Salesforce stands tall as a beacon of efficiency and customization. Central to its functionality is the robust search capability that allows users to navigate vast amounts of data with ease. This blog post delves into the intricate world of Salesforce’s search features, including Global Search, Lookup Search, List View Search, Federated Search, and the innovative Einstein Search. We’ll explore how each function caters to specific needs, ensuring that every Salesforce user can access the right information at the right time, thereby streamlining their CRM activities and decision-making processes.
Search Overview
Global Search: Accessible through the global search bar, allows users to search across all searchable Salesforce records. Key points: Includes list view searches. Search results are influenced by the record’s object type and its searchable fields—respect sharing settings and field-level security.
Lookup Search: Found within record fields for associating two records. Here’s what to note: Results are based on the lookup field’s search settings. Only searchable fields can be returned; encrypted, formula, and lookup fields are not searchable.
Global Search
Global Search is prominently located in the header of the Salesforce application. Its accessibility is a testament to its importance, allowing users to search across all searchable objects within their visibility. The search layouts, which administrators can customize, dictate the columns and order of the search results. This ensures that the most relevant information is displayed first, enhancing the efficiency of the search process.
Key features of Global Search include:
- Instant Results: This feature instantly presents the top five results, negating the need for a full search unless necessary. It’s a time-saver that enhances user productivity.
- Recent Items: Users can quickly access recently viewed items that match their search terms, streamlining the process of revisiting records.
- Full Search: For comprehensive searches, this function scans across all searchable objects, directing users to a detailed Top Results page.
- Full Object Specific Search: When specificity is required, this search narrows down the results within the current object, ensuring focused and relevant findings.
- Suggested Records: It displays up to five records, including recent items and most frequently used objects that match the search term, offering a personalized search experience.
- Limit Search To: This selectable option allows users to confine their search to a specific object, enhancing search precision.
Lookup Search
Lookup Search comes into play within record fields when there is a need to associate two records. For example, when linking a contact to an account, the Lookup Search will utilize the lookup field’s search settings to produce relevant results. It’s a component designed for specificity and relevance in record association tasks.
Essential features of Lookup Search include:
- Instant Results with Suggested Matches: As soon as the user types in the lookup field, a dynamic list of suggested matches appears, making the association process faster.
- Lookup Filter: Administrators can restrict valid values in lookup fields, allowing only active accounts to be associated and ensuring data integrity and adherence to business rules.
- Dependent Lookup: This feature adds another layer of specificity, showing results in one lookup field based on values selected in another, such as showing only contacts associated with a selected account.
- Sharing Settings Influence: The visibility of search results is also controlled by sharing settings, ensuring that users see only what they’re permitted to do based on their profile.
The search results and the layout presentation in Lookup Search are conditioned by the target object’s search layout settings, tailoring the search experience to user needs.
List View Search
The List View Search is an essential feature enabling users to navigate through the object’s list view page efficiently. It supports a maximum of 2000 records, encouraging users to employ precise search terms or to organize the results according to visible columns such as name and date. Certain fields, however, are not searchable, and Salesforce provides a tooltip identifying these when you hover over the search box. Notably, formula and lookup fields are generally excluded from list view searches. The platform also implements spell correction, broadening search parameters automatically—for instance, a search for ‘Parish’ will also return results for ‘Paris’.
Federated Search
Federated Search extends the search functionality beyond the Salesforce database, allowing users to explore external repositories while remaining within the Salesforce interface. This seamless integration is facilitated by connectors with partner services and is configurable within Experience Cloud sites.
Search Result Layout
The Search Result Layout is pivotal in defining the presentation of search results. It allows for customization of fields that users can view, filter, or sort by in the global and lookup search results page. Adaptable for various objects and supporting profile-specific layouts, it ensures that users are presented with information most pertinent to their roles and needs.
Key Considerations
When customizing search layouts, it’s essential to consider the default layout that Salesforce assigns to users who lack a profile-specific layout.
A layout can include up to 10 fields; unique identifying fields like Account Name or Opportunity Name are fixed components within these layouts.
The List View layout can also be manipulated to add or remove action buttons, directly impacting the user interface.
Einstein Search
Einstein Search stands out by providing personalized search results. It leverages the user’s context, such as location, to prioritize records. For instance, users in the USA will see USA-based accounts as their top results, while UK users will have UK-based accounts prioritized. This level of personalization ensures that the data presented immediately applies to the user’s operational focus.
Key Features of Einstein Search
The brilliance of Einstein Search lies in its key features:
- Personalized Search Results: Results are based on the records that align closely with the user’s activities and preferences, enhancing relevance and efficiency.
- Natural Language Search: This feature allows users to input common words and phrases as search terms, which Einstein Search intelligently translates into usable search filters. This means a user can type in phrases like “cases closed last week” or “my open opportunities,” the system will understand and execute the intended search.
- Actionable Instant Results: Einstein Search provides immediate, actionable results as users type in the global search box. It presents record previews, action buttons, quick links, and suggested searches, facilitating quick access to the right data and significantly reducing the number of clicks and time spent searching.
Conclusion
Salesforce’s search capabilities are essential for any business looking to streamline its CRM activities. Global Search provides quick access to data, while Lookup and List View Searches offer precise results within specific contexts. Federated Search breaks the boundary by incorporating external data sources. Customizable search layouts ensure users see only what’s relevant, enhancing efficiency.
Lastly, Einstein Search brings the power of AI to your search strategies, delivering personalized and actionable results. By harnessing these robust features, businesses can significantly improve their data management and ensure that their teams have immediate access to the information they need.