Building Salesforce Related List Views Using Criteria Across Objects

For many business professionals, a single object does not provide the necessary depth of information. In this post, I’ll show how to build and manage Salesforce related list views using criteria across objects.

I’ve been using CRM tools for over 20 years and each has its different approach to solving for the searching and mining of data.

The best tools are those that provide expansive and powerful search capabilities but not at the expense of complexity. It is hard to achieve that balance.

With the CRM tools that are available on the market today, organizations are leveraging them to track a wide variety of data that is interconnected to their client, prospect, customer, etc.

With that growing data set, there is an increased need to be able to mine that data; without complexity.

Salesforce Global Search Limitations

When I started using Salesforce about 4 years ago, I really liked the Salesforce Global Search facility that allowed me to search for any type of record in the database.

However, I was very disappointed to find there was no ability to search for records using criteria across multiple objects (i.e. search for all contacts in the database that are related to accounts in a specific industry).

Upon inquiry, I was directed to the report writer to perform searches that required criteria from more than one object.

Assuming the proper report types are in place, I was usually able to create the report to conduct what was originally just a search request.

There are two main challenges with using the Salesforce report writer to perform specific searches:

1. Most end users I know won’t be able to navigate the report writer and create the proper query for that type of search.
2. The report writer requires the end user to navigate to an entirely different area of Salesforce, separate from the object where the need for the search originated.

This inability to mine data easily and intuitively in the database inspired us to create Ascendix Search an advanced searching tool for Salesforce.

With the Cross Object Query Builder of the Ascendix Search app, you are able to generate a report tailored specifically to your needs.

How to Build Related List Views Using Ascendix Search

In this short video, you can see how the database is flattened and the templates are used to search within your Salesforce instance across custom objects:

In our example, we are looking for Contacts related to Accounts with an Annual Revenue greater or equal to 15 million.

1. Start by opening Ascendix Search which is located via the App Launcher or in the ribbon bar if your admin has made it available.
2. Choose Search for Contacts in the top menu.
3. Select the Back button from the bottom right and open the + below the Account Details section. This will let you add a new object.
4. Select your search criteria. In our case, will select ‘greater or equals’ and type ‘15,000,00’ in the field ‘Annual Revenue’.
5. Then click on Search in the bottom right of the interface. That is!

Ascendix Search Interface: Building Salesforce Related Lists

As you can see, it is super easy to build new searches.

Why Ascendix Search?

#1 Using Templates to “Flatten Out” the Database.

Using templates, the fields desired to conduct searches are represented logically on a form that allows the end-user to simply enter values in the fields both for the core object and for related objects as well.

#2 No Coding Required.

Add fields to existing templates or create new templates without programming or coding. We’ve made it simple so that this task does not require the participation of the administrator. They have enough requests on their plate already!

#3 Support of Core and Custom Objects.

The moment a new object is committed to the database, it is available within Ascendix Search to build searches.