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Study Guide

Salesforce.com Certified Administrator Study Guide

This guide was originally written using the Winter 08 release.  Please make sure to familiarize yourself with any changes in the platform in subsequent releases! 

Summer 09 Training

Spring 09 Release Notes

Objective | Weighting
Salesforce.com Overview 3%
Describe the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model
List and describe the different Salesforce applications
List and describe the standard Objects
Identity Confirmation (setting login restrictions) 2%
Describe the Identity Confirmation feature
Describe the differences between logging in through the API versus the UI
Explain the concept of Login Hours and Login IP ranges
Add and delete an IP range
Describe the methods to allow access to the application
Navigation – User Interface (UI) Settings 3%
Identify specific areas of the Salesforce Home Tab
Configure Search settings for your organization
Customize the Tabs a user can access or select from Tab settings
Locate, identify, and explain the UI settings an administrator controls
Organization Administration 5%
List what information is included in the Company Profile
List the places where Currency is specified
Describe the effect of changing your company’s default Time Zone, Currency, Locale, and
Language
Describe the effect of enabling the Custom Fiscal Year setting
Create and manage letterheads and email templates
Customization 17%
Describe a Profile
Explain what a Profile controls
List the Standard Profiles
Evaluate when to create a Custom Profile
Explain the differences between a Custom Field and a Standard Field
List the different types of Custom Fields
Set up a Custom Field
Map Custom Lead Fields
Re-label a Standard Object
List objects for which you can enable Fields History Tracking
Define the dependencies when using a Dependent Picklist
Create and modify a Dependent Picklist
Describe the capabilities of Custom Lookup fields
Create and modify a Lookup Field
Describe the capabilities of Formula Fields
Create and modify a Formula Field
Describe Roll-up Summary Fields
Create and modify a Roll-up Summary Field
Describe the elements within a Page Layout
Create and modify a Page Layout
Create, customize, and print a List view
Customize a Related List
Describe how to use Record Types
Create and modify a Record Type
List the objects that require a business process
Explain how Field-Level Security affects page layouts and visibility
Set up Field-Level Security
Security & Access 13%
List the information captured on the User Record
Create and maintain User Records
Explain the Record Owner concept
Describe the elements of the Sharing model
Describe the scope and capabilities of Organization-Wide Defaults
Explain how access is granted through the Role Hierarchy
Set up Organization-Wide Defaults
Describe the use of Roles
Build a Role Hierarchy
Assign Users to Roles
Mass-transfer records from one user to another
List the objects that may have Sharing Rules
Build Sharing Rules
Share records manually
Describe the use cases of Public Groups and where to use them
Compare and contrast Sales with Account teams
List the places to use Folders
Describe how Folder access differs from Record access
Create Folders to organize and provide access to data
Workflow 5%
Explain how Salesforce implements Workflow and when to use Salesforce Workflow
List and describe use cases for the four Workflow Actions
Explain the capabilities and settings of a Workflow Rule
Describe the differences between immediate and time-dependent Workflow actions
Set up a Workflow Rule and associated actions
Workflow Approval Processing 3%
Define the basics of the Workflow Approval Process
Compare and contrast the Approval Processes versus Workflow
List the differences between the Jump Start Wizard and the Standard Approval Process
Wizard
Explain how to route Approvals
Create and test the Approval Process
Identify the settings in creating Workflow Approval Processing
Data Validation 3%
Define Data Validation
List common use cases for Data Validation
Describe when Data Validation Rules are enforced
Create Data Validation Rules
Data Utilities 5%
Describe the function of an External ID
List and describe the different tools and use cases for data migration
Update existing data via import
Define when to use the Data Loader
List the functions of the Data Loader
Mass Update Records
Mass Delete Records
Describe the capabilities of the Recycle Bin
Request and download a weekly export
Explain how Salesforce allocates storage
Analytics 13%
Describe the administrative restrictions on Standard Reports
Run a Standard Report
Create a Custom Report
Search for Custom Reports
Explain the differences among report types
Explain Custom Report Types
Create charts to display Report results
Use Advanced Filter criteria to narrow Report results
Create Custom Summary Formulas
Choose settings for Conditional Highlighting
Describe the capabilities and purpose of a Dashboard
List Dashboard component types
Create a Dashboard and add components to it
Print and export Reports
Email and schedule a refresh of a Dashboard
Define Running User and how it affects the Dashboard results
Marketing Administration 5%
Define a Campaign
Describe when to use Campaign Hierarchies
Create a Campaign targeting both existing customers and new Leads
List the methods to associate Leads and Contacts to a Campaign
Describe how to use Lead Queues to manage Leads
Describe how to use a Lead Assignment Rule to assign and route Leads
Describe the use cases for Web-to-Lead
Describe the functionality of a Lead Auto-Response Rule
Build a Lead Queue, Assignment Rule, Web-to-Lead, and corresponding Auto-Response Rule
Measure Campaign results
Describe the process and effects of converting a Lead
Service & Support Administration 5%
Define a Case
Describe use cases for Case Hierarchies
Describe how to use Case Queues to manage Cases
Describe how to use a Case Assignment Rule to assign and route Cases
Describe use cases for Web-to-Case
Describe uses cases for Email-to-Case
Describe the functionality of the Case Escalation Rule
Describe the functionality of the Case Auto-Response Rule
Describe the functionality of the Business Hours
Configure the settings and rules for Case processing, including Business Hours, and Escalation
Rules and the use of Email Templates
Define Solutions and how they can be associated with Cases
Build a Solution Category tree and assign Solutions to Categories
Define suggested solutions and explain where to use them
Describe what content is accessible via the Self-Service Portal
Describe the ways to access the Self-Service Portal
Build a Case Queue, Assignment Rule, Web-to-Case, and corresponding Auto-Response Rule
Salesforce Console 2%
Describe the functionality of the Salesforce Console
Describe the components of the Console Tab
Set up the Salesforce Console
Navigate within the Salesforce Console
Custom Objects, Applications, & Tabs 7%
Describe a Custom Object
Describe the types of relationships that can exist between objects
Create a Custom Object
Describe a Custom Object Tab and a Web Tab
Create a Custom Object Tab
Create a Web Tab
Describe a Custom App
Create a Custom App
The Force.com AppExchange 2%
Describe the Force.com AppExchange
Describe the characteristics of Managed Packages
Install a package
Uninstall a package
Activity 2%
Compare and contrast Tasks and Events
Manage Public Calendars and Resources
Identify and describe the Activity Settings
Describe the capabilities of Multiday Events
Advanced Configuration Options 5%
Describe the Client Management feature
Describe the Territory Management feature
Describe Advanced Currency Management

