generating-custom-application

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create Lightning applications
• Organize tabs and features into focused apps
• Configure application navigation and branding
• Set up custom page layouts for objects
• Troubleshoot deployment errors related to custom applications

CustomApplication (Lightning App) Metadata Specification

Overview

Custom applications (Lightning Apps) that group tabs and functionality to provide a focused user experience for specific business processes. Always configured for Lightning Experience.

🎯 Purpose

• Organize related functionality into focused applications
• Group tabs and components for specific user roles
• Provide tailored user experiences
• Control access to specific features and data
• Use Standard navigation for general business applications or Console navigation for specialized service/support workflows requiring multi-tab workspaces
• Create professional, branded application identity with custom colors and branding
• Override standard actions with custom Lightning pages for enhanced user experience
• Enable profile-specific experiences through profile action overrides

⚙️ Required Properties

Core Application Properties

• fullName: API name of the application
• label: Display name of the application
• uiType: Always "Lightning" for modern apps
• navType: CRITICAL - Choose based on user requirements and workflow patterns
• "Standard": DEFAULT for general business applications (e.g., sales, marketing, operations)
• "Console": ONLY when workflow requires managing multiple records simultaneously with split-view or multi-tab workspace (e.g., customer service, call centers, support operations)
• formFactors: Array of form factors (["LARGE"] for desktop, ["SMALL"] for mobile, or both)

Optional Properties

• description: Brief description of the application's purpose
• tabs: Array of tab names to include
• utilityBar: API name of the Utility Bar configuration
• brand: ⚠️ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Branding configuration object (headerColor, shouldOverrideOrgTheme, footerColor)
• actionOverrides: ⚠️ REQUIRED when custom record pages exist - Action override configuration (actionName, content, formFactor, type, pageOrSobjectType)
• profileActionOverrides: Profile-specific action overrides (actionName, content, formFactor, pageOrSobjectType, type, profile)
• isNavAutoTempTabsDisabled: Navigation behavior setting (default: false)
• isNavPersonalizationDisabled: Personalization setting (default: false)
• isNavTabPersistenceDisabled: Tab persistence setting (default: false)

🔧 Application Configuration

Navigation Type Selection (CRITICAL)

Decision Criteria for navType:

Choose "Standard" (DEFAULT) for:

• General business applications and most workflows
• Single-record focus or linear navigation patterns
• Standard tab-based navigation is sufficient

Choose "Console" ONLY when workflow requires:

• Managing multiple related records simultaneously in split-view
• Multi-tab workspace for handling complex, interconnected data
• Contextual information from multiple sources visible at once
• Examples: customer service operations, support desks, call centers

When in doubt: Default to "Standard" for most general business use cases

Navigation Settings

• isNavAutoTempTabsDisabled: Controls automatic temporary tab creation
• isNavPersonalizationDisabled: Controls user personalization features
• isNavTabPersistenceDisabled: Controls tab persistence across sessions

Tab Management

• tabs: Array of tab names to include in the application
• formFactors: Device-specific configurations (Large for desktop, Small for mobile)

Utility Bar

• utilityBar: Reference to Lightning utility bar (appears at bottom of Lightning Experience)

Branding (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - DO NOT SKIP)

IMPORTANT: Provide branding configuration to create a professional, visually distinct application identity.

• brand.headerColor: Header bar color in hex format (e.g., "#0070D2") - RECOMMENDED
• brand.shouldOverrideOrgTheme: Override organization theme (true/false) - Default: false
• brand.footerColor: Footer color in hex format

Action Overrides (CRITICAL - DO NOT SKIP)

IMPORTANT: Action overrides MUST be created for every custom object tab that has a record page generated by flexipage expert.

• actionOverrides.actionName: Action to override ("View" or "Tab")
• actionOverrides.content: Page/component name (FlexiPage, Visualforce, Lightning component)
• For "View" action: Reference record pages generated by flexipage expert
• For "Tab" action: Reference home/app pages generated by flexipage expert
• actionOverrides.formFactor: Device type ("Large" or "Small")
• actionOverrides.type: Override type ("Default", "Visualforce", "Flexipage", "LightningComponent", "Scontrol")
• Recommended: Use "Flexipage" for Lightning record/home pages generated by flexipage expert
• actionOverrides.pageOrSobjectType: Object API name the override applies to
• actionOverrides.comment: Optional description (max 1000 characters)
• Auto-generated comment: "Action override created by Lightning App Builder during activation."
• actionOverrides.skipRecordTypeSelect: Skip record type selection (default: false)

Profile Action Overrides

• profileActionOverrides.actionName: Action to override ("View" or "Tab")
• profileActionOverrides.content: Page/component name
• For "View" action: Reference profile-specific record pages generated by flexipage expert
• For "Tab" action: Reference profile-specific home pages generated by flexipage expert
• Can reference same or different FlexiPages than actionOverrides for profile-specific experiences
• profileActionOverrides.formFactor: Device type ("Large" or "Small")
• profileActionOverrides.pageOrSobjectType: Object API name
• profileActionOverrides.type: Override type
• Recommended: Use "Flexipage" for Lightning pages generated by flexipage expert
• profileActionOverrides.profile: Profile API name (e.g., "Admin", "Standard User")
• Enables different page layouts for different user profiles

