FORCE.COM SalesForce Platform Glossary

Combination Chart

A combination chart plots multiple sets of data on a single chart. Each set of data is based on a different field, so values are easy to compare. You can also combine certain chart types to present data in different ways on a single chart.

Development Environment

A Salesforce organization where you can make configuration changes that will not affect users on the production organization. There are two kinds of development environments, sandboxes and Developer Edition organizations.

Custom Help

Custom text administrators create to provide users with on-screen information specific to a standard field, custom field, or custom object.

Batch, Bulk API

A batch is a CSV, XML, or JSON representation of a set of records in the Bulk API. You process a set of records by creating a job that contains one or more batches. Each batch is processed independently by the server, not necessarily in the order it is received. See Job, Bulk API.

Data Loader

A Force.com platform tool used to import and export data from your Salesforce organization.

Enterprise Edition

A Salesforce edition designed for larger, more complex businesses.

Component, Metadata

A component is an instance of a metadata type in the Metadata API. For example, CustomObject is a metadata type for custom objects, and the MyCustomObject__c component is an instance of a custom object. A component is described in an XML file and it can be deployed or retrieved using the Metadata API, or tools built on top of it, such as the Force.com IDE or the Force.com Migration Tool.

Connected App

A connected app integrates an application with Salesforce using APIs. Connected apps use standard SAML and OAuth protocols to authenticate, provide Single Sign-On, and provide tokens for use with Salesforce APIs. In addition to standard OAuth capabilities, connected apps allow administrators to set various security policies and have explicit control over who may use the corresponding applications.

Controller Extension

A controller extension is an Apex class that extends the functionality of a standard or custom controller.

Custom Controller

A custom controller is an Apex class that implements all of the logic for a page without leveraging a standard controller. Use custom controllers when you want your Visualforce page to run entirely in system mode, which does not enforce the permissions and field-level security of the current user.

Dashboard

A dashboard shows data from source reports as visual components, which can be charts, gauges, tables, metrics, or Visualforce pages. The components provide a snapshot of key metrics and performance indicators for your organization. Each dashboard can have up to 20 components.

Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)

A data modeling tool that helps you organize your data into entities (or objects, as they are called in the Force.com platform) and define the relationships between them. ERD diagrams for key Salesforce objects are published in the SOAP API Developer's Guide.

Component Reference, Visualforce

A description of the standard and custom Visualforce components that are available in your organization. You can access the component library from the development footer of any Visualforce page or the Visualforce Developer's Guide.

Custom View

A display feature that lets you see a specific set of records for a particular object

Dynamic Dashboard

A dynamic dashboard runs using the security settings of the user viewing the dashboard. Each user sees the dashboard according to his or her own access level. This approach helps administrators share one common set of dashboard components to users with different levels of access.

Custom Field

A field that can be added in addition to the standard fields to customize Salesforce for your organization's needs.

CSV (Comma Separated Values)

A file format that enables the sharing and transportation of structured data. The import wizards, Data Loader and the Bulk API support CSV. Each line in a CSV file represents a record. A comma separates each field value in the record.

Email Template

A form email that communicates a standard message, such as a welcome letter to new employees or an acknowledgment that a customer service request has been received. Email templates can be personalized with merge fields, and can be written in text, HTML, or custom format.

Developer Edition

A free, fully-functional Salesforce organization designed for developers to extend, integrate, and develop with the Force.com platform. Developer Edition accounts are available on developer.salesforce.com.

Date Literal

A keyword in a SOQL or SOSL query that represents a relative range of time such as last month or next year.

Database Table

A list of information, presented with rows and columns, about the person, thing, or concept you want to track. See also Object.

Cloud Computing

A model for software development and distribution based on the Internet. The technology infrastructure for a service, including data, is hosted on the Internet. This allows consumers to develop and use services with browsers or other thin clients instead of investing in hardware, software, or maintenance.

Detail

A page that displays information about a single object record. The detail page of a record allows you to view the information, whereas the edit page allows you to modify it. A term used in reports to distinguish between summary information and inclusion of all column data for all information in a report. You can toggle the Show Details/Hide Details button to view and hide report detail information.

Document Library

A place to store documents without attaching them to accounts, contacts, opportunities, or other records.

Child Relationship

A relationship that has been defined on an sObject that references another sObject as the "one" side of a one-to-many relationship. For example, contacts, opportunities, and tasks have child relationships with accounts. See also sObject.

Dependency

A relationship where one object's existence depends on that of another. There are a number of different kinds of dependencies including mandatory fields, dependent objects (parent-child), file inclusion (referenced images, for example), and ordering dependencies (when one object must be deployed before another object).

