SOAP API Describe Layouts
Salesforce empowers its CRMs functionality by providing many prebuilt applications with the ability of customization to fit the organizations need. Nevertheless, some organizations have complex processes that are uncorroborated with the existing Salesforce functionalities; so the Salesforce Lightning Platform offers multiple applications/ technologies like SOAP API, Apex, Visual force and more that provides high-end customization functionalities for advanced administrators and developers.
SOAP API
SOAP API is a Lightning Platform technology that provides powerful, convenient, and simple functionalities for the record management. SOAP API calls can be used to create, retrieve, delete or update any accounts, leads or custom objects records. Also, managing passwords, executing searches and more. There are over 20 different SOAP API calls which can be used in any language supporting Web Services.
describeLayout()
The SOAP API Describe Layout call is used to retrieve description and metadata of the page layouts for a specific object type.
The describeLayout() call returns a DescribeLayoutResult object that contains the top-level record type.
information on the specific passed-in sObjectType and mapping of record types to layouts. This object can be traverse to retrieve details and metadata of the page layouts.
For Live Demo Click here
Syntax:
DescribeLayoutResult = connection.describeLayout (string sObjectType, string layoutName, ID recordTypeID[]);
Representing a specific layout for the specified sObjectType, each DescribeLayout has a unique layout ID for reference consisting of two types of views:
- Detail view
In this detail layout, certain information details (such as address details) are accumulated into a single DescribeLayoutItem. This view is a Read-only display of the object.
- Edit view
In this edit layout, individual pieces of information (such as an address) is will be fragmented into separate fields. This view is an Editable display of the object.
URI
URI used to return descriptions of global publisher layouts:
/vXX.X/sobjects/Global/describe/layouts/
URI used to return layout description for a specific object:
/vXX.X/sobjects/Object/describe/layouts/
URI used to return layout description for objects that have more than one record type defined:
/vXX.X/sobjects/Object/describe/layouts/
<recordTypeId>.
For example, the following URI requests the layout for a specific Contact record:
/vXX.X/sobjects/Contact/describe/layouts/
012xx00000024x5AAA.
Conclusion:
Describe Layout call is used to retrieve information about the layout for a specific object type; returning metadata such as the detail page layout, the edit page layout, and the record type mappings of the given page layout. When a user profile has multiple layouts per objects with each layout specific to a record type, this call can be used to return metadata for multiple layouts.
That is all on SOAP API Describe Layout. If there any queries regarding this command or if you need any assistance, please reach out to us.
India 
USA
UK
Canada