48 Comments

48 Comments so far ↓

  • JPNo Gravatar // Oct 1, 2008 at 7:28 pm

    This site is fantastically helpful for the first few sections. Any new updates to come for the remaining categories of the sfdc admin cert?

  • VJNo Gravatar // Jan 17, 2009 at 10:36 pm

    Hey,
    Im studying for the admin exam.Your guide has been amazingly helpful I was just taking your practise exam adn came across this question “Which of the following will not bypass Identity Confirmation? ” and your answer was “bypass user identity confirmation” checkbox. I have not been able to find info regarding this in SFA Help & Training. Can you tell me where I can get more info regarding this?
    Thank you.
    -Vj

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Jan 19, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    There is no such thing as a bypass identity confirmation checkbox – this is a trick answer and hence the only of the options that WON’T bypass identity confirmation. The rest of the answers on the question are valid bypass methods.

  • VjNo Gravatar // Jan 21, 2009 at 10:28 pm

    Hey,
    Thank you for the reply. trick question!! :) .
    Anyways, Im scheduled to take the exam on friday jan 23rd. Any final tips for me? Do i need to know all the numbers? Like 500, 50,000 limit to imports etc etc. Any other final tips will be greatly helpful. Thanks a lot in advance. Ciao
    -Vj

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Jan 22, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    I think my best advice would be to learn by doing. Don’t rely on reading how to set up web-to-lead etc, just do it. And you may see a few trick questions like mine on the exam :) … always read those questions very carefully.

  • VjNo Gravatar // Jan 23, 2009 at 10:52 pm

    I just finished my exam and I PASSED!!!!
    Thank you very much for your notes. :) . Next stop – Certified Developer. Have you thought abt it? Is it tough?

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Jan 24, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    Congrats VJ! Great feeling isn’t it. From what I hear the Certified Developer exam is about on par with the Certified Administrator, maybe a bit tougher. I haven’t looked into it too much myself, I think my next step will be the advanced admin exam.

  • VenkatNo Gravatar // Jan 29, 2009 at 11:50 pm

    I am too preparing for th admin exam.

    where can I get the guide VJ talking about in his

    post on 17 Jan 09 at 10:36 pm ?

  • VenkatNo Gravatar // Jan 29, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    Hi FoceCertified.com & VJ,

    I am preparing for the Admin certification.

    Can you let me know how did you prepare and what are

    your learnig paths?

    You just went by the Objectives?

    Your help is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

  • VJNo Gravatar // Feb 3, 2009 at 11:39 pm

    Venkat,
    I was referring to the notes that the site owner(force certified) has written down as per the study guide. i would suggest you follow his notes, get a developer account and practice as much as you can. Good luck
    -Vj

  • CHNo Gravatar // Feb 17, 2009 at 12:28 am

    Hi All,

    I planning to take certified Admin test soon.

