This document summarizes several additional database features in Force.com including dependent fields, record types and security, roll-up summary fields, field history tracking, tags, and connect offline. Dependent fields allow picklist values to depend on other values. Record types customize picklists and user interfaces for different record variations. Roll-up summary fields incrementally calculate summaries on child objects. Field history tracking provides an audit trail for certain fields. Tags and connect offline improve record search and offline data access.

1. Force.com Additional Database
Features
Sujit Kumar
Zenolocity LLC © 2012 - 2024

2. Overview
• Dependent Fields
• Record Types and Security
• Record Types and Page Layouts
• Roll-up Summary Fields
• Field History Tracking
• Tags
• Connect Offline

3. Dependent Fields
• Define cascading picklists - values in one picklist
depend on the selected value in another picklist.
• Controlling Field (Country) and Dependent Field
(State).
• Controlling Field can be a standard or custom picklist or
a checkbox but not a multi-select picklist.
• Dependent field can be a custom picklist or a multi-select
picklist.
• Not supported in Force.com Connect Offline.
• Alternative is a lookup relationship between 2 objects.

4. Record Types
• Overload the native UI behavior of an object.
For e.g.., in SalesForce CRM, Person Account is a record type of the
Account Object.
• Before creating a new object to represent a business entity, ask whether
the entity is really new or just a slight variation of another entity. When
there are slight variations, consider using a single object to do the work of
many. The single object contains a superset of the objects’ fields.
• The record type of each record determines which variation of the business
entity is stored. Force.com consults the record type and the user’s profile
to display the correct native user interface.
• By using record types, you gain an additional standard field called
RecordTypeId.

5. Define Record Types
• Record types enable picklist fields to be customized to
show different values for different record types of an
object.
• Record types are defined at the object level after an
object is created. In the object definition is a section
called Record Types for creating, editing, and deleting
record types.
• Every object has a default record type called Master. It
contains the master list of values for all picklist fields in
the object. New record types are cloned from the
Master.
• Need to be deactivated before they can be deleted.

6. Record Types Security
• Securing Record Types: Users gain access to
record types through their profiles.
• Profiles contain a section called Record Type
Settings. Every custom object is displayed
there, along with a list of the record types the
profile is allowed to access and an Edit link.

7. Record Types and Page Layouts
• Without Record Types, page layout is determined
by user’s profile. With record types, both the
record type and profile determine the page
layout.
• Page Layout Matrix => Profiles and Record Types.
• The native UI changes in significant ways when a
user has rights to multiple record types. New
object creation UI screen needs to know which
record type to use.

8. Roll-up Summary Fields
• Force.com requires that summary data be
calculated incrementally, either by the
database itself or in Apex code.
• Plan for summary-level data as the database is
designed.
• Summarized Object – restricted to child
objects that are part of MDRs. LRs are not
supported.
• Master Object contains the summarized field.

9. Roll-up Summary Fields (contd…)
• Roll-up Type – count, min, max, sum.
• Filter Criteria – are additive => they must all
be satisfied.
• Summary field calculation starts immediately
on existing child records.
• At most 10 roll-up summary fields per object.
• Cannot convert a MDR to a LR without
removing the roll-up summary fields.

10. Field History Tracking
• Audit trail of 1 or more fields of an object.
• No one can edit or remove entries in the audit
trail.
• Can track up to 25 fields per object.
• Cannot track history of formula, roll-up
summary and auto number fields.
• Selectively choose 1 or more fields to track.

11. Tags
• Tags are keywords that users can place on
records to make them easier to find.
• Can be private to a specific user or shared
among all users.
• Reduce the complexity of object search.
• disadvantage - search is unstructured.
• Always strings and cannot be treated as
numbers or dates.

12. Connect Offline
• Read-Write access to data while disconnected.
• Data synchronized when reconnected.
• An admin configures this feature for a set of
users and what data is accessible for offline
access.
• Users run a client app on Windows OS.

13. Connect Offline Configuration
• Select one or more objects.
• Set Record Ownership filters.
• Set Field filters – restrict data on values, filters
are additive.
• Set record limits – max # of records for a given
data set. If no limit is set, default is 5000
records per object.