Field permissions in permission sets versus page layouts
Key Takeaway
Field permissions control whether a user can see or edit a field everywhere in Salesforce, but page layout field settings reach detail and edit pages only. When the two disagree, the more restrictive setting applies.
Field permissions, also called field-level security, control whether a user can see or edit each field on an object, everywhere in Salesforce. Page layouts control how detail and edit pages are arranged and which fields appear on them. Use field permissions to secure fields and page layouts to organize pages. If you mix them up, a field can disappear from a record page but still show up in reports and search results.
What field permissions control
Field permissions set whether users can see or edit each field on an object. Permission sets and the enhanced profile user interface use three access levels: "Read and Edit", "Read" and "None". The original profile user interface and the field-level security pages use different labels for the same levels.
| Permission sets and enhanced profile user interface | Original profile user interface and field-level security pages | What the user can do with the field |
|---|---|---|
| Read and Edit | Visible | See and edit it |
| Read | Visible and Read-Only | See it but not edit it |
| None | None (both options deselected) | Neither see nor edit it |
Field permissions apply across the whole app, not just on record pages. Salesforce applies them in these places:
- Detail and edit pages
- Related lists
- List views
- Reports
- Search results
- Email and mail merge templates
- Custom links
- Experience Cloud sites and portals
- Connect Offline
- Synchronized and imported data
- Salesforce APIs
So when a user's access level for a field is None, the user can't see the field anywhere in Salesforce, including reports, list views and search results.