You do not edit the Highlights Panel directly. You edit the compact layout that feeds it. Here is the path to set the fields that appear at the top of a record in Lightning Experience.
- Open the object in Object Manager
In Setup, go to Object Manager and select the object whose record header you want to change, such as Opportunity or Case.
- Create a new compact layout
Click Compact Layouts in the left rail, then New. Give it a clear label, and add the fields you want in the exact order they should appear. The first field becomes the accented header field.
- Set it as the primary compact layout
Save the layout, then use Compact Layout Assignment to set your new layout as the primary one so it replaces the system default for that object.
- Assign per record type if needed
In the same assignment screen, map specific record types to different compact layouts when those processes need different highlights, leaving the primary as the fallback.
- Verify on a record and on mobile
Open a record to confirm the panel shows the intended fields, then check the Salesforce mobile app and a narrow screen, since width and permissions can drop fields.
Drag fields into the order you want; the first field renders in the accented font and the panel shows up to seven fields.
The default layout used by the object when no record-type-specific layout applies; required to override the system default.
Optional mapping that lets each record type show its own compact layout, and therefore its own Highlights Panel fields.
- There is no separate Highlights Panel editor; all content comes from the compact layout.
- The same compact layout also drives lookup hover cards, the activity timeline, and the mobile record card, so changes ripple across all four.
- Fields hidden by field-level security drop out of the panel for that user with no placeholder, so the panel can look shorter on restricted profiles.
- The panel caps at seven fields and trims further on narrow screens, so a long compact layout will not show every field.