Have you ever been stumped by a long list of options that don’t all apply? Imagine you’re an end user, wading through choices that just don’t fit; frustrating, right? It would be great to save your users’ time and frustration by taking advantage of one of Salesforce’s basic (but sometimes overlooked) features: Field Dependencies.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up field dependencies step-by-step, from defining controlling and dependent fields to configuring the values that appear based on user selection, to help you create a more intuitive experience for everyone. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have the skills to improve data entry and boost accuracy to create a more efficient and intuitive experience for your Salesforce users.
What Is Field Dependency in Salesforce?
Field dependencies work by displaying only relevant options based on the user’s initial choice. It links two picklists: a “controlling” field and a “dependent” field.
The controlling field is the first or initial picklist that determines the options to be shown in the dependent field, as it is filtered dynamically based on what the user selected in the controlling field.
Why Use Field Dependencies?
Clean and consistent data = easier reporting and analysis.
Picklists alone already promote clean and accurate data, but using them with field dependencies enhances the benefits even more. They are very useful for simplifying complex workflows since they prevent users from seeing irrelevant options.
This feature makes it easy to guide them toward only the correct choices, ultimately improving user experience by making data entry quicker and ensuring consistent accurate data.
As field dependencies are adaptable across various objects, it makes them a versatile tool capable of catering to a wide range of use cases. With dependencies in place, there’s no longer a need to enforce additional validation rules in guiding data entry – one less thing to worry about!
Common Use Cases for Field Dependencies
- Region-Specific Choices: This is common for businesses that cater to a lot of different locations. Dependencies can help filter options based on geographical data, like Country/State or Region/Sub-Region. Otherwise, you can also utilize the standard State and Country Picklists feature.
- Product Selection: For companies that have multiple products, a user’s selection should narrow down choices. For example, choosing a product line and then a specific product within that line.
- Industry-Specific Fields: Industries with specific field requirements can use dependencies to their advantage by displaying only the relevant options to users.
Setting Up Field Dependencies
Let’s dive in and learn how to set this up in Salesforce! As usual, we’re starting with a simple imaginary scenario:
Use Case 1
You’re a Salesforce Admin at a company that provides customer support across different product areas. Two kinds of cases usually come in: technical cases for issues related to product functionality, and billing cases for payment-related concerns. The org has a picklist on the Case object named “Issue Type”, which categorizes between these two.
When a support rep logs a new Case, they would need to categorize it as Technical or Billing using the Issue Type picklist. They are then supposed to choose a specific Issue Detail related to that type. Issue Detail is another picklist on the Case object, and right now the reps see every possible Issue Detail regardless of the Issue Type, leading to confusion and extra scrolling!
Preparation
Here’s one thing to check before proceeding: You should have the “Customize Application” user permission to be able to define and edit dependent picklists.
Next, check the fields involved. Note that the controlling field can be a standard or custom checkbox/picklist, but the dependent picklist can only be a custom one. Here are other considerations to keep in mind for field types:
| Data Type | Controlling Field | Dependent Field |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Picklist | ✅ | ❌ |
| Custom Picklist | ✅ | ✅ |
| Custom Multi-select Picklist | ❌ | ✅ |
| Standard checkbox | ✅ | ❌ |
| Custom checkbox | ✅ | ❌ |
Controlling Field:
Controlling Field Values:
Dependent Field:
Dependent Field Values:
Ensure your picklists have all the values you need before setting up the dependency.
Creating the Field Dependency
- Go to Setup → Object Manager → Case (or select the object where your fields are at) → Fields & Relationships → Field Dependencies.
- Hit New and set your Controlling and Dependent fields. Then, click Continue.
- Here’s where we set up the dependencies! This involves a matrix, and I’ll be honest – when I was a Salesforce beginner, it took me a bit of time to absorb how to use it (or maybe I was just eagerly clicking around too much). Here’s how it looks initially:
- Let’s start by picking out the technical issue values. Hold down the Ctrl or Shift key on your keyboard (depending on whether the values are next to each other or not), then start clicking the values under the Technical column.
