Quarra Task Details Field via API

Overview

Quarra requested a Details long text area field on the Salesforce Task object to allow users to add free-form notes to tasks. The implementation required using the API rather than the standard Setup UI, and surfaced a field-level security issue that prevented the field from appearing after creation.

Client: Quarra (Quaristone)
Object: Task
Field: Details (long text area)

The Problem: Missing "New" Button on Task Object

The Task object in Salesforce Setup does not display the standard New button in the Fields & Relationships section. This is a known Salesforce limitation — the Task object (an Activity object) has restricted UI access for custom field creation.

Workaround: Create the field via API rather than through the Object Manager UI.

Note: The Activity Custom Fields quick-find path in Setup is sometimes suggested as an alternative, but the API route proved more reliable here.

Implementation

Step 1: Create the Field via API

The field was created programmatically via the Salesforce API (using a Claude Code assistant to generate and execute the script). The field type attempted was LongTextArea; note that Salesforce may reject this type on Activity objects — verify the supported field types for Task before scripting.

Step 2: Add to Page Layout

After API creation, the field must be manually added to the Task page layout:

1. Go to Setup → Object Manager → Task → Page Layouts
2. Click Task Layout
3. Find Details in the field palette and drag it into the layout
4. Save

Step 3: Resolve Field-Level Security (Critical)

Root cause of field not appearing: When a field is created via API, it may default to hidden for all profiles — a field-level security issue that is not immediately obvious.

Symptom: Field exists in the layout but does not appear on any Task record, even after hard refresh.

Fix: Use the API to update the field's field-level security settings, granting visibility to the appropriate profiles. After applying the fix, perform a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R) to confirm the field appears.

Remaining Step: Add to Task Creation Modal

The Details field was confirmed visible on the Task record page, but still needs to be added to the Task creation modal (the quick-create popup). This is controlled by the Task Compact Layout, not the page layout.

Steps (to be completed):
1. Go to Setup → Object Manager → Task → Compact Layouts
2. Edit the active compact layout
3. Add Details to the selected fields
4. Save

This step was assigned to Mark to complete via API, with instructions shared in chat.

Key Lessons

Related

• ^[1] — Quarra client overview
• ^[2] — Similar lookup field work on Opportunity object
• ^[3] — Permission analysis delivered in the same session