Account Assignment Rule

A rule that automatically assigns accounts to territories, based on criteria you define.

Delegated Administration

A security model in which a group of non-administrator users perform administrative tasks.

Delegated Authentication

A security process where an external authority is used to authenticate Force.com platform users.

Auto-Response Rule

A set of conditions for sending automatic email responses to case or lead submissions based on the attributes of the submitted record. Applicable cases include those submitted through a Self-Service portal, a Customer Portal, a Web-to-Case form, an Email-to-Case message, or an On-Demand Email-to-Case message. Applicable leads include those captured through a Web-to-Lead form.

Asset

A specific model or type of product that a customer owns. Depending on how your organization uses assets, they can represent your products that the customer has purchased and installed or your competitor's products that the customer uses.

Enterprise WSDL

A strongly-typed WSDL for customers who want to build an integration with their Salesforce organization only, or for partners who are using tools like Tibco or webMethods to build integrations that require strong typecasting. The downside of the Enterprise WSDL is that it only works with the schema of a single Salesforce organization because it is bound to all of the unique objects and fields that exist in that organization's data model.

Console Tab

A tab containing the Agent console, which combines related records into one screen with different frames so that users can view and edit information all in one place.

Class, Apex

A template or blueprint from which Apex objects are created. Classes consist of other classes, user-defined methods, variables, exception types, and static initialization code. In most cases, Apex classes are modeled on their counterparts in Java.

Dynamic Visualforce Binding

A way of writing generic Visualforce pages that display information about records without necessarily knowing which fields to show. In other words, fields on the page are determined at runtime, rather than compile time.

Code Coverage

A way to identify which lines of code are exercised by a set of unit tests, and which are not. This helps you identify sections of code that are completely untested and therefore at greatest risk of containing a bug or introducing a regression in the future.

Component, Visualforce

Something that can be added to a Visualforce page with a set of tags, for example, (apex:detail). Visualforce includes a number of standard components, or you can create your own custom components.

Article Type

All articles in Salesforce Knowledge are assigned to an article type. An article's type determines the type of content it contains, its appearance, and which users can access it. For example, a simple FAQ article type can have two custom fields, Question and Answer, where article managers enter data when creating or updating FAQ articles. A more complex article type can have dozens of fields organized into several sections. Using layouts and templates, administrators can structure the article type in the most effective way for its particular content. User access to article types is controlled by permissions. For each article type, an administrator can grant "Create," "Read," "Edit," or "Delete" permissions to users. For example, the article manager can allow internal users to read, create, and edit FAQ article types, but let partner users only read FAQs.

. @Mention

An @mention (or at mention) is the @ symbol followed by a person's or group's name, for example, @Bob Smith or@DocTeam. You can @mention people in Chatter posts and comments. When you @mention someone, the @mention links to their profile, the post or comment displays in their feed, and they are emailed a notification.

Callout, Apex

An Apex callout enables you to tightly integrate your Apex with an external service by making a call to an external Web service or sending a HTTP request from Apex code and then receiving the response.

Controller, Visualforce

An Apex class that provides a Visualforce page with the data and business logic it needs to run. Visualforce pages can use the standard controllers that come by default with every standard or custom object, or they can use custom controllers.

Data Manipulation Language (DML)

An Apex method or operation that inserts, updates, or deletes records.

Account

An account is an organization, company, or consumer that you want to track—for example, a customer, partner, or competitor.

Account Team

An account team is a team of users that work together on an account. For example, an account team may include an executive sponsor, dedicated support representative, or project manager.

Composite App

An app that combines native platform functionality with one or more external Web services, such as Yahoo! Maps. Composite apps allow for more flexibility and integration with other services, but may require running and managing external code. See also Client App and Native App.

Client App

An app that runs outside the Salesforce user interface and uses only the Force.com API or Bulk API. It typically runs on a desktop or mobile device. These apps treat the platform as a data source, using the development model of whatever tool and platform for which they are designed.

Development as a Service (DaaS)

An application development model where all development is on the Web. This means that source code, compilation, and development environments are not on local machines, but are Web-based services.

Enterprise Application

An application that is designed to support functionality for an organization as a whole, rather than solving a specific problem.

Approval Process

An approval process automates how records are approved in Salesforce. An approval process specifies each step of approval, including who to request approval from and what to do at each point of the process. Article<Articles capture information about your company's products and services that you want to make available in your knowledge base.

Assignment

An assignment is a draft article that has been assigned to another user for editing. Assignments can contain brief instructions and a due date

Enumeration Field

An enumeration is the WSDL equivalent of a picklist field. The valid values of the field are restricted to a strict set of possible values, all having the same data type.

