Configuring Object Page Layouts

Object page layouts control the information displayed in the object record detail page. The layout applies in create, edit, or view mode. Objects that include multiple object types can use a different layout for each type.

By default, page layouts include sections for the object record fields, attachments, and sharing settings. By configuring layouts to show related object records and related documents, the record detail page becomes the central location for browsing, creating, and editing related information.

How to Create an Object Type Page Layout

To create a new object page layout:

  1. Navigate to Admin > Configuration > Objects > [Object].
  2. Navigate to the Page Layout tab.
  3. Click Create to open the Add Page Layout window.
  4. In the Add Page Layout window, select an object type.
  5. Optional: Change the Page Layout Label from the default value.
  6. Optional: Change the Page Layout Name from the default value.
  7. Click Create to open the page layout editor.
  8. Click Save.

How to Access Page Layouts

To open and edit an object’s page layout, go to Admin > Configuration > Objects and click into an object. In the Page Layout tab, click to open the object page layout.

You can also open a page layout from within an object record page. From the Actions menu, select Configure Page Layout. If you’re viewing a record that belongs to an object type with its own page layout, you will see the layout for that object type.

Sections

Each page layout can have up to 20 sections. Newly added sections automatically go to the bottom of the page, but you can rearrange sections.

How to Add Detail Forms

To add a detail form section:

  1. In the object page editor, click Add Section.
  2. Select Detail Form.
  3. Enter a Section Label and Section Name. Only the label will appear for users.
  4. Choose a Section Layout: Detail Form – One Column or Detail Form – Two Columns.
  5. Optional: In the Show the section only in these lifecycle states field, select one or more lifecycle states. This option only appears for objects that use lifecycles.
  6. Optional: Add instructional or informational text as Section Help. When users view the object record page, they can see this information by clicking the ? icon on the section heading.
  7. Click Done.

To add a section showing related object records:

  1. In the object page editor, click Add Section and choose Related Object.
  2. In the dialog, select a Related Object in your Vault.
  3. Enter a Section Label and Section Name. Only the label will appear for users.
  4. Optional: In the Show the section only in these lifecycle states field, select one or more lifecycle states.
  5. Set the Creation Option: You can prevent users from creating new object records with the Prevent record creation option or allow users to create new records in a new page or in a pop-up dialog.
  6. Optional: Add instructional or informational text as Section Help. When users view the object record page, they can see this information by clicking the ? icon on the section heading.
  7. Optional: Add Criteria VQL to restrict the objects that users can see and add using a VQL-type expression. You can use the Token Helper icon to search for relationship and field keys to add to the expression. Click Validate to confirm if your criteria VQL syntax is valid. If you set the Apply on Create checkbox, Vault applies the criteria VQL as default when users create new records.
  8. Click Done.

To add a section showing related documents:

  1. In the object page editor, click Add Section.
  2. Select Related Documents.
  3. Select the Referencing Document Field. This must be an Object field configured on one or more document types..
  4. Enter a Section Label and Section Name. Only the label will appear for users.
  5. Optional: In the Show the section only in these lifecycle states field, select one or more lifecycle states.
  6. Optional: Add instructional or informational text as Section Help. When users view the object record page, they can see this information by clicking the ? icon on the section heading.
  7. Optional: Set the Prevent Document Addition checkbox to prevent users from adding new documents. Enabling this setting overrides any atomic security configurations and user permissions.
  8. Optional: Apply Criteria VQL to restrict the documents that users can add using a VQL-type expression. You can use the Token Helper icon to search for relationship and field keys to add to the expression. Click Validate to confirm if your criteria VQL syntax is valid.
  9. Click Done.

How to Add Text Sections

If an object includes at least one Long Text or Rich Text field, you can add those fields as text sections to the object’s page layout. To add a section showing the field:

  • In the object page editor, click Add Section.
  • Select Text.
  • Enter a Section Label and Section Name. These fields do not appear for users.
  • Select a Long Text / Rich Text Field.
  • Optional: In the Show the section only in these lifecycle states field, select one or more lifecycle states. This option only appears for objects that use lifecycles.
  • Optional: Add instructional or informational text as Section Help. When users view the object record page, they can see this information by clicking the ? icon on the section heading.
  • Click Done.

The Text option only appears in the Add Section dropdown menu for objects that have Long Text or Rich Text fields.

