What a Data Layout Is
A data layout arranges the fields of a record into a designed screen rather than a list.
Where to find it
Architect Panel → Layout & Pages:
- Data Layouts — the layouts, then Layout Builder on a row
- Record Layout — per-field sections and widths
How a layout is built
A layout belongs to a table and is made of rows. Each row has its own properties, and fields are placed into cells within it, each with a type and an order.
So the structure is rows and cells rather than a single ordered list, which is what allows two fields side by side and a wide field on its own.
The builder is a row action
Layouts are listed under Data Layouts, and the actual arrangement is edited through Layout Builder on the layout’s row. That is easy to miss.
Why bother
A record with forty fields in creation order is a form nobody completes correctly. Grouping related fields, putting the important ones first and giving the rest less prominence is the difference between a screen people use and one they resent.
Design for the task
The order should follow how somebody actually works through the record, not the order the fields were added or how the database is arranged.
Watch somebody complete one. The field they scroll back to is the field in the wrong place.
Field-level layout is separate
Alongside layouts, each field on a table can carry its own section, width and whether it starts a new row. That covers the common case where you want a sensible arrangement without designing a full layout.
A tenant’s own setting beats the shared one for the same field, so a customer can adjust an arrangement without affecting anybody else.
Use width deliberately
A postcode field the width of the screen looks wrong and invites the wrong input. Field width is a hint about what belongs in it, and getting it roughly right removes a surprising amount of confusion.
One good layout beats several
The temptation is a layout per team, per role, per situation. Each is one more thing to maintain when a field is added, and they diverge quietly.
Start with one that works for everybody and add another only when the need is real.
Layouts can carry a custom function
Where a layout needs behaviour beyond arrangement, it can name a custom function. Use it sparingly — it is code attached to a screen, and it is invisible to whoever maintains the layout later.
Worked example
A case record originally showed thirty-one fields in creation order. Rearranged into four sections — who, what, when, and outcome — with the six fields staff actually complete at the top, the average time to log a case fell noticeably and the mandatory fields stopped being missed.
Recommendations
- Order by the task, not by the database.
- Use field width as a hint about the content.
- One layout until a second is genuinely needed.
- Watch somebody use it before deciding it is finished.