Using Custom Fields to Push Updates in Salesforce

When implementing a new workflow or process, there is often a need to trigger this change for existing records. Instead of waiting for records to naturally update, you can use the following technique to force an update and trigger your processes with no impact to your working data.

Create a new ‘Update’ checkbox field

Then, whenever you want to update records, download a .csv of the records you need to update and add a column to mark your new checkbox field as ‘TRUE’. An example can be seen in the test data below:

With this updated .csv file, import the data using your preferred method.

This will then trigger a record change on those records, which (based on your workflow criteria) will also trigger the required workflows. As this is the only change on the record, other workflows are usually safe but make sure you are aware of all which are running to be certain.

For this to work most effectively on a regular basis, return all checkboxes to blank after all records have been updated. This can be done with the same .csv, amended to say ‘FALSE’. Again, use your preferred method of data import. If this time you do not want your workflow to fire, then change it to ‘on create’ or pause it for this upload.

If you have any questions about this or other Salesforce functionality, please reach out to Safiyyah Gareeboo or email info@pracedo.com.