    I started studying “Administrator study guide” available in this site.
    i do not have Admin 201 course material with me.

    Is it enough if i study only this “Administrator study guide”? If not please tell me where i can download this “Admin 201″ material.

    Thankyou in advance

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Feb 18, 2009 at 4:08 pm

    The admin study guide is enough. Just go through each bullet point very thoroughly and you’ll be fine. That’s essentially the same approach I took.

  • RobNo Gravatar // Mar 23, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    Will you be providing a study guide for the Spring ‘09 Release Exam? I believe it is required to maintain certification

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Mar 23, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    @Rob working on that now. An update exam is required, but you get 3 chances and it is online as apposed to a testing center, and it is free. I may just provide an outline and a few practice questions, the online training materials for the Spring 09 update exam seem very thorough.

    For passers-by maybe not so familiar with the SF certification routine: after you become SF certified, you are required to take a brief test on each subsequent SF.com release. You must complete this exam before the following release (e.g. you must test out of Spring 09 before Summer 09 is release, otherwise your certification is no longer valid).

  • SONo Gravatar // Mar 28, 2009 at 1:37 am

    Great info about the admin certification on this website, thanks! I am planning to take admin exam now.
    I just took the developer certification today and passed it. The questions were quite tricky, I would say. But at the end I felt the certification was “well deserved”.

  • FabioNo Gravatar // Apr 23, 2009 at 8:49 pm

    Hello Forcecertified,

    I am planning to take ADM 201 exam soon. I didn’t see any book or materials on salesforce.com website to prepare for this exam(they have couple of books for developer certification on the site). Since you are a certified administrator, could you please tell me if your “study guide” is enough to pass the test? Also, is there any books or materials available online from salesforce administrator that I missed? I’d appreciate your response. Thanks.

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Apr 23, 2009 at 9:24 pm

    ADM201 is the training course for the Certified Administrator exam- not the exam title, just to clarify. The above study guide is for the Certified Administrator exam as well.

    I passed the exam with just the study guide from salesforce (and built this site around it)… check out the official info below and good luck!

    http://www.salesforce.com/services-training/training_certification/certification/.

  • FabioNo Gravatar // Apr 24, 2009 at 7:12 am

    Great! Thanks ForceCertified.com – thanks a lot!

  • imfr33No Gravatar // Apr 30, 2009 at 8:23 pm

    I studied your notes for the Certified Administrator exam and I passed!! It was amazingly helpful and I can’t thank you enough for that.

    My next step is to prepare for the Certified Consultant exam. Have you taken it? Will you be also providing study notes on this exam at some point soon?

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Apr 30, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    That’s great, glad it helped! I am actually working on finishing up the notes for the current outline, and will probably spend some time on Spring 09 and shortly Summer 09. I’m thinking the next exam I work on will be the Advanced Administrator, but keep posted… haven’t made any decisions yet!

  • wwharrisNo Gravatar // May 6, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    Just passed the Admin Cert exam! This site and comments were very helpful…thanks! I have signed up for the Advanced Cert exam…any study suggestions (beyond the study guide and experience)???

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // May 6, 2009 at 5:38 pm

    I haven’t taken it myself, although I get the impression that it is much more difficult than the regular admin exam. Good luck! It will probably be my next exam as well.

  • RobNo Gravatar // May 28, 2009 at 10:58 pm

    Thanks for all the work on the site. I have used this study guide and achieved the Administrator certification. Additionally, I also recently completed the Consultant exam by studying on my own, and the Administrator Spring Maintenance exam.

    Next up – Advanced Administrator!

    We are fortunate to have several experienced SFDC consultants and developers in house that have been great resources, but having this website is also very helpful.

  • BeenaNo Gravatar // Jun 24, 2009 at 3:50 pm

    Just passed the Admin Cert Exam yesterday – with the help of a developer account and your study guide! Thanks for the awesome site!! Any progress on the Spring 09 and Summer o9 notes?

  • AkshatNo Gravatar // Aug 25, 2009 at 12:24 am

    Hi Force Certified,

    I am an MBA with Sales Exp 5+ years and i am wanting to take this exam. The thing is that i have No experience in IT except a small course of E Commerce. I have around one month for preparation do you think its time enough for a fresher like me to get use to the concept understand the same and qualify the exam.

    Your reply would really be very helpful.

    Thanks

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Aug 25, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    It all depends on the amount of time you spend studying – if you can dedicate a few hours/day for a month it is definitely possible. After all, the ADM 201 class is a just few days and will prepare you for certification. See how long it takes you to make it through each section of the study guide and adjust accordingly.

    After you take the exam if you would leave a follow up post updating us that would great. Good luck!

    John

  • NainaNo Gravatar // Sep 14, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    Is going through this study material sufficient to clear the administrator certification?

