Q: Pop quiz! One of these Custom Activity Formula Fields is syntactically correct, and the other produces an error. Which is which?
Option 1:
Option 2:
A: Highlight to show answer: Option 2 is syntactically correct. I don’t know why. AccountId is a perfectly legitimate system field on both Event and Task!
Q: Why doesn’t the installer for Data Loader on the Mac install automatically?
A: Nerd cred, I guess. It’s more badass to have to do manual things.
Anyway, if you’re on a Mac and you
. . . here’s what you should do:
1] control-click the folder with a name like dataloader_v62.0.2,
2] select “New Terminal at Folder” from the drop-down menu
3] copy the command below, paste it into the Terminal window, and press Return:
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine install.command
. . . and that should do it! The file named install.command has been unquarantined and should now run without further complaint.
props to this StackExchange post and this old Macworld forum post
Q: “I have lots of Salesforce logins. How do I make my username always match my email address?”
A: If you use Gmail, learn the power of pluses and periods!
Gmail tolerates extra characters in the email address. Let’s take the arbitrary email address datanerd@gmail.com. Emailing any of the following addresses will reach that recipient:
In a nutshell:
Armed with this knowledge, I make each of my usernames match its email address–way less mental strain that way!
Another awesome benefit of this feature is it enables easy searching of emails.
Let’s say I have an org called “NewKillerApp”. If I put +NewKillerApp in the username and email address I use for this org, searching on “+NewKillerApp” in my Gmail turns up all the emails specifically related to that org.
Here are the full details (. . . from a 2008 Google post)
Thanks to former coworker Luis Botero for reminding me of this cool feature!
Q: How do I stop Jira automatically setting me as a watcher every time I create or contribute to an issue?
A: In any Jira screen,
1] click your Account menu in the upper right-hand corner and choose “Personal Settings“:
2] In Personal Settings, change “Watch your issues” to “Disabled” and click the “Save changes” button:
that’s it!
plucked from this Jira support page.
Q: Can Salesforce Integration Licenses access Standard Objects like Accounts and Opportunities?
A: Yes, but only with some configuration weirdness!
To access Standard Objects, a userid with a Salesforce Integration License must be assigned to the right kind of Permission Set: the Permission Set’s “License” field must be set to
go figure.
thanks to Josh Dehkordi and Surya Kamkipati for their help sorting this out!
Q: How do I block browser advertisements without purchasing an ad blocker?
A: Adding entries to your HOSTS file enables you to block advertisements by blocking ad-servers’ domains. To install:
1] download the “hosts.zip” file from this website.
2] install it as follows:
For Windows PC: instructions on that page help you install the HOSTS file on your computer.
For MacOS: I copied the contents of the text file in hosts.zip, and added it to my Mac’s HOSTS file by
For Unix: heck if I know
Q: How do I view YouTube videos without participating in its toxic recommendation algorithm?
A: Three steps!
1] install Auto Incognito Mode in your browser
2] click the Auto Incognito Mode extension’s button (it looks like a hat and sunglasses) and select “Options” from the dropdown menu:
3] add the following two lines to the list of filters, then click the Save button:*://*.youtube.com/*
*://youtube.com/*
that’s it!
ps while we’re at it. . .
*://www.google.com/**://google.com/*All chapters of “Divorce Google”:
Has anyone tried this? Has it worked for you?
Yumi Ibrahimzade’s “Salesforce Time” blog floated a fascinating idea:
adding a zero-duration Pause Element to an Autolaunched Flow.
“By doing so,” Yumi writes, “this element will end the flow transaction, which will reset the flow limits.”
configuring that would look like this:
. . . I imagine this easily fixes a Flow that’s running into limit errors.
On the flip side, I could imagine this superficially fixing a Flow without addressing underlying problems.
I’d love to hear your experience! I hope to update this post after I get a chance to test.
If the prompt for the outbound ticket is “Select Your Trip”, there’s a lovely symmetry in captioning the return trip “Trip Your Select”!
Anyone else think it’s weird that Optimizer has been down for 3+ weeks, with no updates² since the original, obscure announcement on Salesforce’s Trust Site?
¹ Dangit, there’s a better headline to be had. Maybe an Optimus Prime joke?
² None that I’ve seen. Correct me if I’m wrong.
