Top Salesforce Winter ’25 Release Features for Admins & Developers

The Salesforce Winter ’25 release is approaching, and detailed release notes have been shared, providing an early look at the upcoming enhancements to your Salesforce environment.

In this post, we’ll explore the standout features in the SF Winter ’25 release for admins, developers, and users, highlighting how these updates can transform your Salesforce experience.

General Salesforce Winter ’25 Release Updates

Flexible Access to Custom Apps with the Salesforce Platform Login License

The Salesforce Platform Login license provides flexible access to custom apps built on the Salesforce Platform for internal users.

This license model eliminates the need for seat-based licenses by allowing you to pay based on daily unique logins, making it ideal for users who require infrequent or occasional access.

The Salesforce Platform Login license will be available starting October 15, 2024.

Increased Inbound Email Limit

To maintain optimal performance, Salesforce has introduced a limit on the number of inbound emails that can be queued after reaching your daily email limit.

The maximum number of emails that can be queued now matches your daily email rate limit. Once this limit is reached, any additional inbound emails will bounce.

Key Details:

• Daily Limit: The number of inbound emails you can receive is determined by your Salesforce licenses. For example, with 10 licenses, you can receive up to 10,000 inbound emails per day.
• Queuing Limit: After reaching the daily limit, inbound emails are queued for processing only if the failure response option on the email service is set to “Requeue Message.” Once the number of queued emails also reaches the daily limit (e.g., 10,000 emails), further inbound emails will bounce.

Action Required:

It’s recommended that you review your email services and ensure the “Requeue Message” failure response option is used only for high-priority services to minimize disruptions.

SF Winter ’25 Release Features for Salesforce Administrators

Add Calculated Fields to Your Lightning Reports with Einstein Generative AI

Customizing reports to meet your business needs is now easier with Einstein Report Formula Generation. This feature leverages Einstein Generative AI to assist with the technical work of creating row-level and summary formulas.

Simply describe the calculation you need in plain language, and Einstein will analyze the relevant data, suggest an appropriate formula, and handle the complex details.

Previously, creating formulas required deep knowledge of data models, objects, fields, functions, and the constraints of data and formula types.

How to Enable and Use:

Enable Einstein:

• In Setup, use the Quick Find box to enter Einstein Setup and select it.
• Enable the option to Turn on Einstein.

Create Formulas in Reports:

• While editing a report, go to the Fields panel and select Create Formula.
• Alternatively, use the Columns menu to select Add Summary Formula or Add Row-Level Formula.

If the Einstein formula is good, click Insert Formula and Einstein fills in all the fields.

Do More with Improved View of Custom Report Types (Beta)

The improved Custom Report page in Setup now offers enhanced features to help you manage your report types more effectively. With a more compact layout and additional functionality, you can easily find and create personalized list views of your custom report types.

The redesigned report type layout editor provides greater flexibility, allowing you to manage custom fields and sections more efficiently. Additionally, you can now add up to 1,000 fields in the report type layout using lookup fields.

How to Access:

Prerequisites: In Setup, use the Quick Find box to enter and select Reports and Dashboards Settings. Enable the Enhanced Custom Report Type Setup Page (Beta) option.

• In the Quick Find box, search for and select Report Types.

• On the summary page of your custom report type, click Edit Layout.

• Use the Fields panel to drag and drop fields into the appropriate sections.
• In the report section, search for fields, adjust their placement, view details, and customize their display names.
• To add fields using lookups, click Lookup Fields and add them to your report type.
• This update provides a more powerful and flexible way to manage and customize your report types, making your reporting process smoother and more efficient.

Make Inline Edits with the Enhanced User List View

The Enhanced User List View allows you to view, sort, and filter user records in a list format while directly making inline edits to new entries.

This feature simplifies the process of updating and modifying user records by eliminating the need to navigate away from the list view.

