| name | compound-field-patterns |
| description | Compound fields (Name, Address, Geolocation): SOQL access rules, DML semantics, component access in Apex/LWC, reporting column behavior, formula field restrictions. NOT for general field design (use custom-field-creation). NOT for address validation services (use address-validation-integration). |
| category | admin |
| salesforce-version | Spring '25+ |
| well-architected-pillars | ["Reliability","Performance"] |
| tags | ["compound-fields","address","geolocation","name","soql"] |
| triggers | ["soql compound address field returns null in apex","how to update contact name first name last name via dml","geolocation latitude longitude component access","billing address compound field report column filter","person account name compound field behavior","apex serialize compound field to json","find nearest records within a radius using soql distance","sort soql query results by distance from a geolocation"] |
| inputs | ["Fields in scope (Name, Address, Geolocation on standard or custom object)","Access context (SOQL, Apex DML, LWC wire, Report)","Custom Address or Geolocation field use case"] |
| outputs | ["SOQL selection pattern (components vs compound)","DML/update pattern with component fields","LWC/UI-API access pattern","Reporting and filtering plan"] |
| dependencies | [] |
| version | 1.2.0 |
| author | Pranav Nagrecha |
| updated | "2026-07-08T00:00:00.000Z" |
Compound Field Patterns
Activate when working with Salesforce compound fields — Name, Address, and Geolocation — in SOQL, Apex DML, LWC, or reports. Compound fields expose a single logical field (the compound) and N component fields (the parts). SOQL rules, DML behavior, and reporting differ in ways that trip up both humans and LLMs.
Before Starting
- Know the three compound field types. Name (FirstName/LastName/Salutation), Address (Street/City/State/PostalCode/Country/Latitude/Longitude), Geolocation (Latitude/Longitude).
- Compound in SELECT works; compound in WHERE does not. You can
SELECT MailingAddress FROM Contact but not WHERE MailingAddress = ....
- DML uses component fields.
update new Contact(Id=x, MailingCity='SF') — never assign the compound.
Core Concepts
Name compound
Standard objects: Name is read-only compound; update FirstName, LastName, Salutation. Custom objects: Name is plain text unless defined as Person Name type.
Address compound
On Account (BillingAddress, ShippingAddress), Contact (MailingAddress, OtherAddress), Lead, User. Components: Street, City, State, PostalCode, Country, Latitude, Longitude, plus StateCode/CountryCode when State & Country Picklists enabled.
Geolocation compound
Custom field type combining __latitude__s and __longitude__s. SOQL SELECT Location__c returns a Location object; filter by components.
SOQL rules
-- Works
SELECT BillingAddress FROM Account
-- Fails
SELECT Account WHERE BillingAddress = :addr
-- Use components:
SELECT Account WHERE BillingCity = 'SF' AND BillingState = 'CA'
Apex DML
-- Works
update new Contact(Id = cid, MailingCity = 'SF');
-- Fails (compound is read-only for DML)
update new Contact(Id = cid, MailingAddress = new Address(...));
LWC UI API
@wire(getRecord) returns compound and components; display via or each component individually.
