Custom object definitions

View custom object definitions

To view custom object definitions, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to Platform > Object Manager..
2. Click the object name in the Label column. The custom object records page opens.
3. Click Edit Object Definition. The custom object detail page opens.

Create a new custom object definition

To create a new custom object definition, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to Platform > Object Manager, and then click + Create in the upper right of the page.
2. Fill in the information on the new custom object page.
   • The Name field is required.
   • The API Name field is required.
3. Switch the following toggles on or off to indicate whether to audit the creation or deletion of custom object records of this custom object definition:
   • Audit Create Record
   • Audit Delete Record
   Note that you must enable the Custom Object Definition audit trail setting in your Zuora tenant before auditing custom object record creation or deletion. For more information, see Manage audit trail settings.
4. Click + New Custom Field.
   • You must create at least one custom field for a new custom object.
   • You can add at most 50 custom fields to a custom object.
   • All custom fields in a custom object can be indexed.
5. Input the information of the custom field on the Add New Custom Field page.
   • Field Name: The custom field name displayed on UI. The field name is required.
   • API Name: The API name of the custom field. The API name must end with __c and cannot be edited once created. The API name is required.
   • Description: The description of the custom field.
   • Field Type: Select a field type for the new custom field. See the following possible values of the field type. The field type cannot be changed once the custom field is created.
     • Text: You can define the default value for a text type custom field. To further confine the data value format of this field, select a data format checkbox (URL or UUID) as needed. URL-formatted text fields are not filterable.
       If you want to use this field as the display name for the current custom object, select the Display Name checkbox. For more information, see Create the display name for custom objects.
     • Integer: You can define the default value for an integer type custom field.
     • Number: You can define the default value for a number type custom field. Zuora supports up to 13 digits to the left of the decimal point, and up to 9 digits to the right.
     • Boolean: You can select the default value for a boolean type custom field.
     • Date: You can define the default value for a date type custom field.
     • Date and Time: You must enter the values for both date and time if you want to define the default value for a date and time type custom field. 
     • Picklist: You must add at least one option for a picklist type field. You must make sure every picklist value is unique when you fill in picklist values. The picklist value is case-sensitive. For example, "Business" and "BUSINESS" are treated as different values and can be added together. You can set a default value for a picklist type custom field.
     • Multiselect: You can select one or more options for a multiselect-type field. As a comparison, you can select only one option for a picklist-type field.
       You must add at least one option for a multiselect-type field. You must make sure every option value is unique when you fill in option values. The option value is case-sensitive. For example, "Business" and "BUSINESS" are treated as different values and can be added together. You can set a default value for a multiselect-type custom field. The multiselect-type fields are not filterable.
     • Relationship:
       • You must select the Namespace for a relationship type field. The com_zuora namespace houses Zuora objects and the default namespace houses the custom objects.
       • You must select the Object Name of the object that this custom field is related to.
       • Each custom object can contain at most 2 relationship type custom fields.
       • The relationship between a custom object and its related object is many-to-one. For example, a custom object of Vehicles could have many records that are related to one Subscription.
       • Relationships can be established with Zuora objects or other custom objects.
       • The relationship field usually stores the related object's UUID only except for Subscription Name and Rate Plan Charge Number as both of them are unique.
       • You can only add relationship type fields to a new custom object or an existing custom object with no records.
   • Required: Switch the Required toggle on or off to indicate whether the custom field is required. You can change a required field to optional. However, you can only change an optional field to required on the custom object with no record.
   • Filterable: Switch the Filterable toggle on or off to indicate whether the custom field is filterable. Only filterable fields can be used as filters in the high-performance queries submitted through the Query custom object records API. However, any field can be used as a filter when using Data Query. You can change the Filterable value through Update custom object definition API after the field is created.

     Limitations:

     • One custom object can have a maximum of 10 filterable fields.
     • The maximum length of each filterable text field must be 512 or less.
   • Unique: Switch the Unique toggle on or off to indicate whether the values in the custom field are unique. You can remove the unique constraint on a custom field. However, you can only add the unique constraint to a custom field if the custom object contains no record.

