Creating a Custom Tab is a Setup workflow: pick the tab type, configure the Tab Style and label, set per-profile visibility, include in the relevant Lightning Apps.
- Open Tabs in Setup
Setup, Quick Find Tabs, click the link under User Interface. The page lists existing Custom Object Tabs, Custom Web Tabs, and Visualforce Tabs.
- Pick the tab type and click New
For a Custom Object Tab, scroll to Custom Object Tabs and click New. For a Visualforce Tab, scroll to Visualforce Tabs and click New.
- Configure the tab specifics
For a Custom Object Tab, pick the target object. For a Visualforce Tab, pick the Visualforce page. For a Web Tab, enter the URL.
- Pick a Tab Style
Pick from the Tab Style library: a pre-built icon and color combination. The choice affects how recognizable the tab is in navigation.
- Set the Label and Plural Label
The Label is the singular form (Project). The Plural Label is what appears on the tab itself (Projects). The two can differ for grammatical reasons.
- Set per-profile visibility
Default On for profiles that should see the tab in their default navigation. Default Off for tabs available but hidden. Hidden for profiles that should not see the tab at all.
- Add to Lightning Apps
Setup, App Manager, edit each Lightning App where the tab should appear, Navigation Items, add the tab. Save the app configuration.
Custom Object Tab, Visualforce Tab, Lightning Component Tab, or Web Tab. Pick at creation; cannot be changed later.
Singular and plural forms shown on the tab and in navigation. Defaults from the target object name.
Icon and color combination from the Salesforce Tab Style library. Required for visual identification.
The object, page, component, or URL the tab points to. Varies by Tab Type.
Default On, Default Off, or Hidden. Sets the per-profile baseline for tab visibility.
- Custom Object Tabs are not auto-created with the custom object. The Object Manager wizard offers to create one, but skipping the offer leaves the object invisible to users.
- Tab Style choices are permanent in the sense that changing them after launch confuses users. Pick deliberately.
- Hidden visibility on a profile blocks the tab entirely. A user with Hidden visibility cannot reach the tab even through the App Launcher All Items list.
- Web Tabs do not handle authentication. The external URL must support session sharing or single sign-on for the user to land authenticated.
- Lightning Component Tabs require the component to be marked for the lightning__Tab target in its meta XML. Components not marked for this target do not appear in the tab picker.