Self Reference Lookup

About Self Reference Lookups

An Object can contain a Lookup field that references itself (a self reference). This configuration creates a parent-child relationships between records.

Examples include:

• An organization could have multiple subsidiaries, and some of those might also have subsidiary companies.
• Employees have reporting relationships to managers and subordinates.
• In manufacturing, parts in a component might have subcomponents or be part of of a larger component.

Considerations

A Self Reference Lookup field:

• Cannot reference itself, only other records in the object
• Is not supported in System Objects
• Is not supported in lookups to System Objects
• Is not supported in Object Inheritance models
• Can be deleted from the Fields tab in an Object

Add a Self Reference Lookup Field to an Object

First:

1. Click > Customization > Objects > {object}
2. Click the Fields tab, click the [New Field] button, and complete the following information:

   Label

   Label to display in the form layout

   Display Type

   Lookup

   Object Name

   Choose the {object} selected in the first step

   Field Name

   Name of the field (Parent {object} is a common choice)

   Section

   Choose a section in the form layout (default selection can be used)

3. Provide any other necessary information in the Basic Information and Display Attributes sections
4. Click [Save]

Note: Whenever you create a lookup to this object in another object, you'll generally want to edit the Display Attributes section, and set the Record Selection Type to Hierarchical. You may want to do that here, as well, if you are planning to add a deep set of data (to make it easier to select the right parent). However, to select the Hierarchical option for the new self-referencing lookup field, you will have to save it first.

Then:

1. Click the Forms tab
2. Scroll to the Related Information Section
3. Click the Display Settings link in the heading
4. Move the object labeled: {object} based Hierarchy View to the Visible Objects area
5. Click [Save]

Display Related Records from the Current Object

When a Self Reference Lookup field is added, a new section is added to the Related Information section of each object Form. By default, the section is hidden.

To make the related-record Hierarchy View visible:

1. Edit an object Form
2. Got to the Related Information section
3. Click the Display Settings link in the corner
4. Move the Hierarchy View from the list of Hidden Objects to the list of Visible Objects

Create a Self Reference Lookup between Records

1. Navigate to the {object} tab (Company, for example)
2. Edit a record, select a Parent Company from the lookup field and Save the record
3. Select the record designated as Parent Company
4. Save your selection.