📱 Device Support

Desktop Configuration

• formFactor: "Large"
• tabs: Full list of application tabs

Phone Configuration

• formFactor: "Small"
• tabs: Mobile-optimized tab selection

Tablet Configuration

• formFactor: "Medium"
• tabs: Tablet-appropriate tab selection

🎨 User Experience Features

Navigation Behavior

• Auto Temporary Tabs: Can be enabled/disabled
• Personalization: User customization options
• Tab Persistence: Remember user's tab selections

Accessibility

• Keyboard Navigation: Full keyboard support
• Screen Reader: Compatible with assistive technologies
• High Contrast: Support for high contrast modes

🔗 Integration Points

• Custom Tabs: Include custom object and web tabs
• Standard Tabs: Include standard Salesforce tabs
• Lightning Pages: Integrate with Lightning page layouts
• Components: Include custom Lightning components

✅ Best Practices

• Always use Lightning UI: Set uiType to "Lightning" for modern apps
• Choose appropriate navigation: CRITICAL - Analyze requirements carefully for navType selection
• Use "Standard" (DEFAULT) for general business applications
• Use "Console" ONLY when workflow requires multi-tab workspace, split-view, or managing multiple related records simultaneously
• Examples for Console: customer service, call centers, support operations
• Default to "Standard" for most general business use cases
• Include Standard Tabs: Add common Salesforce tabs (Home, Accounts, Contacts, etc.)
• Use clear, descriptive application names
• Group related functionality logically
• Consider different user roles and needs
• Test across different device types
• Ensure proper permissions and access control
• Provide meaningful descriptions for users
• Follow consistent naming conventions
• Always configure branding: Set headerColor to create professional application identity
• Use accessible brand colors: Ensure hex colors have sufficient contrast (WCAG AA compliant)
• Configure utility bars: Add useful quick-access tools for users
• Leverage action overrides: Customize page layouts for specific objects using FlexiPages from flexipage expert
• Use profile overrides: Provide role-specific experiences by referencing different flexipage expert generated pages per profile

🎯 Enhancement Rules

• uiType: Always set to "Lightning" for modern app experience
• navType: CRITICAL DECISION - Analyze user requirements carefully
• Set to "Standard" (DEFAULT) for general business applications
• Set to "Console" ONLY when workflow requires:
• Managing multiple related records simultaneously with split-view capability
• Multi-tab workspace for handling complex, interconnected data
• Contextual information from multiple sources visible at once
• Console examples: customer service operations, call centers, support desks
• When in doubt between Standard and Console, choose "Standard" for most business use cases
• formFactors: Always set to ["LARGE"] for desktop Lightning Experience
• Standard Tabs: Automatically add Home, Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Leads, Cases
• Navigation Settings: Set all navigation flags to false for best user experience
• Branding: ALWAYS include brand configuration for professional application identity
• MANDATORY: Set brand.headerColor to appropriate color (e.g., "#0070D2" for Salesforce Blue)
• Set brand.shouldOverrideOrgTheme based on requirements
• Action Overrides: ALWAYS create action overrides when custom record pages exist
• MANDATORY: Add actionOverrides for "View" action pointing to flexipage expert generated record pages
• Use "Flexipage" type and reference the exact FlexiPage name
• Set formFactor to "Large" for desktop
• Include pageOrSobjectType with the object API name
• Profile Action Overrides: Reference flexipage expert generated pages for role-based customization
• Form Factors: Use "Large" for desktop, "Small" for mobile in overrides

⚠️ CRITICAL Verification Checklist (MUST VERIFY)

• [ ] All tabs are included in the application
• [ ] navType IS CORRECTLY SET - Verify Console vs Standard selection
• [ ] Default to "Standard" for most general business applications
• [ ] Set to "Console" ONLY if workflow requires managing multiple records simultaneously, split-view, or multi-tab workspace
• [ ] If requirements are general/ambiguous → navType should be "Standard"
• [ ] BRANDING IS CONFIGURED - This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for professional applications
• [ ] brand.headerColor is set with valid hex color (e.g., "#0070D2")
• [ ] brand.shouldOverrideOrgTheme is set (default: false)
• [ ] ACTION OVERRIDES ARE CREATED - This is MANDATORY for every custom object with a record page
• [ ] Action overrides are defined for EACH custom object tab pointing to the correct record page
• [ ] actionOverrides.content matches the exact FlexiPage name generated by flexipage expert
• [ ] actionOverrides.pageOrSobjectType is set to the correct object API name
• [ ] actionOverrides.type is set to "Flexipage"
• [ ] actionOverrides.actionName is set to "View"
• [ ] actionOverrides.formFactor is set to "Large"
• [ ] All required fields are populated (fullName, label, uiType, navType, formFactors)