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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2024-03-08
Reference: Custom Object and Field Limits

Reference: Custom Object and Field Limits

Custom Objects

  • For each extendable Workday business object, you can create custom objects with up to 200 active custom fields. When you remove or inactivate custom fields, they don't count toward that limit. You can't restore an inactive field if doing so would exceed the active field limit for the business object.
    Example: You can create:
    • A custom object on a Workday business object with 200 active custom fields.
    • 200 custom objects with 1 custom field in each custom object.
    • Any combination of custom fields and custom objects that doesn't exceed 200 active custom fields.
  • Separate limits apply for effective-dated and non-effective-dated business objects. The maximum of 200 fields applies to each object.
    Example: You can have 200 custom fields each for Worker (effective-dated) and Worker (non-effective-dated).
  • A multi-instance custom object can have up to 1,500 instances for each extended Workday business object when you manage them from the Workday user interface. You can have up to 10,000 instances when you manage them using the REST API. When you exceed the 1,500-instance limit, the instances aren't visible in the Workday UI. You can use a custom report to view them.
    Example: When you create a Certifications custom object on the Worker business object, you can store up to 1,500 Certifications for each Worker.
  • A custom object can have up to 5 currency type active custom fields. You can't restore an inactive currency type field on a custom object that has 5 active currency type fields.
  • You can add a Reference ID when you create a custom object, but you can't change the Reference ID once you activate the custom object.
  • A custom list can have up to 10,000 values. Inactive values count toward that limit.
For Workday Extend, when you have more than 100 custom fields for an effective-dated business object, some fields might be truncated when you view them in an approval step. To avoid truncated fields, configure multiple approval steps or create a separate business process using Workday Extend.

Custom Field Types

You can always edit the name of a custom field type, but you can't change the field type after the custom field is used.
Custom Field Type
Value Limits
Additional Information
Boolean
Currency
16 integer positions and 3 decimal positions.
Date
Decimal
16 integer positions and 3 decimal positions.
Instance Reference
Integer
-2147483648 to 2147483647.
List
10,000 list items.
Paragraph Text
5,000 characters. (Can't contain formatting, such as bold or new paragraphs.)
You can configure the maximum length to any number between zero and 5,000. The default limit is 250 characters.
The
Wide-Text Display
 option on the definition displays the field values as paragraphs (rather than one long line).
Text
255 characters.
The
Wide-Text Display
 option on the definition displays the field values as paragraphs (rather than one long line).