We’ve all been there… you log into a critical tool and it looks completely different overnight.
No warning… no little pop up banner to let you know changes are coming. Next thing you know you’re stuck spending 20 minutes following the “new feature tutorials” and navigating support docs to learn what’s new and how it impacted your workflow.
Luckily, Salesforce’s product team doesn’t do us dirty like that. They consistently make updates 3x per year (in the Spring, Summer and Winter)… and they always let us know what’s coming well in advance.
Heading into Summer 2024, Salesforce has recently announced its upcoming changes– and below, we’re covering the release items that will matter for Ops and share how these changes can enhance your existing processes.
Top Salesforce ‘24 Release Features
Salesforce is dropping some exciting new updates for Lighting Experience’s pilot, beta and generally available features. And while there’s numerous updates being covered in the most recent release notes, we wanted to call out the updates we’re most excited about for Ops pros.
Here’s our top picks for this season’s release:
1. Centralize and simplify field history tracking
Field history tracking is now easier to manage with a centralized location in Setup. Simply use the Quick Find search for “Field History Tracking.” This feature lets you search by object, filter to display only objects with field tracking, and view or adjust field history settings right from this page. This update simplifies the previous process where you had to access each object’s settings individually through Object Manager.
2. Tailor search functionality with search manager (GA)
With Search Manager, you can now customize the search experience for your users more effectively. Configure the search index by adding or removing fields from objects, apply filters to refine search results, and ensure certain objects are always included in searches. You can also streamline your setup process by migrating Search Manager configurations between Salesforce orgs using the new SearchCustomization metadata type. This allows you to personalize search settings by user profile, helping Einstein Search determine which objects to prioritize, especially when there’s insufficient data.
3. Enable MFA for enhanced security
Logging into your Salesforce production org? Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is now automatically enabled by default, adding an extra layer of security. This change applies as soon as your new production org goes live, but it doesn’t affect your sandbox environments.
Remember, MFA is required for users accessing Salesforce with single sign-on (SSO). If you’re using SSO for production, ensure your SSO identity provider has MFA enabled, or use Salesforce’s free MFA feature.
4. Identify custom field usage on dynamic forms-enabled pages
With the Summer ’24 release, managing your custom fields just got easier. Now you can quickly see where your custom fields are utilized on Dynamic Forms-enabled Lightning pages. Head to the custom field information page and use the ‘Where is this used?’ button. This handy feature shows you all the Dynamic Forms-enabled pages that use the field, identified by the FlexipageFieldInstance reference type, and links directly to the specific record page. This makes updating and managing your custom fields more efficient than ever.
The “Where Is This Used?” function is incredibly powerful– but can also lack certain features for your needs. Change intelligence software pairs nicely to make this feature a bit more actionable!
5. Safeguard sensitive custom fields and field-level security in search manager
Utilize Search Manager to protect up to 100 custom fields per object, ensuring sensitive information remains secure. Keep in mind that all standard fields are automatically protected. For objects with over 100 custom fields, Einstein Search will generate results based on the information in unprotected fields. To avoid unwanted search results, remove these unprotected fields from the search index.
Double down on security with this new feature by adding a data dictionary, which automatically documents and classifies Personal Identifiable Information (PII). It also shows you how it’s accessed across your entire tech stack.
6. Streamline user permission management
This new release also includes a variety of ways to have more visibility into user permissions including:
- Granular permissions: Assign specific permissions like ‘Freeze Users’ and ‘Monitor Login History’ without granting full Manage Users access.
- User access summary view: Quickly see all access details for a user in one place via the View Summary button, showing permissions and group associations.
- Permission set and group summaries: View all related permissions for a permission set or set group with one click using the View Summary button.
- Public group usage summary: Identify where a public group is used through the new Public Group Summary page, accessed via the View Summary button.
- Automate permissions with user access policies: Use User Access Policies to automatically assign or revoke access based on criteria, with up to 200 active policies and a new Order field to control policy triggers.
