Sunday, May 29, 2016

Metadata Search


This app from AppExchange should be one of the favorite app for Salesforce admin and developers, it help us to search for anything related to metadata in your Salesforce.

The Salesforce Global Search feature is primarily meant to search for data in standard objects and custom objects.

Then, Salesforce Setup Search (beta) able to search for following items:
  1. Approval Post Templates 
  2. Approval Processes 
  3. Assignment Rules 
  4. Compact Layouts 
  5. Custom Buttons or Links 
  6. Custom Home Pages 
  7. Duplicate Rules 
  8. Email Alerts 
  9. Email Templates 
  10. Field Updates 
  11. Fields 
  12. Groups and Queues 
  13. Home Page Components 
  14. Objects 
  15. Permission Sets 
  16. Profiles 
  17. Roles 
  18. Static Resources 
  19. Users 
  20. Workflow Outbound Messages 
  21. Workflow Rules 
  22. Workflow Tasks 

Notes:
  • Only search with label name, not with API name
  • Not need to enter full name, example: search for "Monitor" will return "My Monitor" or "Monitor (%)"
  • Not to enter special characterexample: % ( ), search Monitor (%) will return no result, although Monitor (%) is the real label


With Metadata Search app (currently version 1.24), it search following items:
  1. Apex Classes
  2. Apex Triggers
  3. Approval Processes
  4. Apps
  5. Assignment Rules
  6. Business Processes
  7. Buttons and Links
  8. Components
  9. Custom Settings
  10. Dashboards **
  11. Email Templates
  12. Fields
  13. Objects
  14. Pages 
  15. Permission Sets
  16. Public Groups
  17. Profiles
  18. Queues
  19. Recent Items
  20. Record Types
  21. Reports **
  22. Roles
  23. Setup Audit Trials
  24. Sites
  25. Static Resources
  26. Validations Rules
  27. Workflow Email Alerts
  28. Workflow Field Updates
  29. Workflow Outbound Messages
  30. Workflow Rules
  31. Workflow Tasks
** this app currently do not search filter or fields in Report and Dashboard, only the name.


Note:
  • The searching process is slower compare to standard Setup Search.
  • You can use label name or API name to search
  • In order to be able to search Workflow/Validation Rules, the app need to connect to the Salesforce Tooling API. A Remote Site Setting must be created in your org before you can use this tool. Please create Remote Site Setting (Setup | Security Controls | Remote Site Settings) with Remote Site URL, example: https://metadatasearch.na3.visual.force.com or if you use custom domain https://myname-developer-edition--metadatasearch.na3.visual.force.com


Type: AppExchange (Managed Package)

Paid/Free: Free



Version: 1.24


Blog last update: 29 May 2016


Sunday, May 8, 2016

Workbench for Salesforce admin

"Workbench" has been famous for quite sometimes for Salesforce developer, but it is also very useful for Salesforce admin. It's an awesome tool, cloud based, so no need to install anything in your desktop and can be use from anywhere with internet connection. So, why use Workbench?
  • Eyeball object and field (characteristics, limits) to understand objects and fields and their relationships 
  • To get metadata components information, such as: report, flow, etc.
  • To see current session information 
  • Quickly query and extract data from Salesforce 
  • Insert, delete, update, upsert, delete single records or .CSV files into Salesforce
  • Deploy metadata changes (instead of using Migration Toolkit)
  • Retrieve metadata package
  • Explore REST resources (to see what information can be programatically extracted / inserted via an API
  • Enter Apex code to be executed as an anonymous
  • Password Management
  • It's free (although no support from Salesforce)
  • Do all of the above in the one place!

How to start using it?
Easy, go to https://workbench.developerforce.com and log in to your sandbox (or production org if you know what you do, caution this is a very powerful tool).


Use case
I would like to quickly sneak through all the fields available for a record, remember report do not support all object or all fields, so we can utilize Workbench for this purpose.
Make sure you have login to Salesforce, click new tab from web browser and paste following in the URL:
https://workbench.developerforce.com/retrieve.php?id=00150000018vb6G
change with the valid Record Id

Few other use cases to utilize Workbench for admin:

Documentation
To start doing any of the above, here are the relevant documentation links:

For complete documentation - https://developer.salesforce.com/page/Workbench


Type: 3rd Party App

Paid/Free: Free

Publisher: n/a

Installationhttps://workbench.developerforce.com/login.php

Version: n/a


Blog last updated: 8 May 2016


Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Configero Visual Role Manager

The Configero Visual Role Manager is a drag & drop management console for organizing roles and users within roles. Roles can be created, deleted, reorganized and users can be assigned to other roles through an easy to use drag & drop interface.

Roles are displayed in a hierarchical organizational chart and can be dragged and dropped above or below other roles.

Users are listed within each role and can be reassigned to a different role by dragging and dropping. Unassigned users are listed in a separate panel and can be searched and dragged to existing roles.





