Deciding which mode to use

External Objects vs Lightning Web Components

Omnata Connect for Salesforce, operates in one of two modes:

• External data live-queried via External Objects, via a custom Salesforce Connect adapter

• External data live-queried via our Lightning Web Components

The key difference is that External Objects can be used throughout the Salesforce platform, but require a Salesforce Connect license. Lightning Web Components do not require a Salesforce Connect license, but are limited to providing a record/list view of the data.

Feature Comparison Matrix:

Feature	External Objects	Lightning Components
View external data in a list, with sorting and filtering	✅	✅
View individual records	✅	✅
Navigate to related records	✅	✅
On a standard/custom record page, view a related list of external data	✅	✅
Configure connections and objects/fields via the Setup UI	✅	✅
Reconcile schema changes via the Setup UI	✅	✅
Search across all records in an external dataset	✅	✅
Query external data via Apex code	✅	✅
Apply row level filtering to external data access	✅	✅
Apply advanced multi-currency conversion to external data	✅	✅
Use external data in Salesforce Reporting	✅	❌
Use external data in Salesforce Automation (Flows and Processes)	✅	❌
Perform SOQL queries on external data	✅	❌
Navigate to specific external records from the tab menu	✅	❌