Event

An event is an activity that has a scheduled time. For example, a meeting, or a scheduled phone call.

Activity

An event, a task, a call you've logged, or an email you've sent. You can relate an activity to other records, such as an account, a lead, an opportunity, or a case. In an org with Shared Activities enabled, you can relate an activity to multiple contacts. Tasks can also be generated by workflow rules and approval processes configured by a Salesforce admin.

Database

An organized collection of information. The underlying architecture of the Force.com platform includes a database where your data is stored.

Dependent Field

Any custom picklist or multi-select picklist field that displays available values based on the value selected in its corresponding controlling field.

Controlling Field

Any standard or custom picklist or checkbox field whose values control the available values in one or more corresponding dependent fields.

Apex

Apex is a strongly typed, object-oriented programming language that allows developers to execute flow and transaction control statements on the Force.com platform server in conjunction with calls to the Force.com​ API. Using syntax that looks like Java and acts like database stored procedures, Apex enables developers to add business logic to most system events, including button clicks, related record updates, and Visualforce pages. Apex code can be initiated by Web service requests and from triggers on objects.

Amount Without Manager Adjustment

Applies to Collaborative Forecasts. The forecast number as seen by the forecast owner. This is the sum of the owner's revenue opportunities and the owner's subordinates' opportunities, including adjustments made by the forecast owner on the owner's or subordinates' forecasts. It doesn't include adjustments made by forecast managers above the owner in the forecast hierarchy.

Amount Without Adjustments

Applies to Collaborative Forecasts. The sum of a person's owned revenue opportunities and the person's subordinates' opportunities, without adjustments. Subordinates include everyone reporting up to a person in the forecast hierarchy. This amount is visible only on reports.

Answers

Answers is a feature of the Community application that enables users to ask questions and have community members post replies. Community members can then vote on the helpfulness of each reply, and the person who asked the question can mark one reply as the best answer.

Apex Connector Framework

The Apex Connector Framework is a set of classes and methods in the DataSource namespace for creating a custom adapter for Salesforce Connect. Create a custom adapter to connect to data that's stored outside your Salesforce org when the other available Salesforce Connect adapters aren't suitable for your needs.

AppExchange

The AppExchange is a sharing interface from Salesforce that allows you to browse and share apps and services for the Force.com platform.

Custom S-Control

Note: S-controls have been superseded by Visualforce pages. After March 2010 organizations that have never created s-controls, as well as new organizations, won't be allowed to create them. Existing s-controls will remain unaffected, and can still be edited. Custom Web content for use in custom links. Custom s-controls can contain any type of content that you can display in a browser, for example a Java applet, an Active-X control, an Excel file, or a custom HTML Web form.

Console Layout

Objects chosen by an administrator to display in the list view frame of the Agent console. For example, if an administrator adds cases to a console layout, then users whose profiles are assigned to that console layout can see list views of cases in the console's list view frame.

Administrator (System Administrator)

One or more individuals in your organization who can configure and customize the application. Users assigned to the System Administrator profile have administrator privileges.

Custom Links

Custom links are URLs defined by administrators to integrate your Salesforce data with external websites and back-office systems. Formerly known as Web links.

Custom Object

Custom records that allow you to store information unique to your organization.

Bulk API

The REST-based Bulk API is optimized for processing large sets of data. It allows you to query, insert, update, upsert, or delete a large number of records asynchronously by submitting a number of batches which are processed in the background by Salesforce. See also SOAP API.

Custom Settings

Custom settings are similar to custom objects and enable application developers to create custom sets of data, as well as create and associate custom data for an organization, profile, or specific user. All custom settings data is exposed in the application cache, which enables efficient access without the cost of repeated queries to the database. This data can then be used by formula fields, validation rules, flows, Apex, and the SOAP API. See also Hierarchy Custom Settings and List Custom Settings.

Cookie

Client-specific data used by some Web applications to store user and session-specific information. Salesforce issues a session "cookie" only to record encrypted authentication information for the duration of a specific session.

Clone

Clone is the name of a button or link that allows you to create a new item by copying the information from an existing item, for example, a contact or opportunity.

Connect for Outlook

Connect for Outlook is retired. The product was our legacy sync add-in for Microsoft® Outlook® 2007 and earlier.

Decimal Places

Parameter for number, currency, and percent custom fields that indicates the total number of digits you can enter to the right of a decimal point, for example, 4.98 for an entry of 2. Note that the system rounds the decimal numbers you enter, if necessary. For example, if you enter 4.986 in a field with Decimal Places of 2, the number rounds to 4.99. Salesforce uses the round half-up rounding algorithm. Half-way values are always rounded up. For example, 1.45 is rounded to 1.5. -1.45 is rounded to -1.5.