7. Boost workflow efficiency with new flow builder enhancements
These new features and improvements streamline the flow creation and management process, making it easier to build, debug, and maintain efficient workflows. Check out the key enhancements below:
- Enhanced automation lightning app: Monitor and manage your flows more efficiently from the new Automation Lightning app. Access recently updated flows, view errors, and search for flows by name or description. Create and manage flows directly within the app.
- Subflows run active version: For screen flows using API version 61.0 or later, subflows will now run the Active version instead of the Latest version, addressing a common request from the Salesforce community.
- Create records element: Use the Create Records element to update existing records by specifying matching criteria, perform upserts, and view required fields to minimize errors.
- New “Is blank” and “is empty” operators: Perform ‘nothing’ checks more effectively using the new Is Blank and Is Empty operators, replacing the need for workarounds.
- Lock record action: Prevent users from updating a record being modified by a flow with the new Lock Record action. Specify who can edit the locked record and unlock it when necessary.
- Improved debugging for scheduled flows: Select specific records for testing scheduled flows, enabling better scenario testing and understanding of start conditions.
- Flow builder toolbox enhancements: View Flow Toolbox elements by display labels instead of API names, with API names available in tooltips for convenience.
- Transform element (GA): The Transform element is now generally available, allowing for easier data mapping between flow resources with enhanced error-avoidance tips.
- Streamlined flow creation: Quickly find and start building the type of flow or orchestration you need by choosing to start from scratch, use a template, or have Einstein assist you.
8. Take advantage of enhanced screen flow functionalities
The latest screen flow updates make them more powerful and user-friendly, allowing for a smoother and more efficient experience. These releases include:
- Action buttons (Beta): Use Action Buttons to create reactive screens where users can interact with data without leaving the page. Configure these buttons to run autolaunched flows and make data available to other screen components.
- Repeater component (GA): Allow users to add multiple sets of data dynamically with the Repeater component. This enhancement supports standard screen components as child elements and includes conditional visibility, input validation, and help text.
- Conditional read-only and disabled fields: Set fields to be read-only or disabled based on specific criteria, eliminating the need for workarounds. This feature applies to various standard components such as Text, Date, Number, and more.
- Reactive display text component: The Display Text component now correctly formats currency, decimal, and date fields referenced from a Data Table, improving the presentation of dynamic data.
- Enhanced address component: The updated Address component includes Google’s Address Lookup for auto-completing address fields, reactive options for making fields required or disabled, and support for CountryCode and StateCode inputs and outputs to avoid DML issues.
9. Boost productivity with AI enhancements
AI is here to stay… and Salesforce is embracing it to the fullest this release season. Powerful new AI features will help you create and manage automations more efficiently. Here’s the highlights:
- Einstein for formulas: Easily fix formula syntax issues with a click of a button. Einstein provides recommendations to correct your formulas, saving you time and effort. This feature supports formula fields, default field value formulas, and record validation rules in Lightning Experience for Enterprise, Performance, and Unlimited Editions.
- AI-generated starter flows (Open Beta): Describe the process you want to automate, and Einstein will create a draft flow for you. Available for record-triggered, screen, or schedule-triggered flows, this feature helps you kickstart your automation efforts. As a pro-tip, be sure to review and tweak the generated flow for accuracy before deploying it.
- Einstein Copilot: Enhance user productivity with Einstein Copilot’s recommended actions. These suggestions are specific to the page your users are on, helping them complete tasks quickly and efficiently with just a click.
Conclusion: Embrace Salesforce Changes For Summer ‘24 and Beyond
As you gear up for the changes in this new release, make sure you take the proper steps to prepare for the updates. Any changes being made in Salesforce can be scary– especially because of the negative downstream impact it can have on your teams should something break.
But you don’t need to cross your fingers every time something changes in Salesforce– whether it be a cleanup project or a seasonal release. With Sonar, you can see the impact of change across your Org and its broader tech stack before going live. And if you do publish something and it causes a break– you can easily identify when it happened, who did it and what all it impacted.
Say goodbye to the fear that comes with making changes to Salesforce and try Sonar free today.