Salesforce Extensions: #1 Salesforce Inspector

Salesforce has some amazing features but sometimes it's missing a little functionality that would really make your life easier.

Chrome Extensions can do that. Let's see the ones I like the most!

Salesforce Inspector

This small extension is probably the most useful out there. It's a really powerful tool for admins and developers.

Once you install the plugin (available in the chrome store) you will notice a really small arrow on the right side of your screen. Don't be mistaken, that small button hides some really powerful features.

1. See All Data

As an admin, you often need to see fields not available on the user page layout. As a developer, you need to see field API names so you can use them in Apex.

Salesforce Inspector answers both uses cases with the "See All Data" feature.

From any object in your org, simply click on the Salesforce Inspector arrow and select "See All Data". From there, you have access to the field API Name, the label, the type and the value. You can even navigate to any related object by clicking on the link. You can edit, delete, clone and export the results.

2. Export Data

When you need to export the result of an SOQL query to use it outside of Salesforce, you probably use Workbench. While Workbench is useful, with Salesforce Navigator you can export the result of your queries. Simply use the "Export Data" from the menu. In the top, you can write any SOQL query you want. While you won't have any auto-completion, the tool provides you with a list of the available fields so you can click on them and insert them in the query. You also have a query history and you can even save queries you use frequently.

Once you are happy with the results, you can copy them in an Excel format (you still need to copy-paste them in Excel ) or in CSV or even JSON.

3. Import Data

Once again, you probably use Workbench or another external tool to import data into your org. Salesforce Inspector got you covered !

What do you think !

With all the features inside Salesforce Inspector it is one of my must-have extension.

Let me know what you guys think !

List Views Tips & Tricks: #2 Mass Edit

What's a List View you're gonna ask?

It's that screen where you can see the list of records for a certain object. One example is the "Recently Viewed" Accounts list.

List Views are everywhere in Salesforce and we use them every single day. Here is one way to make them even better for you!

Tip # 2: Use List Views to Mass Edit records

It happens pretty often that you need to update multiple records at the same time.

Let's say you want to update all your accounts, using a custom List View (see this article) to set a default the Billing State/Province to unknown instead of empty.

Step 1:

Navigate to the object that you want to edit.

In this example, I navigated to the Account Object.

Step 2:

On the left side of the page, click on the List Select button.

Click on the List View you want to use.

In this example, I want to use the Accounts Without State/Province List View.

Step 3:

Use the checkbox on the left side of the list to select the accounts you want to update.

Use the checkbox at the top to select all.

In this example, I selected all the accounts using the top checkbox.

Step 4:

On the right side of the screen, click on the Edit button.

Step 5:

In the account list, click on the field you want to update.

Use the "Update X Selected items" checkbox to update all your selected records with the same value.

Click Apply.

In this example, I clicked on the Billing State/Province field. I want to update those accounts with the value Unknown.

So that's it! You successfully performed a mass update using a custom List View.

In the next articles, you will use your custom List Views to make them even more useful.

Admin Note:

Users will need the "Mass Edits from Lists" permission, available in the System Permission, to use this functionality.

List Views Tips & Tricks: #1 Private List View

What's a List View you're gonna ask?

It's that screen where you can see the list of records for a certain object. One example is the "Recently Viewed" Accounts list.

List Views are everywhere in Salesforce and we use them every single day. Here is one way to make them even better for you!

Tip # 1: Create a private List View

While your administrator probably created a few List View for your team, sometimes you have some personal preferences on the field you want to see or even on the filters you want to use. For example, you might want to see only the account without a billing state/province so you can work on getting that information.

Did you know you can create a new private List View in just a few clicks? Here's how!

Step 1:

Navigate to the object where you want to create a List View.

In this example, I navigated to the Account Object.

Step 2:

On the right side of the page, click on the List View Control button.

Click New on the menu.

Step 3:

In the New List View modal, enter a descriptive name for your List View.

The List API Name will auto-populate.

Ensure the "Only I can see this List View" option is selected.

Click Save.

Step 4:

You can set filters on the List View.

Customize the filters to your needs.

In this example, I added a filter to show only the Accounts where the Billing State/Province is empty.

Step 5:

You can customize the List View by selecting the fields you want to display.

Click on the List View Control button.

Click on "Select Fields to Display" in the menu.

Use the window to show the fields you want.

In this example, I added the Account Number in the displayed fields.

Step 6:

You can access this List View again by using the List View Selection button.

My newly created "Accounts without State/Province" List View is now accessible on the Account Object.

So that's it! You successfully created your private List View.

In the next articles, you will use your custom List Views to make them even more useful.

Admin Note:

Users will need the " Create and Customize List Views" permission, available in the System Permission, to use this functionality.

This permission will NOT allow your users to create public List View.