     Limitations:

     • One custom object can have a maximum of five fields with unique constraints.
     • The unique constraints apply only to filterable fields.
   • Auditable: Switch the Auditable toggle on or off to indicate whether Audit Trail will record changes of this custom field. The changes include the creation, update, and deletion.
     One custom object can have a maximum of five auditable fields.
     Note that you must enable the Custom Object Definition audit trail setting in your Zuora tenant before auditing custom field changes. For more information, see Manage audit trail settings.
6. Click the Save and Add Another to save the custom field definition and immediately start creating a new custom field. Repeat until you input the information for the last new custom field. Click Save and Close to save the custom field definition and return to the new custom object page.
7. Click Save on the new custom object page.

The new custom object definition will be displayed in the custom object list view.

Note that you should not store PCI, sensitive PII, or other regulated data in custom objects. See Responding to individual requests for access, correction, and deletion of data under applicable privacy laws for more information.

Update a custom object definition

You can make the following updates to an existing custom object definition:

• Edit existing custom field definitions
• Add new custom field definitions
• Delete existing custom field definitions 

To edit an existing custom field in the custom object definition, click the Edit icon  to the right of a custom field on the custom object detail page. You can make the following updates to an existing custom field definition:

• Update the default value.
• Change a required field to optional.
• Change an optional field to required if the custom object contains no record.
• Change a filterable field to non-filterable, and vice versa.
• Remove the unique constraint on the field.
• Add a unique constraint to a filterable field if the custom object contains no record.

To add a new custom field definition to a custom object definition, perform the following steps:

1. Click + New Custom Field on the custom object detail page.
   • A custom object can contain at least 1 and at most 50 custom fields
   • All custom fields in a custom object are indexed.
2. Input the information of the custom field on the Custom Field page. The Name and API Name are required.
3. Click Save and Close to save the new field.

Note that you can only add a required field, a relationship type field, or a unique constraint to an existing custom object with no records.

To delete an existing custom field definition from a custom object definition:

1. Click the Delete icon  on the right side of the field on the custom object detail page.
2. Click Delete on the confirmation dialog.

Note that you can only delete field definitions for custom object definitions that contain no records.

Delete a custom object definition

To delete a custom object definition, perform the following steps:

1. Click the Delete icon  on the right of the custom object in the custom object list view.
2. Click Delete in the confirmation dialog.

Note that you can only delete the custom object definitions that contain no custom object records. See Custom object records for more information.

View custom objects usage 

You can view how many custom objects have been created towards the limit in your tenant by hovering over the Custom Objects Usage meter in the Custom Objects list view.

Import and export custom objects

You can import custom object definitions in bulk, and export existing definitions for later use.

{
  "Vehicle": {
    "type": "Vehicle",
    "schema": {
      "object": "Vehicle",
      "label": "Vehicle",
      "title": "Vehicle",
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Object stores vehicle information",
      "enableCreateRecordAuditing": false,
      "enableDeleteRecordAuditing": false,
      "properties": {
        "brand__c": {
          "maxLength": 512,
          "description": "The brand of the vehicle",
          "label": "Brand",
          "type": "string"
        },
        "model__c": {
          "maxLength": 512,
          "description": "The model of the vehicle ",
          "label": "Model",
          "type": "string"
        },
        "color__c": {
          "maxLength": 512,
          "description": "The color of the vehicle",
          "label": "Color",
          "type": "string",
          "enum": [
                "white",
                "red",
                "black",
                "silver",
                "blue"
           ],
          "default": "white"
        },
        "MSRP__c": {
          "description": "The MSRP of the vehicle",
          "label": "MSRP",
          "type": "number"
        }
      },
      "required": [
        "brand__c",
        "model__c"
      ],
      "filterable": [
        "brand__c",
        "model__c"
      ],
      "enableRecordMigration": false
    }
  }
}

Use cases