Type: AppExchange (Managed Package); Private listing

Paid/Free: Free

Publisher: GetFeedback

Installationhttps://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N30000009wHvgEAE

Version: 1.5


Blog last updated: 4 May 2016

GetFeedback - Online Surveys for Salesforce

GetFeedback is one of the most famous online survey tool tightly integrated with Salesforce. It also provide pretty user interface and easy to use interface. Survey responses can be easily mapped into Salesforce on Accounts, Contacts, Cases & custom objects. Surveys can be display perfectly on smartphones, tablets, and browsers.

By default, GetFeedback does not know who you send your surveys out to, because the link is generic, example: https://www.getfeedback.com/r/cnxEaxge

You need to make the survey "Salesforce aware" by adding parameters at the end of survey URL.
example: https://www.getfeedback.com/r/cnxEaxge?CONTACT_ID=0039000001prEMo&CASE_ID=50090000012wlV7

You can design this in Salesforce email template as merge field, example:
https://www.getfeedback.com/r/cnxEaxge?CONTACT_ID={!Contact.Id}&CASE_ID={!Case.Id}&ACCOUNT_ID={!Account.Id}&CONTACT_NAME={!Contact.FirstName}

You also can add contact name in survey with passing their name as email template, example:
https://www.getfeedback.com/r/cnxEaxge?CONTACT_ID={!Contact.Id}&CASE_ID={!Case.Id}&ACCOUNT_ID={!Account.Id}&CONTACT_NAME={!Contact.FirstName}

Those URL can be hidden using an HTML link, example: click here to start


A. Distributing "Salesforce Aware" surveys
- Mass Email from Salesforce with email template designed
- Click a button/link from Salesforce with email template designed
- Email alert to send email from workflow
- Use 3rd party email tool that include Salesforce ID as parameters


B. Viewing "Salesforce Aware" survey responses in GetFeedback
Click Analyze tab in GetFeeedback to see all survey response. If your survey URL include paramater, such as:
CONTACT_ID=0039000001poglz, you will see CONTACT_ID column with the value for the survey response.


C. Mapping "Salesforce Aware" survey responses to Salesforce fields
If you haven't connect GetFeedback to Salesforce, click your name | Account Settings, then find Salesforce menu, then click button 'Connect to Salesforce', and select Allow access in the next screen.

Click Salesforce tab in GetFeedback, you can select any available actions below, it can be one action or more for each survey.

For each survey from GetFeedback, you need to create the Salesforce mapping and action from GetFeedback, once setup done, survey result will be auto push to Salesforce in almost real-time.


1. Create a new record in object
By select this, you are going to use a custom object to capture new survey response data. If you select this option, you need to create a custom object and many fields needed prior this step.

There are 5 mapping sources you can use in this option:


Question, Answer, Response Attribute is necessary to map for this option.


2. Update field in existing object
You might want each response to update fields on an existing object in Salesforce if you want to put your survey response data within an existing standard object (e.g. Case or Account) without the additional overhead of using a custom object. For the response data to make it to the right place, you'll need to pass the Salesforce ID for the existing object as a merge field in the survey URL.

If you select this option, new survey answer will overwrite historical survey result. This is not so recommended unless you really do not want to know history survey.

Same with (1), there are 5 sources you can map when using this option.


3. Create or update Lead or Contact
This selection allows you to use the survey respondent's email address as a way of avoiding duplicate Contacts or Leads in  Salesforce. If a Contact or Lead has the same email address, system will update most recently modified or recently created, or update all. If none are found with the same email address, it'll create one.

You can use merge field such as email address, or Id, or other unique information. This option will also overwrite historical survey result if existing data exist.

Same with (1), there are 5 sources you can map when using this option.


4. Create an Activity in an object
This selection will create an activity record on an existing object for each response. For the response data to make it to the right place, you'll need to pass the Salesforce ID for the existing object as a merge field in the survey URL.

There is nothing to map here as system will create an Activity History and relate it to the record. But, you also cannot create report if select this.




Limitation & Summary: 
1. You can have multiple actions for each survey mapping, example: "Create a new record in object" + "Create an Activity in an object"

2. Ideally you need to select action (1) to maintain historical survey result, this option also great to present the survey result in report or dashboard.

3. By select action (1), you can use just one custom object to combine all survey, you need to create many fields to cover future usage. But if you opt to create new object for every survey, I think this is not practical, it will mess up your salesforce objects usage and layouts, personally I do not like this approach.

4. Using only one custom object approach, all questions and answers field need to be in text format with max length 255, some standard field such as Completion Date can be in Date/Time format.


Reference:


Type: AppExchange (Managed Package)

Paid/Free: Paid

Publisher: GetFeedback

Installation: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N3000000B4lIxEAJ
This app is not installed from AppExchange, but login to GetFeedback and link it to your Salesforce instance (sandbox or production)

Version: n/a


Blog last updated: 5 May 2016