CRM Hack #3: How to update formula functions for already created records.

CRM Hack #3: How to update formula functions for already created records.

Hello everyone!

 

It’s Wednesday and we are back with yet another hack.. 

 

I'm sure you've used formula fields to meet some requirements specific to your business. Let's consider an example each for external (customer-facing) and internal facing scenarios where you'd have used formula fields. 

 

i) You are an insurance company and have added a formula to determine the age of your customers to check eligibility for a particular policy. 

ii) You have over a hundred potentials and have created a formula to calculate the commission for your sales representative based on the amount in the potential and stage.

 

Now, in both these cases, you'd want to apply to the earlier records as well, right? Here's a simple hack that lets you do update the formula to the records already created.

 

1. Click on the tools icon at the top right corner and go to Setup.



2. Go to the module concerned, say Leads.




3 You'll find a list of new fields that can be used inside the layout on the left side panel. Select the check box, and drag and drop the field inside the layout and rename it appropriately and save the layout. 





4.Go to leads and select the records that are already available using the corresponding checkbox and click on the three dots at the top. Now,select mass update for the checkbox field that you created .



 




What happens now is a mass update of all the records triggering the formula action as well.


PS: Please note that you can only mass update up to 500 records at a time, by selecting 100 records and navigating to the next 5 pages thus selecting 500 in total.

 

 

Try this and let me know if it helped! Until next Wednesday!


PS: Edit to the post. Initially we had the option to update the formula field based on a field update, but this would update the formula field every time when a record is updated. Hence, now to update a formula field you have to make sure the field to be updated must be invoked with the formula field. Here is a example based on a user a requirement. I have a checkbox field called "Mass update check" In order for the formula field to update based on the checkbox field I have to invoke this field within the formula. Here is the formula with the "Mass update check" check box field invoked.

If(Tostring(${Candidates.Mass update check})=='true',Abs(Datecomp(${Candidates.Candidate Updated Time},${Candidates.Phone screen complete}))/24/60,0)

Check and let us know if you have any further clarification.





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