Actions
Actions add functionality to Salesforce. We have standard actions such as create and update records. Also, we can create actions based on our company’s requirements.
Actions enable users to do more in Salesforce and Salesforce1.
There are 2 types of actions in Salesforce:
- Global Action
- Object Specific Actions
Global Actions in Salesforce:
These can be added to any page that supports action. For example home page, chatter tab, and object pages.
Global create actions enable users to create object records, but the new record has no relationship with other records.
Use global actions in salesforce to let users record call details, create or update records, send an email, or create a task from the Salesforce1 Feeds page, Groups pages, and any other page driven by the global publisher layout.
Action Layouts
Action layouts are similar to page layouts.
Just as object record pages have page layouts that can be customized, actions have action layouts that can be customized. When we create an action, Salesforce populates its layout with a default set of fields. You can add, remove, or reorder fields on the action layout to present only the essential items your users need when they’re taking the action.
The first time you view the layout for an action you’ve created, certain fields are pre-populated target object default fields, standard required fields, and any custom universally required fields.
Action layout can be created for object-specific actions as well as for global action.
Global Publisher Layouts
Global publisher layouts determine the global actions that appear in the various Salesforce interfaces
Note: Global publisher layouts can include global action only.
Object-Specific Actions Salesforce
- Object-Specific Actions Salesforce lets users quickly create or update records, log calls, send emails, and more in the context of a particular object.
- There are several types of object-specific actions:
- Create Records: It creates records that are automatically associated with related records.
- Update Actions: It makes it easy to edit the records. We can define the fields that will be available for updates.
- Log a Call: It lets users enter notes about calls, meetings, or other interactions that are related to a specific record.
- Custom VisualForce: These are VisualForce Pages or canvas apps that let users interact with or create records that have a relationship to an object record. The Visualforce page for an object-specific custom action must include the standard controller for the relevant object.
- Send email actions: These are available only in cases. It gives users access to a simplified version of the case feed email action on Salesforce.
- Lightning Component: The Lightning Component can be used as a custom action in Lightning Experience or the Salesforce mobile app.
- Lightning Web Component: The Lightning Component can be used as any of the two custom actions: Screen Quick Actions and Headless Quick Actions.
- Flows: Flow can also be launched through quick actions.
Note: Action Type cannot be edited once an action is created.
Lightning App Builder
The Lightning App Builder is a point-and-click tool that makes it easy to create custom pages for the Salesforce mobile app and Lightning Experience, giving your users what they need all in one place.
Setup > In Quick Find box, Type Lightning App Builder
With the Lightning App Builder, you can build:
- Single-page apps that drill down into standard pages
- Dashboard-style apps, such as apps to track top sales prospects or key leads for the quarter
- “Point” apps to solve a particular task, such as an expense app for users to enter expenses and monitor expenses they’ve submitted
- Custom record pages for your objects, tailored to the needs of your users
- Custom Home pages containing the components and features that your users use most.
A Lightning page is a custom layout that lets you design pages for use in the Salesforce mobile app or Lightning Experience. A Lightning page is composed of regions that contain components.
The structure of a Lightning page adapts for the device it’s viewed on. The template you choose when creating the page controls how it displays on a given device. The Lightning page’s template divides the page into regions.
A Lightning component is a compact, configurable, and reusable element that you can add to a Lightning page in the Lightning App Builder.
Lightning pages support these components:
- Standard Components – Standard components are Lightning components built by Salesforce.
- Custom Components – Custom components are Lightning components that you or someone else have created. You can configure custom Lightning components to work in Lightning App Builder.
- Third-Party Components on AppExchange – AppExchange provides a marketplace for Lightning components. You can find packages containing components already configured and ready to use in the Lightning App Builder.
The Lightning App Builder User Interface
The Lightning App Builder’s user interface makes creating Lightning pages easy. Here’s a breakdown of the parts of the tool.
(1) Header
When you’re working on a Lightning page, the header shows you its label, and contains a Pages list where you can see the last 10 pages that you modified. You can also return to Setup without saving or to view more help for the Lightning App Builder.
If you’re editing an app, the header also shows the app name and contains an App Settings tab where you can configure the app’s options such as branding, navigation, and the utility bar. In an app context, the Pages list shows all active Lightning pages associated with the current app.
(2) Toolbar
Use the buttons in the toolbar to cut ( ), copy ( ), and paste ( ) page content; and to undo ( ), redo ( ), save, or activate your Lightning page. You can also view your page in different formats, refresh the canvas, or adjust the canvas size to fit your view.
(3) Lightning Components Pane
The components pane contains all standard and custom Lightning components that are supported for your Lightning page. Click and drag a component to add it to the page.
If you have a lot of custom components, enter text in the search field to easily find the one you need. You can access third-party custom components on the AppExchange using the button at the bottom of the pane.
(4) Lightning Page Canvas
The canvas area is where you build your page. Drag components to reorder them on the page.
(5) Properties Pane
Depending on what you select on the page, the properties pane shows either the overall page properties or the properties of the component that you’ve selected. Click Page in the breadcrumb to access the page properties when viewing a component.
Lightning Page Types
You can create different types of Lightning pages with the Lightning App Builder. We’re going to look at these three types.
- App Page
- you can add directly to the Salesforce mobile app and Lightning Experience navigation menus. Your users then have an app home page where they can quickly access the most important objects and items.
- Home Page
- Create Home pages with features relevant to specific types of users, and assign the customized pages to different apps or app-and-user-profile combinations. Custom Home pages are supported in Lightning Experience only.
- Record Page
- With a record page, you can create a customized version of an object’s record page, tailoring it to your users’ needs. Custom record pages are supported in Lightning Experience and in the Salesforce mobile app.
Let us now look at Record types.
