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Is there an easy way to discover where a custom field is referenced in Apex code without attempting to delete it?

E.g. an org with a large code base has objects A, B, and C that all contain a custom field named 'my_custom_field__c'. Is there an easy way to discover references to C.my_custom_field__c?

You can find references to a field (not including inside strings like below) by attempting to delete the field. Does Salesforce expose this functionality some other way?

// Not listed as a reference by Salesforce's delete tool
String s = 'select my_custom_field__c from C'; 
database.query(s);
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  • You can try to edit the API Name instead of deleting the field. Otherwise we need to know which IDE you prefer.
    – Adrian Larson ♦
    Feb 3 '16 at 17:17
  • If achieving it programmatically is not a compulsion then you can use few chrome extensions.
    – Jarvis
    Feb 3 '16 at 18:27
  • @AdrianLarson I usually use SublimeText with the MavensMate plugin. I've tried doing text searches for the field, but that returns A.my_custom_field__c, B.my_custom_field__c, and C.my_custom_field__c - not just C.my_custom_field__c.
    – bafuda
    Feb 4 '16 at 21:43
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A really good news!

Salesforce is going to provide out of the box feature to show the references of custom field after winter' 19. https://releasenotes.docs.salesforce.com/en-us/winter19/release-notes/rn_forcecom_fields_where.htm

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Also, if you want to access it programmatically then you can use Tooling api to by making just a query on MetadataComponentDependency. However, this is pilot and need to ask Salesforce enable it. Here is more detail: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.214.0.api_tooling.meta/api_tooling/tooling_api_objects_metadatacomponentdependency.htm

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