ADM-201 Getting Around the App

Getting Around the App Detailed Explanation

1.1 Salesforce Interface

What is the Salesforce Interface?

The Salesforce interface is the visual part of the platform that users interact with. It includes menus, pages, buttons, and tools that allow you to work with data, navigate between different sections, and perform tasks.

Salesforce provides two main interfaces:

• Lightning Experience
• Classic Interface

Lightning Experience vs. Classic Interface

Lightning Experience

• What it is: Lightning Experience is Salesforce's modern interface, designed to be intuitive, flexible, and visually appealing.
• Key Features:
  • Drag-and-Drop Layouts: You can easily customize pages using a drag-and-drop editor.
  • Responsive Design: Works seamlessly on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.
  • Dynamic Pages: Displays only the information relevant to the user or their current task.
• When to Use:
  • For most new projects or modernized organizations.
  • When you want a user-friendly, visually appealing, and flexible interface.

Classic Interface

• What it is: Salesforce's older interface, which some organizations still use for specific legacy features.
• Key Features:
  • Simpler but less dynamic compared to Lightning.
  • Some advanced configurations are only available in Classic (though Salesforce is moving these to Lightning).
• When to Use:
  • If your organization has older workflows or hasn’t transitioned to Lightning yet.
  • For accessing certain legacy features not yet available in Lightning.

Page Components

Pages in Salesforce are designed to present data and actions in an organized way. Understanding the key types of pages will help you find the information you need quickly.

Home Page

• Purpose: The starting point when you log into Salesforce.
• What It Displays:
  • Tasks: View your assigned tasks and deadlines.
  • Calendar: See upcoming events, such as meetings or calls.
  • Custom Components: Administrators can add company-specific widgets, like KPIs or announcements.

Record Pages

• Purpose: Displays detailed information about individual records (e.g., an Account, Contact, or Opportunity).
• What It Includes:
  • Fields: The key data points for a record (e.g., Name, Phone, Address).
  • Related Lists: Linked data, such as Opportunities for an Account or Cases for a Contact.
  • Custom Components: Additional tools or visuals tailored to specific business needs.

1.2 Basic Navigation

Why Navigation Matters

Good navigation skills help you quickly move between different parts of Salesforce, saving time and reducing frustration. Salesforce’s navigation tools are designed to make it easy to access the data and tools you need.

Navigation Tools

App Launcher

• What It Does:
  • Acts as a hub to switch between different Salesforce apps (e.g., Sales, Service, or Marketing apps).
  • Displays apps and items you use frequently.
• How to Use It:
  1. Click the grid icon in the top-left corner of the Salesforce screen.
  2. Select the app you want to open.
  3. You can search for apps or items within the App Launcher if you don’t see them listed.

Navigation Bar

• What It Does:
  • The horizontal menu at the top of the screen.
  • Lists the most commonly used objects, such as Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, or Reports.
• How to Use It:
  1. Click on any item in the navigation bar to open its list view (e.g., clicking "Accounts" shows all accounts you have access to).
  2. The bar adapts to show objects and tabs relevant to your current app.

Global Search

• What It Does:
  • A powerful search bar at the top of the screen that helps you find any record in Salesforce.
  • Searches across all objects, including Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Cases, and custom objects.
• How to Use It:
  1. Enter a keyword or phrase (e.g., "Acme Corp").
  2. Results will show records across all objects containing that keyword.
  3. Use filters (e.g., show only Accounts) to refine the results.
• Example:
  • Searching for "John Smith" might return a Contact record, a Case, or even a Note mentioning John Smith.

1.3 Customizing Navigation

Why Customize Navigation?

Different users have different needs. For example, a sales rep may focus on Leads and Opportunities, while a service agent may need quick access to Cases and Knowledge. Customizing navigation makes Salesforce more intuitive and efficient for each role.

Customizing the Navigation Bar

• What You Can Customize:
  • Add, remove, or rearrange items (e.g., prioritize "Leads" over "Reports").
  • Save these changes for quick access in the future.
• Steps to Customize:
  1. Click the pencil icon on the navigation bar (available in Lightning Experience).
  2. Add tabs for objects or tools you frequently use.
  3. Drag and drop to reorder items.

Tailoring Navigation Layouts by Role

• For Administrators:
  • Use "App Manager" to create custom navigation bars for different roles (e.g., Sales, Service).
  • Assign these custom layouts to specific user profiles or permission sets.
• For Users:
  • Personalize your navigation bar to reflect your workflow.

Practical Example: Navigating Salesforce Efficiently

1. Start at the Home Page:
   • Review your tasks for the day and check any key metrics.
2. Switch to a Specific App:
   • Use the App Launcher to navigate to the "Sales" app.
3. Search for a Record:
   • Use Global Search to locate a specific Account or Contact.
4. Customize Navigation:
   • Add "Cases" to your navigation bar if you frequently work on customer issues.

