Objects

Overview

Objects are the building blocks of your CRM data model. Each object represents a type of entity your organization tracks, such as People, Companies, Products, or any custom entity specific to your business.

Think of objects as database tables—each object has a name, description, and a set of attributes (fields) that define what data you can store.

Standard vs Custom Objects

CalyxCRM includes standard objects that are common to most CRMs:

• People - Individual contacts

Standard objects cannot be modified or deleted, but you can add custom attributes to them.

Custom objects allow you to model any entity specific to your business. You have full control to create, modify, and delete custom objects.

Creating Objects

1. Navigate to Organization Settings
2. Click on the Objects tab
3. Click Create Object
4. Fill in the details:
   • Plural Name - Used in navigation and lists (e.g., "Products")
   • Singular Name - Used when referring to one record (e.g., "Product")
   • Description - Helps team members understand the object's purpose
5. Click Create

The system automatically generates a URL-friendly slug based on the plural name (e.g., "products").

Object Attributes

Each object has attributes that define the fields available on its records. Available attribute types:

Adding Attributes

1. Open an object from the Objects list
2. Click Add Attribute
3. Configure the attribute:
   • Name - Display name for the field
   • Type - Data type (text, number, etc.)
   • Required - Whether the field must have a value
   • Unique - Whether values must be unique across records
4. Click Save

Label Attribute

Each object has a label attribute that determines how records are displayed throughout the app. For example, if the label attribute is "Name", records will show their name value in dropdowns, lists, and references.

To set the label attribute:

1. Open the object settings
2. Select the desired attribute from the Label Attribute dropdown
3. Save changes

Managing Objects

Editing Objects

Click on any custom object to edit its name, description, or attributes. Standard objects can have their attributes modified but not their core properties.

Deactivating Objects

Custom objects can be deactivated to hide them from the navigation without deleting the data:

1. Open the object settings
2. Toggle Active to off
3. The object and its records will be hidden but preserved

Deleting Objects

Only organization owners can delete custom objects. Deleting an object permanently removes:

• The object definition
• All records within the object
• All references to those records from other objects

This action cannot be undone.

Best Practices

• Use clear, descriptive names - Choose names that your team will immediately understand
• Add descriptions - Help team members understand when to use each object
• Set the label attribute - Ensure records display meaningful information
• Plan your data model - Consider relationships between objects before creating them
• Start simple - Begin with essential objects and add more as needs evolve