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

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