Save Time With Inline Editing In Salesforce

Blog:

At some point, all Salesforce system administrators are tasked with having to mass update records. Luckily, there are tools like Data Loader and Dataloader.io. But what about a quick way for your non-admin users to update many records at once? Why not try inline editing?

What is Inline Editing?

Inline editing provides a way for users to mass edit records from a list view in Salesforce. This can be quicker than creating a report, exporting the report, and then importing the update. This isn’t always the solution but can be a very helpful option for many of your users. Inline editing can also be used to edit one record at a time from a list view without having to click edit and open the record…saving on clicks.

Where to Start?

Before your users can start inline editing, the option must be turned on in your Salesforce org. To do this, from setup, go to User Interface and then check the box for “Enable Inline Editing.” The ability to inline edit is per Salesforce org and cannot be turned on only for specific profiles or users…it’s global.

Setup and Things to Consider

Once inline editing is enabled in your org, users can create list views to access records for inline editing.  Some things to consider when creating your list view:

1. If the object has record types, the record type must be specified in the filter criteria, and only one record type at a time can be used in the list view if you want to inline edit.
2. You can have filter logic in your list view but only the AND logic. You cannot use OR logic in your list view if you want to inline edit.
3. Field level security still applies. If a user does not normally have access to edit a field when they are viewing the record, they will not be able to inline edit that field.
4. If the field is not on the page layout when viewing the record, users will not be able to inline edit that field even if it is in the list view.

Inline Editing Your Records

So, when your list view is set up, choose the records you want to edit by checking the box for each record to the left.

Next, hover over the field you want to edit. If you see a pencil icon when you hover, you have the right to inline edit that field. If you see a lock icon when you hover, you cannot inline edit that field for one of the reasons stated above.

If you see the pencil, double click on that field, and you will be prompted to add the new value. To update all the records you selected, you must click the checkbox to update all the selected items. Click apply and then click save. If you are using Classic, just click save.

So, if you’re a system admin and a user comes to you to update multiple records that they have access to, and it makes sense, show them how to inline edit. This will save time for both of you.