About Web Sections

You can use web sections to display external web content, such as an address’s map location on an Organization record. At this time, you can only add web sections to object page layouts through MDL. If your page layout includes a web section, you will see it in the page layout editor, and you can move it to a different position on the page, but you cannot make any other changes. Learn more about adding web sections on the developer portal or contact Veeva Services for assistance.

Lifecycle State Details

Selecting lifecycle states when setting up a new section creates a page layout that changes for records in different states. This option is only available when the page layout belongs to an object with an active lifecycle.

How to Edit Sections

To edit a section name, label, or type, click the Edit (pencil) icon to the right of the section.

How to Remove Sections

To remove a section, click the Delete (x) icon to the right of the section.

How to Move Sections

To move a section, click the section header then drag and drop to its new position.

Filter Related Object & Documents Sections

You can add filters to related objects and documents sections using VQL-type expressions to constrain what specific documents appear in those sections for users to select. For example, you can restrict users from adding related documents that aren’t in a Steady state.

Vault applies all filters that you configure when users access the relevant related object sections on object records, but only displays fields that users have Read permission on.

Note users must have Read permission on all fields used in the filter in order to access the relevant related documents section on object records. On related document sections, users will not see any results if they do not have Read permission on all fields used in the filter.

Filters on document and object sections do not support full VQL functionality. Learn more about using criteria VQL in the developer portal.

Users can potentially create records that will not show up in the related object section if those created records fall outside of the filters defined for the section. For example, if you filter a related object section to show Inactive records, any Active records that a user creates from that section will not appear in the related list.

To help avoid this, enable the Apply on Create option when configuring a related object record section. This option applies the Criteria VQL filter as a field default on the newly created record. For example, if you filter a related object section to show Inactive records, the Apply on Create option will automatically set the Status field to Inactive for all records created through this related object section.

Apply on Create can only apply field defaults for Criteria VQL expressions with the = operator. Other operators and expressions are ignored. For example, the expression status__v = 'inactive' AND name__v != 'CholeCap' will default Status to Inactive, but cannot set a default value for Name as there is more than one value which could fulfill this criteria.

Users can potentially create records that will not show up in the related object section if those created records fall outside of the filters defined for the section. For example, if you filter a related object section to show Inactive records, any Active records that a user creates from that section will not appear in the related list. To avoid this, enable the Prevent record creation option when configuring a related object record section. This option hides the Create or Add button, depending on the object relationship.

How to Show, Hide, or Move Object Fields

The default detail form section includes all required object fields, object type fields, and fields configured to Display in default lists and hovercards.

You can add or remove fields from a section and move them to other Detail Form sections.

You can also change existing detail form sections to one-column and two-column layout.

From the Actions menu, click Configure Page Layout.

To show a field, click the Add icon and select a field from the picklist. The picklist includes all available object fields that are not already displayed in a detail section.

To add a space between fields, click the Add icon and select Space from the picklist. After adding, you can move the spacer between fields.

To remove a field, click the Delete icon to the right of the field panel. This moves the field back to the Add field picklist. You can remove a required field if it has an object field default configured, or if it is a system-managed object record name field.

To move a field, click the field panel then drag and drop to its new position. You can move fields from one detail panel to another.

When finished editing sections, click Save.

The default columns displayed for related documents include the document name, number, type, subtype, classification, and status.

You can show or hide columns for any field configured on the documents. You can also arrange the left to right order of columns displayed.

  1. From the Actions menu, click Configure Page Layout.
  2. In a Related Documents section, click Edit Columns.
  3. In the Select Columns to Display window, select available fields to show.
  4. To arrange the left to right column order, move selected fields up or down in the list.
  5. Click Done.

When finished editing columns, click Save.

The default columns displayed will vary between objects, but you can show, hide, and rearrange columns for any object field.

  1. From the Actions menu, click Configure Page Layout.
  2. In a Related Objects section, click Edit Default Columns.
  3. In the Select Columns to Display window, select fields to show. You can double-click a field or select and use the left/right arrow buttons to add columns.
  4. To rearrange columns, select a field and use the up and down arrow buttons.
  5. Click Done.
  6. When finished editing columns, click Save.

Note: Depending on when your RIM application Vault was created, you may see that the section for related object Packaging Shelf Life on your Packaging object page layout has two Name columns. This can cause server errors when modifying relationships to the packaging object. To resolve, simply remove and re-add the Packaging Shelf Life section to your page layout.

To work on object configuration, you must have a security profile that grants Admin: Objects permissions.