Dynamic Forms is a Lightning Experience feature that replaces the page layout's field section on a Lightning Record Page with component-by-component field placement. Each field becomes a draggable component on the Lightning App Builder canvas, with its own conditional visibility rules.
Differences from a traditional Page Layout:
- Granular placement — fields can sit anywhere on the page, in any tab or accordion, not just inside the "Details" section.
- Conditional visibility — show/hide individual fields based on other field values, the user's profile, or device form factor (e.g., "show this field only if Status = Active and user's profile = Sales Manager").
- Multiple sections — group fields into accordions/tabs/columns however the page design needs.
- Per-field assignment — different field arrangements per record type, profile, or app, all on a single page.
What stays the same:
- Field-Level Security — Dynamic Forms doesn't bypass FLS. A field hidden by FLS stays hidden regardless of Dynamic Forms placement.
- Page Layouts still exist — Dynamic Forms replaces only the Details-tab field rendering. Mobile/Lightning Actions, Related Lists, and other page layout sections still come from the page layout.
When to use:
- Long pages with too many fields where users want sections collapsed/conditionally shown.
- Different teams using the same record type but caring about different fields.
- Avoiding the proliferation of record types just to vary field arrangement.
Limitations:
- Initially only supported on custom objects, then extended to most standard objects over time. Always check current GA support.
- Mobile — Dynamic Forms support on the mobile app has lagged behind desktop.
In practice: most modern Lightning rollouts use Dynamic Forms over old-school page layouts because the granular control eliminates the "one giant page layout per persona" problem.