Despite the fact that it certainly doesn’t feel like summer, Salesforce’s Summer ‘22 release is here. We’ve combed through the release notes and have selected the 5 must-know features that you need to be across to squeeze the juice out of this new release.
Release Schedule
Most Australian instances will have been automatically upgraded on the weekend of the 10th of June. You may not notice any difference but you will have these new features at your disposal. Remember, if you want an in depth look at the new release, you can always check out this Help article or better yet, do the Release Highlights Trailhead module.
Custom Address Fields
We start off with a bang, a feature that has been requested for many years has finally arrived! We can now add custom address fields (which function just like standard address fields) to objects. It’s currently in beta but solves a problem that we as implementers face time and again. Previously, when we needed more than one address field on an object, we would have to come up with a clever workaround while rueing the fact that Salesforce doesn’t allow us to add multiple addresses. Now, with a custom address field type, we can finally stop the pesky workarounds.
Customised and Filtered Related Lists
This handy feature allows you to not only change the name of a related list, but choose the list’s fields, sort order and most importantly, filter the records. This means that on an Account page, you can have different related lists for Closed Won and Closed Lost Opportunities. You could highlight Cases that have been open for more than 5 business days. You could even show a filtered list of Key Contacts on an Account that have the title CEO or Director. It’s just another way that Salesforce allows you to cut through the noise and be presented with the right data at the right time.
Picklists
Picklists have had a most-welcomed overhaul in this release with a few great new features.
Get a List of Custom Picklist Fields with Inactive Values
A super-handy feature that allows you to identify custom picklist fields that are dragging down system performance.
Bulk Manage Picklist Values
This feature, currently in beta, allows you to configure picklist fields in bulk. A great time-saving feature where you can delete, activate, deactivate or replace multiple picklist values in a single click.
On top of that, you can now bulk delete picklist values in custom picklists.
Duplicate Picklist Values
The final enhancement to picklist functionality allows you to identify duplicate picklist values which is especially helpful when you’re creating a picklist with a long list of values.
Reports and Dashboards: Inline Editing
There are a few enhancements to Reports and Dashboards but our personal favourite is inline editing in reports is now generally available. Now you can clean up your data without having to rerun a report. Simply, edit all the values that you need within the report itself and hit Save.
Automation Enhancements
If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably a Salesforce Admin (or having a particularly slow day) so this one’s for you. Over the past few years, Salesforce have made it clear that Workflow Rules and Process Builders are on the way out and Flows reign supreme in the world of automation.
Migrate to Flow Tool
We’re big supporters of Salesforce’s push to use Flows over the other automation tools but this feature is like walking into a minefield. It allows you to convert one workflow rule into one flow which could lead you into the position of having many flows on a single object. This increases maintenance costs, increases complexity, strains system performance and is just all-round bad practice. We encourage you to make the transition to flows but understanding how they work, the order of operations, when to use loops (and when not to) is crucial in designing an efficient flow. If you’re unsure, contact your Salesforce Partner.
Use Formulas as Entry Conditions in a Record-Triggered Flow
Okay, so maybe this one is for the tech geeks but we are very excited. You can now use formula builder in the start element of a record-triggered flow. Plus, you can use formulas to access related records and build more complex queries, too. Another example of the development of flows while the other automation tools are ignored.
A Few More Flow Things
We can’t list all the enhancements to flows in this blog but we do encourage you to check out the Release Notes or contact your Salesforce Partner to see if you can take advantage of any new features. Here’s a quick list to cap things off:
- Manage the execution order of your record-triggered flows and orchestrations from Flow Trigger Explorer
- Access Flow Trigger Explorer from the Object Manager
- Navigate Flow Trigger Explorer with shortcuts
- Create, save and run automated flow tests (beta)
Summary
Apart from that Migrate to Flow Tool (we know we’ll be fixing a few mistakes made by adventurous admins), this release has been fantastic and comes with some great features. Remember, if you need help with these new features or if you think your web of automations could use a clean up, reach out to your Salesforce Partner. If you’ve been using Salesforce for a while and haven’t added any automations, there has never been a better time. Have fun exploring all the great, new features in the Salesforce Summer ‘22 release.