Key Takeaways for Beginners

• Master the Lightning Experience interface—it’s modern and widely adopted.
• Familiarize yourself with the Home Page and Record Pages for quick access to tasks and records.
• Use the App Launcher, Navigation Bar, and Global Search for efficient navigation.
• Customize navigation to match your workflow and role.

Getting Around the App (Additional Content)

1. Utility Bar (Quick Access Toolbar)

Why is it important?

The Utility Bar in Salesforce Lightning Experience provides users with a persistent toolbar at the bottom of the screen, enabling quick access to frequently used tools. This feature enhances user efficiency by minimizing the need to navigate through multiple menus.

Overview of the Utility Bar

• The Utility Bar appears at the bottom of every page in Lightning apps.
• It acts as a quick-access panel, allowing users to open tools like Notes, Recent Items, Omni-Channel, Macros, and custom components without leaving their current page.
• Each item in the Utility Bar opens as a pop-up window, meaning users can interact with it while still viewing the main Salesforce interface.

How to Use the Utility Bar

1. Configuring the Utility Bar:

• Navigate to Setup → App Manager.
• Select an existing Lightning app or create a new app.
• Click Edit → Utility Bar.
• Add standard or custom components, such as:
  • Notes (for quick note-taking)
  • Recent Items (for accessing recently viewed records)
  • Omni-Channel (for managing customer interactions)
  • Custom Lightning Components (such as calculators, shortcuts, or productivity tools).
• Save the configuration and assign it to the appropriate users.

2. Accessing the Utility Bar:

• The Utility Bar is visible at the bottom of the screen in Lightning Experience.
• Click on an icon to open its related tool in a pop-up window.

Best Practices

• Sales Reps can use the Omni-Channel widget to manage and respond to customer cases efficiently.
• Support Agents can keep track of Recent Items to switch between open cases quickly.
• Executives can pin Dashboards to monitor real-time business metrics.

2. Favorites (Quick Access to Frequently Used Items)

Why is it important?

The Favorites feature in Salesforce Lightning Experience allows users to bookmark frequently accessed records, reports, dashboards, or pages for quick navigation. This eliminates the need to repeatedly search for critical items.

How to Add Items to Favorites

• Navigate to any record, report, dashboard, list view, or setup page.
• Click the Star icon (⭐) next to the page title to add it to Favorites.
• To remove an item, click the star again.

Accessing Favorites

• Click the Favorites dropdown (next to the global search bar) to view a list of all bookmarked items.
• Users can rearrange or remove items directly from the dropdown.

Best Practices

• Sales Users: Add frequently accessed Opportunities, Key Accounts, and Custom Reports.
• Support Agents: Bookmark important Knowledge Articles, Case List Views, and Escalation Reports.
• Administrators: Pin essential Setup Pages (e.g., User Management, Profiles, or Reports & Dashboards).

3. Recent Items (Quickly Resume Work on Recently Viewed Records)

Why is it important?

The Recent Items feature enables users to quickly navigate back to recently accessed Accounts, Opportunities, Contacts, Cases, Reports, and Dashboards, reducing the time spent searching for records.

Where to Find Recent Items

• Home Page: Displays recently accessed records in the “Recent Records” section.
• Navigation Bar: Clicking on “App Launcher” → “Recent Items” reveals a list of recently opened records.
• Global Search: Typing in the Search Bar provides suggestions based on recently viewed records.

Best Practices

• Sales Representatives can use Recent Items to quickly return to active Opportunities.
• Support Teams can efficiently switch between multiple Cases without reopening the search.
• Administrators can monitor Recently Modified Reports for data validation.

4. Keyboard Shortcuts (Boost Productivity with Faster Navigation)

Why is it important?

Salesforce keyboard shortcuts enable users to perform actions quickly without relying on the mouse, significantly improving productivity.

How to View Available Shortcuts

• In Lightning Experience, press Ctrl + / (Windows) or Cmd + / (Mac) to display the Keyboard Shortcuts list.

Common Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Function
G + A	Go to Accounts page
G + C	Go to Contacts page
G + O	Go to Opportunities page
/	Activate Global Search Bar
Ctrl + S (Mac: Cmd + S)	Save changes when editing a record
Esc	Close pop-ups or dialogs

Best Practices

• Sales Teams should memorize shortcuts to quickly access Opportunities and Accounts.
• Service Agents can use G + C to quickly open a Contact record while handling cases.
• Admins can speed up their workflow using Global Search shortcuts.

Final Summary

Feature	Description	Best Use Cases
Utility Bar	A persistent toolbar at the bottom of the screen with quick-access tools	Keep Notes, Recent Items, or Custom Lightning Components handy
Favorites	Bookmark frequently used records, reports, and dashboards for quick navigation	Save key accounts, reports, or setup pages
Recent Items	View and access recently opened records	Resume work on ongoing cases or sales deals
Keyboard Shortcuts	Navigate Salesforce faster using key combinations	Improve productivity by reducing clicks