How to Enable and Use:

1. In Setup, use the Quick Find box to enter User Management Settings.
2. Select User Management Settings and enable the Enhanced User List View option.
3. Navigate to Users to access the enhanced list view.

This update makes managing user records more intuitive and efficient, allowing for quick modifications directly from the list view.

Get Insight into How User’s Permissions Are Granted

Managing user permissions is now more straightforward with enhanced visibility into the sources of a user’s permissions. You can easily see which profile, permission sets, and permission set groups grant specific permissions to a user.

This includes details on assigned Object, Field, User, and Custom permissions, all accessible through the User Access Summary. Previously, identifying the origin of a user’s permissions required multiple queries or steps.

Now, this information is available with just a few clicks.

How to Access:

• In Setup, use the Quick Find box to enter Users and select it.
• Choose a specific user and click View Summary.
• To see how a particular permission was granted, click the row-level action next to the permission and select Access Granted By.

This update streamlines the process of understanding and managing user permissions, providing administrators with clearer insights and reducing the effort required for troubleshooting.

See How Object Access Is Granted in Object Manager

The new Object Access Summary in Object Manager provides a comprehensive view of the permission sets, permission set groups, and profiles that grant access to an object, along with the specific level of access granted.

This read-only summary allows you to quickly review object permissions, making it easier to troubleshoot issues, complete permission reviews, or determine how to grant user access.

How to Access:

1. In Setup, navigate to Object Manager.
2. Select the object you wish to review.
3. In the sidebar, click Object Access.

Configure Record Highlights in Lightning App Builder

With the new Dynamic Highlights Panel, you can now configure the most important fields directly within the Lightning App Builder, streamlining the process of setting up your record pages.

Unlike the previous method, where you had to use compact layouts in Setup, the Dynamic Highlights Panel allows you to add up to 12 fields, giving you more flexibility and control.

Key Features:

• Directly add and configure key fields using the Dynamic Highlights Panel component in the Lightning App Builder.
• The panel automatically adjusts to different screen sizes, ensuring that information remains visible and wraps rather than being truncated.
• Customize when fields are shown or hidden based on specific criteria.
• Modify the actions that appear in the panel, with dynamic actions enabled by default.
• Compatible with all objects that support Lightning Web Components (LWC).

How to Configure:

1. In the Lightning App Builder, drag the Dynamic Highlights Panel component onto the canvas.
2. Add fields to the panel. The Primary Field is preselected, but you can change it as needed.
3. Customize the visibility rules and actions according to your requirements.

Mobile Access:

While users can immediately see the Dynamic Highlights Panel on desktop, to make it visible on mobile record pages, you must enable it by navigating to Setup > Salesforce Mobile App > Dynamic Forms and Dynamic Highlights Panel on Mobile.

Make Records Fields Stand Out with Conditional Formatting

Conditional Formatting allows you to enhance record pages by applying custom icons and colors to fields, making it easier for users to quickly identify critical information.

This feature is available on Dynamic Forms-enabled pages in the Lightning App Builder. You can set conditions based on a field’s value or the values of other fields on the page, and have the formatting change dynamically as those conditions are met.

Key Features:

• Apply specific icons and color changes to fields based on defined criteria.
• Icons and colors can appear, disappear, or change based on the conditions you set.
• Conditions can be based on the field itself or other fields on the record page.
• Manage rulesets for an object using the new Conditional Field Formatting node in Object Manager.

Availability:

The functionality will be rolled out starting with pre-release and sandbox orgs in early September 2024.

How to Apply Conditional Formatting:

1. Open a Dynamic Forms-enabled record page in the Lightning App Builder.
2. Click the field you want to format on the canvas.
3. In the field’s property panel, use the Conditional Formatting section to assign an existing ruleset or create a new one.
4. Define the conditions that will trigger the formatting based on the field’s value or the values of other fields on the page.

How to Manage Rulesets:

To view, edit, or delete rulesets for an object, navigate to the Conditional Field Formatting node in Object Manager.

