInstance method to return the data set values for the specified profile. The getInstance method can also be used with a user ID. 
1CustomSettingName__c mc = CustomSettingName__c.getInstance(Profile_ID);