Let’s say you’ve decided to create a custom object and use an autonumber as the data type for the record name. The next decisions are, what should be the naming convention for the record name and display format.
Record Name
The most commonly used record names have either “Name” or “Number” (or “#”) in it. For example
- Zip Code –> “Zip Code Name”
- Receipt –> “Receipt Number”
- Deliverable –> “Deliverable #”
But since you’ve already decided to use an autonumber, using the word “Name” probably doesn’t make much sense. So “Number” or “#” is more precuse.
Further, “Number” is more explicit but is longer, while “#” less explicit and is shorter. The final decision can be based on consistency. See what the other most commonly used objects use, and follow that notation. (FYI, my personal preference is “#”).
Display Format
There’s no benefit to long names, so try and stick with 2-4 letters followed by the autonumber. These letters should be representative of the object name, and vowels can be reduced or eliminated.
- Zip Code –> “ZIP”
- Receipt –> “RCPT”
- Deliverable –> “DLVR”
Further, some standard Salesforce objects use many padded zeros, while others just a few. Since the example provided shows “A-{0000}”, 4 zeros seems to be a good starting point.
The results are:
- Zip Code –> “ZIP-{0000}”
- Receipt –> “RCPT-{0000}”
- Deliverable –> “DLVR-{0000}”
The takeaway
Document your guiding principles on what to call the Record Name and which Display Format to use. Apply these principles to all your custom objects.