- Once selected, let go of the Shift or Ctrl key and click the “Include Values” button above the table. This should highlight your selection in yellow.
- Next, let’s pick out the Billing issue values. The procedure is the same as above, but this time, focus on the second column. It should look like this once the Billing values are selected and included:
- But, here’s a shortcut that makes this even easier: you can simply double-click a value to include or exclude it – no need to Ctrl-click your way through everything!
- Click Preview to test out how the values work together! This should open a small window. Click through the values in your controlling picklist and check if your dependent picklist would show the expected values.
- Once you’re sure that the preview shows the accurate fields, go ahead and hit Save to lock in your field dependency.
Easy-peasy, right? Let’s try another example; something a little different which requires dealing with a checkbox and multi-select picklist. Ready to dive in?
Use Case 2
You’re a Salesforce Admin for a nonprofit organization that frequently sends updates to its donors. To ensure that the organization complies with the donors’ privacy preferences, there is a need to record each donor’s explicit consent for receiving communications.
The org has a “Consent Given?” checkbox that allows users to mark whether or not the donor has agreed to receive communications. When this is checked, users should see a multi-select picklist for Preferred Communication Channels where they can choose the specific types of updates the donor is interested in.
Setting up a field dependency for this scenario does not just filter out the dependent field’s options, but controls its visibility.
Preparation
Always check the fields involved first! Both fields are custom fields on the Contact object this time, so we’re all good. See the fields’ details and picklist values below:
Controlling Field:
Dependent Field:
Dependent Field Values:
Creating the Field Dependency
- Do the same as Step 1 from our previous scenario, but this time on the Contact object.
- Select your controlling and dependent fields then hit Continue.
- Back at it again with the matrix! When the Consent Given checkbox is unchecked, there will be no need to display the preferred communication channels, so there shouldn’t be any included values under the Unchecked column. On the other hand, for the Checked column, include ALL the values.
- Time to do a little testing – click Preview and see what happens when the checkbox is checked compared to unchecked.
- Looks quite right! Close the preview window and click Save to lock in your dependency.
Tips for Managing Field Dependencies
- Limit the Number of Values: While having dependencies already helps in filtering out choices, an excessive number of values in either picklist can make managing dependencies cumbersome. Also, make it a habit to check your picklists’ active and inactive values!
- Testing Thoroughly: After setting up your dependencies, don’t just rely on the preview. I’ve been a victim of this before, and it led to a large number of records with inaccurate data before I noticed and fixed it. Test behavior in different scenarios to ensure they work as expected.
- Considerations for Record Types: If your object has multiple record types, remember that dependencies might need adjustments to fit each type. Consider whether the included values for the dependent picklist align with not just the controlling field selection, but also the record type that uses that option. The image below shows the matrix for setting up field dependencies on the Account object, which has two record types: Business and Customer.
- Difficulty with Modifications: When a picklist has already been created and dependencies set up, it can be challenging to modify the values. Sometimes, admins add new values to a picklist and forget to adjust dependencies, again leading to inaccurate data.
- Reporting: Oftentimes, management may want a report on all dependent and controlling fields/picklists, which is not a feature at this time. They aren’t visible on Schema Builder either, unlike required fields and field relationships. Consider upvoting this idea on picklist reporting, or check out this AppExchange app that might help.
You can identify whether a field is controlling or dependent by viewing the object’s page layout. See icons in the image below where the green box with an arrow after it denotes the controlling checkbox while the orange box with an arrow before it indicates the dependent picklist.
Summary
Field dependencies are a straightforward yet powerful out-of-the-box feature that can significantly enhance your org’s data quality and elevate your users’ experience in Salesforce.
When implemented effectively, they not only help users save time with quicker inputs but also promote accurate and consistent data entry. From industry filtering to product categorization and beyond, field dependencies provide essential flexibility that empowers admins to create intuitive interfaces tailored to specific business needs.
What use cases do you think are best for implementing dependencies? Leave them in the comments below!
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