  • ForceCertified.comNo Gravatar // Sep 15, 2009 at 12:44 pm

    There are no hard and fast rules; it depends on how strong of an understanding you have of the materials. From my experience the study materials covered everything on the exam, so if you understand them well you should do just fine.

  • JessicaNo Gravatar // Sep 28, 2009 at 7:33 pm

    Can someone advise when the 201 admin cert exam will include Winter 2010 items?

    I know once certified you have to maintain by testing out of each new release… but am looking for a date?

    Thanks!

  • NainaNo Gravatar // Oct 6, 2009 at 2:13 am

    Hi…
    i passed the salesforce admin cetification exam!!!
    This study guide was really helpful…pratice as much as u can…thats the real mantra..
    Thanks a lot:)

  • hetalNo Gravatar // Oct 24, 2009 at 6:13 pm

    hi naina can you advise me other then what other material should i read to pass salesforce admin certification exam.
    would appreciate you can email me at hetal@think-desi.com

  • kunalNo Gravatar // Nov 10, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    Thanks for this helpful information.
    I’ve passed the exam. This site has been really helpful.
    Next will be the consultant exam.
    Any notes or advice will be helpful for the consultant exam.

  • JohnNo Gravatar // Nov 19, 2009 at 9:51 am

    I wanted to thank you for putting this guide together. Like many others, I was unable to take the Salesforce Class, or obtain access to their study materials. This was my primary aid before I took the exam, and I passed with no problem.

    Any idea when other exams will be out?

  • JohnNo Gravatar // Nov 19, 2009 at 9:52 am

    Not exams! Study Guides for other certifications?

  • John CoppedgeNo Gravatar // Nov 19, 2009 at 9:56 am

    Hey John glad the site helped and congrats on the pass! I will likely release developer soon (as I’ve passed the exam and have most of the guide written). I’m planning on taking consultant and advanced admin by the end of the year, so hopefully guides to follow shortly after. This stuff takes a lot of time to put together, which is unfortunately something I am very short on at the moment. Cheers,

    John

  • Karthik DupakuntlaNo Gravatar // Jan 12, 2010 at 1:14 pm

    I took ADM 201 past week and have cleared it successfully. This site is very helpful…

  • YWNo Gravatar // Jan 16, 2010 at 7:46 am

    I am using salesforce.com Professional edition for 2 years. Not sure if anyone using/used PE and took ADM 201? Any successful story can share with me? From my understanding, ADM 201 is for Enterprise+ administrators. Shall I take ADM 201? And suggestions?

  • John CoppedgeNo Gravatar // Jan 16, 2010 at 8:57 am

    ADM training and certification requires knowledge of all editions. There is a lot of functionality (workflow, approvals, etc.) that is limited to EE/EU/DE. I would still recommend you get certified, and you can use a free DE to practice the functionality not available in your PE. CHeers,

    John

  • VickieNo Gravatar // Jan 27, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    Hey John,
    Thank you for putting this site up. I have been looking for preparatory material for the exam and I found your site — it is just perfect. How do you get developer’s account?

  • John CoppedgeNo Gravatar // Jan 27, 2010 at 2:24 pm

    Thanks Vickie- give this link a whirl http://www.developerforce.com/events/regular/registration.php

  • VickieNo Gravatar // Jan 27, 2010 at 2:38 pm

    Thank you John. will keep you posted on my progress.

  • JohnNo Gravatar // Feb 8, 2010 at 7:47 pm

    WOW. Read all the comments and now decided to take the Admin 201 certification with the help of the study guide and developer account. Also planning to practice as much as I can.
    Any further help/Tips Guidance is greatly Appreciated.

    John

  • VrajeshNo Gravatar // Feb 23, 2010 at 5:27 am

    Hello Team,

    I am taking this exam next month. any advice? i have worked as Admin in SFDC for 8 month. What should my approch?

  • John CoppedgeNo Gravatar // Feb 23, 2010 at 6:17 am

    @John @Vrajesh I would definitely get a developer account and practice! The admin cert is pretty basic in terms of functionality- make sure that you have a solid understanding of each point on the study guide prior to exam day and you’ll be fine.

  • VrajeshNo Gravatar // Feb 23, 2010 at 6:32 am

    Thanks John.

  • VrajeshNo Gravatar // Feb 24, 2010 at 3:56 am

    I am not able to find much practice exams on web..could anyone certified go ahead and create the same?

  • HemanshuNo Gravatar // Feb 25, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    Hi,
    I am planning to take the ADM201 exam either tomorrow or next week. Can you please send me any notes you have?
    Thanks a lot,
    Hemanshu

  • VrajeshNo Gravatar // Mar 2, 2010 at 12:59 am

    Hemanshu, how much time did it take to prepare this exam?

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