Custom object relationships

A relationship connects two object types so their records can be linked. For example, you can link a Campaign to the accounts it targets, or a Vendor to the contacts who manage it. Linked records show up on both sides: open the campaign to see its accounts, or open an account to see its campaigns.

A relationship can connect:

• two custom objects, such as Campaign and Vendor
• a custom object and a built-in object, such as Campaign and Account
• a custom object and itself, such as parent campaigns and sub-campaigns

Relationships are part of custom objects, so they’re available wherever your plan includes custom objects. See Custom objects.

Who can manage relationships

Admins create, rename and archive relationships. Everyone who can edit a record can add or remove its links. To change a record’s links, you need edit access to that record, and to link it to another record you need edit access to that one too.

Relationship types

There are three relationship types: One to one, One to many and Many to many. You can also group several many-to-many relationships under one heading on a record.

One to one

Each record on one side links to exactly one record on the other side, in both directions. For example, each Property has one Listing agreement, and each Listing agreement belongs to one Property.

One to many

Each record on the first side can link to many records on the other side, but each of those links back to only one. Use it for parent and child structures, such as sub-campaigns under a campaign or projects under a program.

To build a hierarchy within one object, point the object at itself. A Campaign to Campaign relationship gives you parent campaigns with sub-campaigns under them.

On records, the two sides look different:

• Parent record: shows a list of its children, such as “Sub-campaigns”. You can add or remove children here.
• Child record: shows the one parent it belongs to, such as “Parent campaign”. You can pick or change it here.

A few rules apply:

• A child has one parent at a time. Assigning it to a new parent removes it from the old one.
• A record can’t end up as its own ancestor, and hierarchies have a depth limit. Lightfield tells you when a change would break either rule.

Many to many

Records on both sides can link to any number of records on the other side. A Campaign can target many accounts, and an account can be in many campaigns. The relationship shows as its own section on each record, where you can add and remove links.

Grouped relationships

A group collects several many-to-many relationships under one heading on a record. Use a group when an object has several relationships that belong together.

For example, a Campaign might have an “Agency partners” group containing two relationships to Contacts, one called Advisors and one called Vendors. On the campaign, you see one Agency partners section showing how each contact is involved, instead of two unrelated sections.

Create a relationship

1. Go to Settings → Data model.
2. Open the object you want to create the relationship from, such as Campaign.
3. Open the Relationships tab.
4. Click Create relationship.
5. Fill in the details:
   • Related object: the object to link to. It can be a built-in object (accounts, contacts or opportunities) or a custom object. To build a hierarchy, choose the same object you’re configuring.
   • Relationship type: Many to many, One to many or One to one. The helper text below it explains how records will connect for the objects you chose. The relationship type can’t be changed after the relationship is created.
   • Label on [this object]: what the relationship is called on this object’s records, such as Target accounts or Sub-campaigns.
   • Label on [related object]: what it’s called on the related object’s records, such as Campaigns or Parent campaign.
6. Click Create.

You can create more than one relationship between the same two objects, each with its own labels. For example, a Campaign and a Contact can have one relationship called Advisors and another called Vendors.

Create a group of relationships

A group is created in two steps: first the group, then the relationships inside it.

Step 1: Create the group

1. Go to Settings → Data model and open the object, such as Campaign.
2. Open the Relationships tab.
3. Click Create group.
4. Enter the Group name on source: what the group is called on this object’s records, such as Agency partners.
5. Choose the Related object: the object every relationship in the group links to, such as Contacts.
6. Enter the Group name on target: what the group is called on the related object’s records. For example, if you link Campaign with Contacts, this is how campaigns appear on a contact.
7. Click Create.

The group appears on the Relationships tab under its own heading.

Step 2: Add relationships to the group

1. Click Add relationship inside the group.
2. Enter a Name for the relationship, such as Advisors. The related object and relationship type come from the group.
3. Click Create, and repeat for each relationship you want in the group.

Ask the agent to set it up

Admins can ask the agent in chat to set up relationships. For example:

• “Link Campaigns to Accounts.”
• “Create a parent and child relationship between Programs and Projects.”
• “Set up an Agency partners group on Campaigns with Advisors and Vendors.”

The agent drafts the structure, including the relationship type, the labels on each side and any group, and shows it to you before anything changes.

Edit, archive and restore relationships

Rename a relationship or group

You can edit a relationship’s labels on either side at any time. To rename a group, hover over it on the Relationships tab and choose the rename option.

The related object and relationship type are permanent. To change either, archive the relationship and create a new one.

Archive a relationship

Archiving a relationship removes it from the record pages of both objects.

1. Go to Settings → Data model and open the relationship’s source object (the object it was created from).
2. Open the Relationships tab.
3. Open the relationship’s … menu and click Archive relationship.
4. Confirm.

Archiving a group archives every relationship in it.

Restore a relationship

Archived relationships are listed under Archived relationships at the bottom of the source object’s Relationships tab. Open the relationship’s … menu and click Restore to show it on records again.

There’s no way to restore a whole group at once. Restore each relationship in it one by one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I archive the built-in relationships, such as Notes, Tasks, Files, Lists or the owner? No. Lightfield manages those relationships, and they can’t be archived.

Can a record link to itself? In a one-to-many relationship, a record can’t be its own parent or ancestor. In a many-to-many relationship on one object, distinct records of that object can link to each other.

Is there a limit on how many links I can change at once? Yes. A single create or update of a record can change up to 25 links. For bigger changes, save in smaller batches.