Data Encryption Keys

Platform Encryption uses data encryption keys to encrypt and decrypt data. Data encryption keys are derived on a key derivation server using keying material split between a per-release master secret and an organization-specific tenant secret stored encrypted in the database as a part of your organization. The 256-bit derived keys exist in memory until evicted from the cache.

Connect Offline

Product that allows salespeople to use Salesforce to update their data remotely, anywhere, anytime—totally unplugged.

Connect for Office

Product that allows you to integrate Salesforce with Microsoft® Word and Excel.

Encryption Key Management

Refers to all aspects of key management, such as key creation, processes, and storage. Tenant secret management is performed by administrators or users who have the "Manage Encryption Keys" permission, enabled from Setup by clicking Security Controls - Platform Encryption.

Salesforce Developers

The Salesforce Developers website at developer.salesforce.com provides a full range of resources for platform developers, including sample code, toolkits, an online developer community, and the ability to obtain limited Force.com platform environments.

Article Manager

Salesforce uses the term article manager to represent a specific type of user. Article managers can access the Article Management tab to create, edit, assign, publish, archive, and delete articles. Article managers are sometimes referred to as knowledge managers. Article managers require the "Manage Articles" user permission. The Article Management tab is not visible to users without "Manage Articles."

Collapsible Section

Sections on detail pages that users can hide or show.

Custom App

See App.

Approval Action

See Automated Actions.

App Menu

See Force.com App Menu.

Custom Report Type

See Report Type.

Batch Apex

The ability to perform long, complex operations on many records at a scheduled time using Apex.

App

Short for "application." A collection of components such as tabs, reports, dashboards, and Visualforce pages that address a specific business need. Salesforce provides standard apps such as Sales and Service. You can customize the standard apps to match the way you work. In addition, you can package an app and upload it to the AppExchange along with related components such as custom fields, custom tabs, and custom objects. Then, you can make the app available to other Salesforce users from the AppExchange.

Dashboard Builder

Dashboard builder is a drag-and-drop interface for creating and modifying dashboards.

Encrypted Data at Rest

Data that is encrypted when stored on disk. Salesforce supports encryption for fields stored in the database, documents stored in Files, Content Libraries, and Attachments, and archived data.

Database.com

Database.com is an enterprise cloud database from Salesforce.

Developer Pro Sandbox

Developer Pro sandboxes copy customization (metadata), but don't copy production data, into a separate environment for coding and testing. Developer Pro has more storage than a Developer sandbox. It includes a number of Developer sandboxes, depending on the edition of your production organization.

Developer Sandbox

Developer sandboxes copy customization (metadata), but don't copy production data, into a separate environment for coding and testing.

Email Alert

Email alerts are workflow and approval actions that are generated using an email template by a workflow rule or approval process and sent to designated recipients, either Salesforce users or others.

Encryption Key

Encryption keys are used by an encryption algorithm to convert plaintext values into ciphertext and back. Platform encryption uses the AES algorithm and 256-bit symmetric keys with a random IV (Initialization Vector) to encrypt and decrypt data stored at rest on the Salesforce platform.

Cascading Style Sheet (CSS)

Files that contain all of the information relevant to color, font, borders, and images that are displayed in a user interface.

Beta, Managed Package

In the context of managed packages, a beta managed package is an early version of a managed package distributed to a sampling of your intended audience to test it.

Data Encryption

The process of applying a cryptographic function to data that results in ciphertext. The platform encryption process uses symmetric key encryption and a 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm using CBC mode, PKCS5 padding, and a randomized, 128-bit initialization vector (IV) to encrypt field-level data and files stored on the Salesforce platform. Both data encryption and decryption occur on the application servers.

Data State

The structure of data in an object at a particular point in time.

Deploy

To move functionality from an inactive state to active. For example, when developing new features in the Salesforce user interface, you must select the "Deployed" option to make the functionality visible to other users. The process by which an application or other functionality is moved from development to production. To move metadata components from a local file system to a Salesforce organization. For installed apps, deployment makes any custom objects in the app available to users in your organization. Before a custom object is deployed, it is only available to administrators and any users with the "Customize Application" permission.

Connected User

When using the Salesforce adapter for Lightning Connect, the connected user is the user in the provider organization whose credentials are used to log in to the provider organization. The connected user's access to data in the provider organization affects which data can be accessed from within the subscriber organization.

Boolean Operators

You can use Boolean operators in report filters to specify the logical relationship between two values. For example, the AND operator between two values yields search results that include both values. Likewise, the OR operator between two values yields search results that include either value.