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Winter ‘10 Salesforce Preview Webinar Wrap Up

Posted September 16th, 2009 in New Releases and tagged , by John Coppedge

 

For those of you that missed the Winter ‘10 webinar yesterday, here’s what you missed!  A recorded version should be available next week at http://developer.force.com.

 

New Platform Features

Lookup Filters – BETA

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Formula Enhancements

  • Inline Comments (Yeah!  I asked for this one.)
    • /* Comment */
    • Will count against character size limits of formulas
  • ISBLANK() – test if any field type is blank
  • BLANKVALUE() – will return a default value if the field is blank
  • ISNUMBER – Check to see if a text field contains a number
  • Increased Cross Object Reference Limit from 5 to 10 (YES!  Ran into this limit in my org.)

 

Batch Code (Batch Apex) – Generally Available

  • Process huge data sets native on the platform
  • Separate limits from API limits
  • Steps:
    • Batch Apex submitted
    • Force.com asynchronously initiates the Batch Apex request (processes as computing time is available)
    • Start() method executes – defines scope
    • Batch 1 passed into execute() method
    • Batch 2 passed into execute() method
    • Batch n passed into execute() method
    • Finish() method executes (could send out email, etc.)

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Code Scheduler – PILOT

  • Schedule batch apex to run on a schedule
  • Batch apex code must have code within to enable the option of apex schedulingimage

 

Custom Settings – Generally Available

  • Provides a layer of flexibility to leverage the platform for static data, user, profile, or org-wide settings to define rules that are then referenced by custom code.
  • Two types:
    • List – static data
      • E.g. shipping data – a list of country codes.  Reference the custom setting instead of creating a separate object to house the list.
    • Hierarchy – Can reference user, profile, or org-wide setting
      • In webinar example, the user Andrew Albert was granted the “Show Map” attribute, which is referenced in the map program.

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Code Summary

  • Class summary view added to apex classes

 

Bulk Loader

  • Optimized to update huge data sets (millions of records) asynchronously
  • New check box on the data loader:
    image
  • New Bulk Data Insert, Update, and Upsert monitoring:

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Additional Code Enhancements

  • Empty Recycle Bin Method
  • Password Methods
  • Trigger support for case comments

 

Content API

  • Use Content API to synchronize or upload content in bulk

 

Enhanced Profile Management

  • Option to turn on/off through User Interface
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  • Brings enhanced list views to profiles
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  • Enables ability to print profiles
  • Enables ability to mass update profiles

 

Security

  • OAuth Support v1.0.a – open protocol for secure authentication
  • Email Enhancements – Support TLS and inline attachments

 

User Interface Features

  • Customize the help on standard objects
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Sandbox to Production (BETA)

  • Migrate customizations from sandbox to production (or sandbox to sandbox) through the platform natively
  • Steps
    • From the production org, make a connection to the sandbox and allow changes

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    • Login to sandbox
    • Add Object to Change Set and accept
    • Accept at Production

 

Distribution Features

  • Package anything on standard objects

 

Sites Enhancements

  • Google Analytics Support
  • Custom Messages for site Outages
    • Zip file less than 1 MB, maintenance.html file at root
  • Easy Secure URL (e.g. https://mysite.secure.force.com)
  • High Volume Portal User (PILOT) – First to build an ecom package around it wins!
    • Scale into millions of authenticated users (e.g. shopping cart application)
    • No profile associated with user
    • New console for configuration

 

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Sales Cloud

 

Quotes – PILOT

  • C
    reate quote with a few clicks
  • Pulls in products from opportunity

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  • Create PDF in the quote record
  • Email quote in PDF
  • Not bi-directional (Opp and Quote do not update each other, that bi-sync is on the product roadmap)
  • API access is enabled to quote object

 

Campaign Scoreboard

  • New campaign rollup fields
  • New options in UI upload
    • Map custom fields on campaign during upload
    • Initiate triggers and workflow during upload
    • Upload up to 50k records

 

Content Delivery

  • Determine what content can be delivered to certain users, workspaces, and other granular security controls
  • API access to content
  • Enhanced document view
    • Zoom in/out
    • Page width fit
    • Jump to pages

 

Salesforce to Salesforce

  • Share attachments through Salesforce to Salesforce
    • Parent record automatically shared
  • Log Salesforce to Salesforce Exceptions
  • Partner finder
    • Send partners an email
    • Partners respond via landing page
    • Invite partner to Salesforce

 

Email Enhancements

  • Improved email exceptions handling
  • Define attachment as an inline attachment
  • Enhanced security by giving option to require SSL

 

Analytics

  • Combine two chart types
  • Choose colors that remain the same for certain values across a dashboard
  • Hover details on dashboard report

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Mobile

 

Mobile – Content

  • Open content and send
  • Document previewed over web, not stored on phone
  • Above features to be released on iPhone and Blackberry

 

 

Service Cloud 2

 

Answers – PILOT

  • Users can post questions and reply to questions
  • Can be asked on Facebook, Twitter

 

Knowledge

  • Allow you to deliver personalized knowledge to your customers
  • Put into folders and tag knowledge articles
  • Publish knowledge to sites
  • Attach article to case and email to case contact
  • Maintain same set of articles for your customer-facing website and your CSRs

 

Salesforce for Twitter

  • Free on Apexchange now
  • Monitor and Join Conversations
  • Pull tweets in from different account
  • Create cases from tweets
  • Leverage knowledge base and send tweet to case owner

 

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That’s it!  Looks like another great release from the Salesforce team.