Salesforce User Group - Speed Demoing

Ten minutes doesn’t sound like much, but a handful of presenters cut to the chase and delivered some great Salesforce tech in 600 seconds each Thursday afternoon at a Speed Demo session of the Rochester Salesforce User Group, hosted by Mark Cook of the Rochester Group at 600 Park Avenue.

Create and update fields en masse (Tom Patros)

Using the supremely helpful Force IDE (an Eclipse plugin), Tom showed how easy it can be to mass edit fields properties via XML metadata. Developers already use the IDE to create and text Apex classes and triggers. Tom walked through how admins can use the IDE to quickly add or update custom fields by editing the XML metadata definitions the Force IDE generates. While easy to use, the Salesforce graphical user interface can become tedious when mass editing a set of fields, making editing via XML seem like a breath of fresh air. You can even manage picklist definitions by editing the metadata. For extra credit, Tom also demoed a Google spreadsheet that can be used to craft and document the schema, and then generate the definition to use with the IDE.

Connecting with SFDC API’s from Access (Bob Scott)

One of the most popular Salesforce admin tools is the Excel connector that makes it easy to manage Salesforce data directly from Excel. Bob Scott walked through how Access can be used to, well, access Salesforce data in much the same way. With a bit of elbow grease, you can update SFDC from an Access application, or update SFDC from Access.

Approval process simplified (Theresa Mason)

Often, an Opportunity or Quote needs to go through an approval process, and to make it through the gauntlet, certain fields must be completed. Getting users to remember which fields to fill out first can be a challenge, especially in the excitement of taking an opportunity to the next level. Theresa showed us how to add a validation to a checkbox, to trigger an automatic review of a record submitting it to an approval workflow. Great way to reduce many rules to one: Check the box and follow the instructions.

Synchronizer data mover (Rich Bilsback)

Synchronizer is a Microsoft Access database that helps you automate data tasks in Salesforce. Rich walked us through how he uses the Syncronizer to keep local application data updated, and how to use a local application to update your Salesforce data in the cloud. To get started, grab the Synchronizer from the Sales Force AppExchange. It’s a free “Aloha” application distributed by the Force.com Labs.

Stayed turned to the Rochester Salesforce User Group on Linked In for more Salesforce Thursdays coming this summer.