Configuring Field-Level Help is a one-field-at-a-time activity that scales through a content review cycle. The steps below cover both the technical setup and the writing approach.
- Identify ambiguous fields
Audit the org for fields where the name alone does not clarify intent. Survey end users on which fields they hesitate to fill in; those are the candidates.
- Draft help text
For each field, write a one-sentence explanation. Lead with the definition, then any constraint (units, allowed values, where the data comes from). Stay under 510 characters.
- Open the field for editing
Setup > Object Manager > Object > Fields and Relationships > Field > Edit. Scroll to the Help Text area.
- Enter the text and save
Paste the help text. Save. The help icon appears immediately on record pages.
- Test on a record page
Open a record using the field. Confirm the help icon appears next to the field label and the tooltip text is correct.
- Translate for global orgs
Translation Workbench > Translate > Custom Field Help. Add translations for every supported locale.
- Audit periodically
Schedule an annual help-text review. Field meaning drifts over time; outdated help text is worse than no help at all because it actively misleads users.
The user-facing tooltip content. Up to 510 characters. Plain text only.
Admin-only context, separate from Help Text. Up to 1000 characters.
Per-locale translation through the Translation Workbench. Required for multi-language orgs.
Help Text deploys with the field through changesets or SFDX. Treat changes as part of the release pipeline.
For complex flows, in-app walkthroughs or prompts provide richer guidance than a tooltip.
- 510-character cap is firm. Long explanations need to live in Knowledge articles, with a short pointer in the help text.
- Most standard fields do not allow custom help text. The platform-default text is the only option; do not promise overrides without verifying field support.
- Plain text only. No formatting, no clickable links beyond what the receiving renderer auto-detects. Plan content accordingly.
- Outdated help text is worse than none. Audit annually; deprecated fields with stale help text actively mislead users.
- Help text does not show in list views or report builders. Users entering data through a list-view inline edit do not see the tooltip; provide context elsewhere for those flows.