Salesforce Admin Certification Syllabus

What are the four levels of data access security in Salesforce, from broadest to most granular?

1) Organization-level (login hours, IP ranges), 2) Object-level (Profiles/Permission Sets via CRUD), 3) Field-level (Field-Level Security), and 4) Record-level (OWD, role hierarchy, sharing rules, manual sharing).

What does OWD stand for and what does it control?

OWD stands for Organization-Wide Defaults. It sets the baseline (most restrictive) level of record access for each object—Private, Public Read Only, Public Read/Write, or Controlled by Parent.

Explain the difference between Private and Public Read/Write organization-wide default settings.

Private means only the record owner (and users above them in the role hierarchy) can view/edit a record. Public Read/Write means all users can view and edit all records of that object.

What are Sharing Rules used for and what two types of criteria can they be based on?

Sharing Rules automatically extend record access beyond OWD to specified groups/roles. They can be based on record ownership (owner-based) or on field values/record criteria (criteria-based).

What is the difference between object-level (CRUD) security and Field-Level Security (FLS)?

CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) controls access to an entire object/record via profiles and permission sets. FLS controls visibility and editability of individual fields within an object, regardless of page layout.

What is a Workflow Rule and what four types of immediate/time-based actions can it trigger?

A Workflow Rule automates standard internal processes based on record criteria. Its actions are: Field Update, Email Alert, Task creation, and Outbound Message. Actions can be immediate or time-dependent.

What is a key limitation of Workflow Rules regarding related records?

Workflow field updates can only update fields on the same record or, for master-detail relationships, on the parent (master) record—they cannot update unrelated or arbitrary related records or create records (except tasks).

What is Process Builder and how does it extend Workflow Rules?

Process Builder is a point-and-click automation tool that can do everything workflow does plus create records, update related (including child) records, launch flows, call Apex, and post to Chatter—all within one process containing multiple criteria and action groups.

In Process Builder, what are the three types of triggers/start conditions for a process?

A record changes (created, or created and edited), a platform event message is received, or the process is invoked by another process (invocable).

Note: Salesforce has retired Workflow Rules and Process Builder in favor of which tool?

Salesforce Flow (Flow Builder). Migration to Flow is the recommended path, as Workflow Rules and Process Builder are being retired for new development.

What is a Validation Rule and when does it fire?

A Validation Rule verifies that data entered meets specified criteria before a record is saved. It evaluates a formula that returns True/False; if it returns True (indicating an error condition), the save is blocked and an error message is displayed.

In a Salesforce Validation Rule, does an error occur when the formula evaluates to True or to False?

An error occurs when the formula evaluates to True. The formula should describe the invalid condition, so returning True means the data is invalid and the record cannot be saved.

Write a validation rule formula that requires a numeric custom field Discount__c to be between 0 and 100 inclusive (error if outside that range).

$\text{OR}(\texttt{Discount\_\_c} < 0,\ \texttt{Discount\_\_c} > 100)$ — the rule errors when the discount is less than $0$ or greater than $100$.

What is a Page Layout and what elements can an admin control with it?

A Page Layout controls the organization and arrangement of fields, related lists, buttons, custom links, and Visualforce components on a record's detail and edit pages. It also controls which fields are required or read-only on that layout.

What is a Record Type and how does it interact with page layouts?

A Record Type lets you offer different business processes, picklist values, and page layouts to different users based on their profiles. Each record type can be assigned a specific page layout per profile, enabling tailored experiences on the same object.

What is the Lightning App Builder used for?

The Lightning App Builder is a point-and-click tool for creating and customizing Lightning pages—App Pages, Home Pages, and Record Pages—by dragging standard, custom, and third-party components onto a layout without code.

Name the three types of Lightning pages you can build with the Lightning App Builder.

App Page, Home Page, and Record Page.

What is the difference between a standard report and a report type in Salesforce?

A Report Type defines the set of objects and fields (and their relationships) available to build a report—it is the template. A report is an actual analysis built on a report type, returning rows of records matching filter criteria.

List the four standard report formats in Salesforce.

Tabular, Summary, Matrix, and Joined.

Compare Tabular, Summary, and Matrix report formats.

Tabular is a simple list of rows with no grouping or subtotals. Summary groups rows by one or more fields and provides subtotals. Matrix groups data by both rows and columns, giving a grid of summarized values—ideal for comparing across two dimensions.

What is a bucket field in Salesforce reporting?

A bucket field lets you categorize report records into groups (buckets) directly within the report, without creating a custom formula field on the object—useful for quick ad-hoc grouping.

What is a Dashboard in Salesforce and what is its data source?

A Dashboard is a visual, graphical display (charts, gauges, metrics, tables) of key metrics. Each dashboard component's data source is an underlying report; the report supplies the data the component visualizes.

What is a 'running user' in a Salesforce dashboard and why does it matter?

The running user determines the data-access context under which the dashboard's source reports run—everyone viewing the dashboard sees data as that user. With dynamic dashboards, each viewer sees data according to their own access instead of a fixed running user.

What is Case Management in Salesforce and what is a Case used to track?

Case Management is the Service Cloud functionality for tracking and resolving customer issues, questions, and requests. A Case record captures details of a customer's problem including status, priority, origin, and related account/contact.

What are common automation features specific to Case Management?

Assignment Rules (route cases to the right owner/queue), Escalation Rules (escalate unresolved cases based on time/criteria), Auto-Response Rules (send automatic email replies), Web-to-Case, and Email-to-Case.

What is the difference between Web-to-Case and Email-to-Case?

Web-to-Case captures cases submitted through a form on your website. Email-to-Case creates and updates cases from emails sent to designated support email addresses, keeping the email thread attached to the case.

What is the Service Cloud Console and what is its key benefit for agents?

The Service Console is a Lightning app designed for support agents that provides a tab-based, split-view workspace so agents can view and work multiple records and related items on a single screen, reducing clicks and improving productivity.

What is the Salesforce mobile app and does it require a separate license for standard users?

The Salesforce mobile app is the native iOS/Android app giving users access to their org on mobile. It is included with most standard Salesforce licenses at no additional cost; admins can configure the mobile navigation and Lightning pages for it.

What is the AppExchange?

The AppExchange is Salesforce's online marketplace where users can find, install, and manage third-party (and Salesforce-built) apps, components, Lightning components, flows, and consulting services—both free and paid—to extend their org.

What are Change Sets and what is a key limitation of them?

Change Sets are a point-and-click deployment tool used to move metadata/customizations between related orgs (e.g., sandbox to production) over a deployment connection. Key limitation: they only work between related orgs on the same production instance and cannot deploy data—only metadata.

What is the difference between an Outbound and an Inbound Change Set?

An Outbound Change Set is created in the source org and contains the components you want to send/deploy. An Inbound Change Set is the one received in the target org, which an admin then validates and deploys. The same set is outbound from the source and inbound to the destination.