Introduction

We can enable our Users to accomplish tasks ranging from creating a record to logging a call all in the blink of an eye! Let’s say the brokers at DreamHouse hosting an open house may come across a prospective buyer, and they want to add the buyer information onto the org quickly! Just as the name suggests, we can use Quick Actions for that!

What are Quick Actions?

Quick Actions is a functionality on Salesforce that helps our Users get their work done quickly! It’s a convenient feature for us Admins, too. It’s a point-and-click tool that enables us to provide quick actions, such as creating an Event/Note/Task without coding. Their functions don’t end there, they’re quite versatile. Users can launch Flows, Visualforce pages, and Lightning Components with Quick Actions.

What makes Quick Actions so special?

• They’re tailor-made for your business needs and use cases.
• You can limit the fields on the Action Layout (Yes! They have their own layout) to show only what you need.
• You can pre-define values for the fields and save the mobile users time!

Where do I find Quick Actions in Salesforce Mobile App?

They live in the action bar and action menu( ) at the top of the screen.

Types of Quick Actions

Quick Actions come in two flavors: Global Actions and Object-specific Actions.

Object-Specific Actions

These are actions related to a specific object, and They allow users to create or update a record related to a particular record. They live on the record details page of the object.

Example: If I need to create a Contact associated with a particular Account, I can do it from the account record page, and the Contact is automatically associated with the Account.

Global Actions

These are actions that aren’t tied to any particular record. They can be put anywhere in the org where actions are supported. They can be added to the record detail page, feed or chatter groups.

Use Case for Global Actions

DreamHouse Realty requires a Global Action for their mobile users: these mobile users are brokers in the firm who are constantly on the move. When hosting an open house they may meet prospective buyers and they require an efficient way to add the person as a contact quickly. They want it done without navigating to a particular page or entering redundant information. Let’s create a quick action for the brokers to help them do that!

We need to add a field in the Contact object before we create the Global Action. This field, Stage indicates the buyer’s current stage in the home buying process. We’ll be setting Prospect as the default value of Stage.

1. From Setup, navigate to Object Manager and open the Contact Object.

2. Go to Fields and Relationship from the sidebar, and then click New.

3. For data type, select Picklist. Click Next.

4. Enter the following:

• • Field Label: Stage
  • Check the box next to Enter Values, with each value separated by a new line.
  • Enter the following values in the text area: Prospect, Showing, Offer, Closing, Archive.

5. Click Next.

6. Click the checkbox next to Visible so that the field is visible to all profiles, then click Next.

7. Click Save.

How to Create a Global Action?

1. In Setup, type Global Actions in the Quick Find Box and select Global Actions.

2. Click New Action.

3. Enter the following:

• Action Type: Create a Record
• Target Object: Contact
• Label: New Prospect

4. Click Save.

How to Customize the Action Layout?

Let’s edit the Action Layout to include just the fields we require to make the Action as efficient as possible.

1. If you’re not already on the layout for the action, in Global Actions, click Layout next to New Prospect action.
2. Remove the Account Name and Title from the layout by dragging them and dropping it onto the palette.
3. Add Stage to the layout by dragging and dropping it onto the Action Layout from the palette.
4. Click Save.

How to Set Predefined Values?

We want the action to be as convenient as possible for the User. To make that happen, let us set the default value for Stage as Prospect. Let’s do that now.

1. In the Global Actions list, click on New Prospect.

2. Scroll down to the Predefined Field Values related list and click New.

3. Select the following:

• Field Name: Stage
• Specific Value: Prospect

4. Click Save.

How to Add an Action to the Global Publisher Layout?

We created Global Action. But to make it available to the Users, we need to add it to the global publisher layout. Let’s get started.

1. In Setup, type Publisher Layouts in the Quick Find Box.

2. Select Publisher Layouts.

3. Click Edit next to Global Layout.

4. To override the predefined actions in Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions click on the wrench icon ( ) next to it. Only after doing this can we add our custom quick actions.

5. Drag and drop the New Prospect action from Mobile & Lightning Actions in the palette onto Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions in the Action Layout.

6. Click Save.

How to Test the Global Action in the Salesforce Mobile App?

Let’s take a look at how the Global Action we made on the desktop reflects in the mobile version of Salesforce.

1. Open Salesforce on your mobile device.

2. Open Chatter from the Navigation Menu.

3. Pull down the screen to refresh the app.

4. The Global Acton – New Prospect should be visible at the very top of the screen on the Action Bar.

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