The Salesforce Glossary

SOQL

DEVELOPMENT / DATA

The query language used to search and retrieve records from Salesforce.

66 terms

Apex

Apex is Salesforce's proprietary, strongly-typed programming language used to execute custom business logic on the Lightning Platform.

Visualforce

Visualforce is a tag-based markup language that lets developers build custom user interfaces hosted natively on the Salesforce platform.

Lightning Web Components (LWC)

Lightning Web Components is Salesforce's modern UI framework built on native web standards like Web Components, Shadow DOM, and ES modules.

SOQL

SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) is the query language used to search and retrieve records from Salesforce's database.

SOSL

SOSL (Salesforce Object Search Language) is a text-search language that queries multiple objects simultaneously using Salesforce's search index.

Salesforce Admin

A Salesforce Admin is the person responsible for configuring, maintaining, and optimizing a Salesforce org to meet an organization's business needs.

Profile

A Profile in Salesforce defines the baseline set of permissions, page layout assignments, and system settings that apply to every user assigned to it.

Permission Set

A Permission Set is a collection of permissions that can be assigned to users on top of their profile to grant additional access without changing the profile itself.

Role Hierarchy

The Role Hierarchy in Salesforce controls record-level visibility by granting users access to records owned by anyone below them in the hierarchy tree.

Sandbox

A Sandbox is an isolated copy of your Salesforce production org used for development, testing, and training without risking live data.

Flow

Flow is Salesforce's declarative automation tool that lets admins build complex business processes using a visual, drag-and-drop interface without writing code.

Process Builder (Deprecated)

Process Builder was a visual automation tool for creating processes triggered by record changes; it has been deprecated in favor of Flow.

Workflow Rule (Deprecated)

Workflow Rules were simple if/then automation triggers in Salesforce that have been deprecated and replaced by Flow.

Approval Process

An Approval Process is a Salesforce automation that routes records through a series of approval steps with designated approvers, actions, and rejection handling.

Record-Triggered Flow

A Record-Triggered Flow is a type of Salesforce Flow that automatically executes when a record is created, updated, or deleted.

Data Loader

Data Loader is a Salesforce desktop application for bulk importing, exporting, updating, deleting, and upserting large volumes of records.

Data Import Wizard

The Data Import Wizard is a browser-based Salesforce tool for importing up to 50,000 records into standard and custom objects without desktop software.

Custom Object

A Custom Object is a user-defined database table in Salesforce that stores data specific to your organization's unique business needs.

Custom Field

A Custom Field is a user-defined field added to a standard or custom object in Salesforce to capture data not covered by out-of-the-box fields.

Validation Rule

A Validation Rule is a formula-based check in Salesforce that prevents users from saving a record if the data does not meet specified criteria.

Field-Level Security (FLS)

Field-Level Security controls which users can see and edit specific fields on Salesforce objects, enforced at the profile and permission set level.

Organization-Wide Defaults (OWD)

Organization-Wide Defaults define the baseline record access level for each object, establishing the most restrictive sharing setting before other mechanisms open access.

Sharing Rule

A Sharing Rule in Salesforce automatically extends record access to specific groups of users beyond what Organization-Wide Defaults and the role hierarchy provide.

Shield Platform Encryption

Shield Platform Encryption encrypts sensitive data at rest in Salesforce using tenant-specific encryption keys, protecting it beyond standard database-level encryption.

Report

A Report in Salesforce is a structured query that retrieves, filters, groups, and summarizes data from one or more related objects for analysis.

Dashboard

A Dashboard in Salesforce is a visual display of key metrics and trends built from underlying report data, presented through charts, gauges, tables, and metrics components.

Einstein Analytics (CRM Analytics)

Einstein Analytics, now branded as CRM Analytics, is Salesforce's advanced analytics platform for interactive data exploration, AI-driven insights, and predictive modeling.

AppExchange

AppExchange is Salesforce's official marketplace where customers can discover, install, and manage third-party apps, components, and consulting services.

Managed Package

A Managed Package is a distributable bundle of Salesforce metadata (objects, code, components) published under a unique namespace that can be installed in other orgs and upgraded by the publisher.

Salesforce DX

Salesforce DX is a modern development experience that brings source-driven development, scratch orgs, and CLI-based workflows to Salesforce application lifecycle management.

Agentforce

Agentforce is Salesforce's AI agent platform that enables businesses to build, deploy, and manage autonomous AI agents within the Salesforce ecosystem.

Trigger

A Trigger in Salesforce is Apex code that executes automatically before or after DML events (such as insert, update, delete, or undelete) on a specific object.

Governor Limits

Governor Limits are runtime caps enforced by the Salesforce platform to ensure no single tenant monopolizes shared resources in the multi-tenant architecture.

