The big news from last week is from Marc Benioff. He claims Salesforce is now headless.
“Headless” means the back-end logic is completely separate from the front-end UI. This effectively means you can replace the UI with something other than Salesforce’s.… Read the rest
In the past several weeks, I’ve been asked to find trusted Salesforce individuals.
These are people with whom I’ve worked with before, or know me from these emails. They reach out and ask whether I know someone with a particular set of skills.… Read the rest
On May 11-12, True North Dreamin returns in Toronto.
As last year, I’ll be a sponsor and a speaker.
As a sponsor, we’ll promote Dryad Receipting for Salesforce. The app grew by 400% last year, and we hope to match that growth this year.… Read the rest
Every once in a while, your client will mention there’s a bug. Perhaps a field isn’t being populated correctly.
In these cases, follow these steps:
Regarding data issues, the step 6 actually has two parts
It’s important to complete these two steps in that order.… Read the rest
For nonprofits, Salesforce now offers a native tax receipting solution. It’s designed for Agentforce Nonprofit (aka Nonprofit Cloud), and it’s a welcomed feature.
But is it good enough?
My latest article from Salesforce Ben breaks this down.
Pros:
Cons:
Since you should never hardcode content in apex, here are some alternatives places to store it:
1. Custom Settings
The main and current location to store data. Custom Settings are like custom objects used by the system. You can create custom fields and access them from most places (like flow).… Read the rest
I’m working with a client who’s had a very difficult time updating their outgoing emails and SMS messages. And no wonder, the previous consultant set them up this way.
Emails used Visualforce pages, with tons of extra html and css syntax.… Read the rest
As you add more and more fields to a page layout, it’s important to consider structure and UX.
For example, it’s generally not a good idea to have 25 fields in a single section on the page, especially when there are 20 fields in the 1st column, and 5 fields in the 2nd.… Read the rest
In the nonprofit industry, the following record types exist for opportunity:
And it’s not uncommon for clients to add several more.
In general, record types are used less these days due to the rise of the dynamic functionality of Lightning Record Pages.… Read the rest
It still surprises me how many times I’ve seen orphaned page layouts.
I’m working with a new client, and there were 5 layouts for the contact object.
At a quick glance, you would expect the Contact Lightning Layout to be used.… Read the rest
Last week was dreamOle in Valencia, Spain. I don’t have as many contacts in Europe as in North America, but it was good to start seeing some familiar faces.
Here are three takeaways from the event:
1. Security is top of mind.… Read the rest
I’ve been working with one client for a couple of years. The CEO is kind and he always had a specific vision on how he wanted the organization to grow.
The projects were always fixed price, with a client business outcome.… Read the rest
This Friday is dreamOle in Valencia, Spain. It’ll be the 3rd dreamOle I’ve attended.
Despite being in Spain, quite a few sessions are in English.
Here are the ones I’ll attend:
Imagine a Salesforce flow that is not a record-triggered flow, and you get an Account record.
In the get step, you probably use the default setting “Automatically store all fields”, which is good. Let Salesforce work for you. The record variable is called “Get_Account”.… Read the rest
Working with multi-select picklists (MSP) is tricky. Here’s a hack to convert this picklist into a text field using flow so you can use it more easily.
Imagine there’s a MSP called “Zone” on the Account object. The values are “Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C”.… Read the rest
One reader of yesterday’s email mentioned there’s a flow function called INITCAP(text) which formats words in Sentence Case.
A second reader mentioned you may need to handle exceptions like MacPerson, McDonald, or O’Neal.
Thanks to both of you for this feedback.… Read the rest
When data is sourced from a webform and inserted into Salesforce, it can be dirty.
Ideally, the source system has sufficient data validation in place to avoid the really dirty errors. For example, ensuring an email address has the correct format.… Read the rest
Imagine this: on the account page, a list of related contacts is displayed.
On the related list, clicking the standard New button opens the standard New Contact page. While this works, sometimes you want to minimize the number of fields displayed and/or introduce automation to prefill some fields.… Read the rest
For users on the go, Salesforce has a mobile app that allows them to stay connected.
While it’s not the most comprehensive experience, if it’s set up correctly, it can get the job done. Here are some key considerations:
Page Layouts
When building page layouts, keep in mind the tab-key order.… Read the rest
When designing a new feature for a client, one of the first questions you need to ask yourself is: should I use standard objects or create custom ones?
Best practices dictate that if you can use 80% or more of the standard data model, then that’s your choice.… Read the rest
AI is awesome at many development tasks.
For example, I asked it to create Lightning Web Components (LWC) to replace old Aura components. The first version was 99% perfect. Super impressive.
Then I asked it to restructure the LWC so that fields and buttons appear on the same line.… Read the rest
In a recent client meeting, they shared that their users complain about a particular page when using Salesforce on a tablet.
Upon reviewing the page, I noticed the page displays one of several flows, based on a status, and includes several Aura components.… Read the rest
Speaking about IdeaExchange, one faithful reader made an interesting point.
Even though some ideas don’t get resolved by Salesforce themselves, sometimes you can find viable alternatives in the comments. This can be a valuable source of information.
Other areas for support can be found in the following:
I’m currently using AI for all my support needs.… Read the rest
Related to the last email, there’s an idea on IdeaExchange to address this issue. Please upvote it so it gets more attention.
Speaking of the IdeaExchange, what’s your take? Are you
Salesforce is awesome, most of the time. The good news is it’s always improving.
One feature I hope they add soon is the ability to delete 0 records.
This occurs when you attempt to delete a collection that contains no records or to delete a single record that doesn’t exist.… Read the rest
When tracking a positive and negative response in Salesforce, most consultants would simply create a boolean field and call it a day. But you’re a “good enough” consultant, so you know there’s another choice.
The other option is a picklist with “True”/”False” or “Yes”/”No” choices.… Read the rest
When creating text fields in Salesforce, you have several options:
For all options except for Text Area, you have a choice of how long you want the field to be.… Read the rest
In Salesforce, you can group fields into two categories:
Non-indexed fields are basic fields that are not lookup, master-detail, audit dates, or system fields. For example, Amount on Opportunity is a non-indexed field.
Indexed fields are special fields.… Read the rest
Formula fields are great because they allow you to place business logic in a field that can be quickly referenced. However there are some drawbacks you should be aware of.
January through April is tax season for nonprofits. Between my nonprofit services and my app that allows nonprofits to generate tax receipts, it’s an extremely busy time of year.
Balancing workloads from multiple clients can be overwhelming. Here are some tips I’ve learned that may be able to help you.… Read the rest