Salesforce’s global search is an incredibly powerful tool. I’ve met many Salesforce customers who decided to move to the platform based on the search functionality alone. Simply type a word, phrase, phone number, or anything else, and Salesforce will search the entire system for anywhere that thing shows up. The only problem is that if you’ve got a lot of data in your system, it can be difficult to find the thing you’re looking for in the mass of results. Take, for example, a search for John Smith – you may have a lot of them, and finding the one you’re looking for isn’t as easy as just typing his name. Don’t worry, Salesforce has you covered!
In continuing in last week’s theme of lesser-known Salesforce features, this week I’d like to introduce you to Search Filter Fields in Salesforce. Search Filter Fields let you take your search results and narrow them down based on any fields you select. This way, you could search for John Smith, then narrow it down to only the John Smiths who live in New York City. To set up Search Filter Fields for any object (I’ll use Contacts for simplicity here), go to Setup -> Customize -> Contacts -> Search Layouts, then click Edit next to Search Filter Fields. Add any fields you’d like to the list on the right, arrange them in an order that makes sense to you, and save. Now, do a search that will turn up a number of results. Next to the header for that object’s search results, you should now see a link called “Show Filters”. Clicking this will bring up your filters so that you can narrow down your search results to exactly what you’re looking for. This awesome, easy, out-of-the-box feature takes seconds to set up and will supercharge your Salesforce searches. Give it a try today!
-Jared and the Salesforce Guys
CEO of CloudMyBiz Salesforce CRM consulting services with a deep knowledge in the lending industry. Taking keen interest in the project management side of operations, playing a vital role in the 31% YOY company growth. Strategic leader, mastering the ability to problem solve at every level of the business, providing effective solutions for clients.