Batch Apex

Batch Apex lets you process large volumes of records asynchronously by breaking them into manageable chunks that each run in their own execution context.

Custom Metadata Type

Custom Metadata Types are a framework for defining application metadata that can be deployed, packaged, and queried like regular records but stored as metadata rather than data.

Platform Event

Platform Events are Salesforce's event-driven messaging framework that enables real-time communication between systems using a publish-subscribe model.

Record Type

A Record Type in Salesforce lets you offer different business processes, picklist values, and page layouts for the same object based on user profile or context.

Page Layout

A Page Layout controls the arrangement of fields, buttons, related lists, and custom links on a record detail and edit page in Salesforce.

Lightning App Builder

Lightning App Builder is a point-and-click tool for creating custom Lightning pages (including record pages, app pages, and home pages) without writing code.

Object Manager

Object Manager is the centralized Setup interface in Salesforce for viewing and customizing the schema of standard and custom objects: fields, relationships, layouts, triggers, and more.

Screen Flow

A Screen Flow is an interactive Flow type that displays screens to users, collecting input and guiding them through a step-by-step process within Salesforce.

Assignment Rule

Assignment Rules in Salesforce automatically route Lead and Case records to the correct user or queue based on predefined criteria.

Escalation Rule

Escalation Rules automatically escalate Case records that have not been resolved within a specified time frame, reassigning them or triggering notifications.

Lookup Relationship

A Lookup Relationship is a loosely coupled link between two Salesforce objects where the child record references the parent but remains independent; deleting the parent does not delete the child.

Master-Detail Relationship

A Master-Detail Relationship is a tightly coupled parent-child link where the child inherits the parent's sharing and security settings, and deleting the parent cascades to delete all children.

Junction Object

A Junction Object is a custom object with two master-detail relationships that creates a many-to-many association between two other objects in Salesforce.

Formula Field

A Formula Field is a read-only field that dynamically calculates its value based on an expression referencing other fields, operators, and functions on the same or related records.

Roll-Up Summary Field

A Roll-Up Summary Field aggregates values (COUNT, SUM, MIN, MAX) from child records in a master-detail relationship and displays the result on the parent record.

Duplicate Rule

A Duplicate Rule in Salesforce defines the action to take (alert or block) when a user attempts to create or edit a record that matches existing records identified by a matching rule.

Connected App

A Connected App is a configuration framework that enables an external application to integrate with Salesforce using OAuth 2.0, SAML, or other standard protocols.

Named Credential

A Named Credential securely stores the endpoint URL and authentication settings for an external service, letting Apex callouts reference a logical name instead of hard-coded credentials.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-Factor Authentication requires users to verify their identity with two or more factors (such as a password and a mobile authenticator) when logging into Salesforce.

Report Type

A Report Type defines the set of objects, fields, and their relationships available when building a report, acting as the template that determines what data the report can access.

List View

A List View is a filtered, sortable table of records for a specific object, displayed on the object's tab or home page in Salesforce.

Sales Cloud

Sales Cloud is Salesforce's core CRM product for managing the full sales cycle, from lead capture and opportunity tracking to forecasting and closing deals.

Service Cloud

Service Cloud is Salesforce's customer service platform that provides tools for case management, omnichannel support, knowledge bases, and field service operations.

Experience Cloud

Experience Cloud (formerly Community Cloud) lets organizations build branded portals, forums, help centers, and partner channels that share Salesforce data with external users.

Data Cloud

Data Cloud is Salesforce's real-time data platform that unifies customer data from any source into a single profile, enabling segmentation, activation, and AI-driven personalization.

Lightning Experience

Lightning Experience is Salesforce's modern user interface, replacing Salesforce Classic with a component-based, responsive design optimized for productivity.

Change Set

A Change Set is a native Salesforce deployment tool that migrates metadata components (such as custom objects, fields, Flows, and Apex classes) between related orgs.

Permission Set Group

A Permission Set Group bundles multiple permission sets into a single assignable unit, simplifying user access management and supporting muting permissions.

Web-to-Lead

Web-to-Lead is a Salesforce feature that automatically captures form submissions from your website and creates Lead records in your org.

Email-to-Case

Email-to-Case automatically converts incoming customer emails into Case records in Salesforce, enabling support teams to manage email inquiries within the CRM.

Workflow Field Update

A Workflow Field Update is an automated action that changes a field value on a record or its parent when workflow criteria are met.

Dynamic Forms

Dynamic Forms is a Lightning Experience feature that lets admins place individual fields and sections on a record page with conditional visibility rules, replacing rigid page layouts.

Omni-Channel

Omni-Channel is Salesforce's intelligent routing engine that automatically pushes work items (Cases, Leads, Orders, or custom objects) to the most qualified available agent in real time.