Add a Description for Public Groups

You can now add a brief description to public groups when creating or editing them, helping clarify their purpose or function.

This enhancement improves the organization and management of public groups, making it easier for administrators and users to understand the role of each group.

How to Add a Description:

1. In Setup, use the Quick Find box to enter Public Groups and select it.
2. To create a new public group, click New. To edit an existing group, select the group from the list.
3. In the Description field, enter a brief summary of the group’s purpose or function.
4. Save your changes.

SF Winter ’25 Release Updates for Developers

Track Apex Unexpected Exceptions with Free-Tier Event Monitoring

You can now use free-tier access to Event Monitoring to track unhandled exceptions in Apex code execution, providing an alternative to relying solely on unhandled exception emails.

By leveraging this feature, you can troubleshoot your Apex code more effectively by analyzing detailed information captured in event log files specific to the Apex Unexpected Exception event type.

Key Benefits:

• Gain deeper insights into unhandled exceptions by reviewing event logs, and helping you identify and resolve issues in your Apex code.
• Move beyond email alerts by utilizing event logs to track and analyze unexpected exceptions.
• Access this valuable monitoring capability without additional cost, making it accessible to all Salesforce users.

How to Use:

1. 1. Ensure that Event Monitoring is enabled in your Salesforce org.
   2. Navigate to the Event Log Files and search for logs related to the Apex Unexpected Exception event type
   3. Use the detailed information in the event logs to investigate and troubleshoot unhandled exceptions in your Apex code.

Create LWCs with TypeScript

Salesforce now offers a developer preview that allows you to author new Lightning Web Components (LWCs) using TypeScript. This enhancement aims to improve developer productivity and code quality.

Additionally, existing JavaScript-based LWCs can be converted to TypeScript, expanding the flexibility and maintainability of your projects. Previously, only JavaScript was supported for LWC development.

Important Note:

TypeScript support for LWCs is currently available as a developer preview. It is not generally available, and features may change or be deprecated without notice.

As such, it’s recommended not to implement critical functionality using this support until Salesforce officially announces its general availability.

How to Configure TypeScript Support:

Install TypeScript: Ensure that TypeScript v5.4.5 or later is installed in your environment.

Set Up Your Project:

1. Include a tsconfig.json file in your LWC project.
2. In the compilerOptions section of tsconfig.json, set target to “ESNext”.
3. Ensure that the experimentalDecorators compiler option is either unset or set to false.

Configure Module Resolution:

1. LWC module resolution differs from TypeScript module resolution. You need to configure the paths compiler option in your tsconfig.json.
2. For every LWC module used in your project, include a record in the paths configuration that maps each module to its corresponding file.
3. If you are working on a Salesforce DX project, the Lightning Language Server extension for VS Code automatically handles this configuration.

Understand SOQL Error and Functionality Changes to Update Your Code

Recent updates may impact existing Apex code that depends on outdated SOQL error messages and functionality. This is particularly relevant if your code includes dynamic SOQL that parses error messages.

It’s essential to review these changes to ensure your code continues to function correctly.

Review all the new error messages in SOQL queries here.

Updates to Lightning Web Components

Recent updates to several Lightning Web Components focus on enhancing both functionality and accessibility. These improvements are designed to deliver a more refined user experience while ensuring greater compliance with accessibility standards.

Key Updates:

lightning-datatable:

• Improved Error Handling: Validation errors now appear directly on the cell being edited, rather than across the entire table, providing a more focused and user-friendly experience.
• Enhanced Header Wrapping: The wrap-table-header attribute now accepts string values such as all, none, and by-column, giving you more control over how table headers wrap.

lightning-helptext:

• Accessibility Enhancements: The lightning-helptext component now supports tooltip launching via both mouse clicks and keyboard interactions, improving usability for all users.

lightning-input:

• New Validity Error: A badNumericInput validity error has been introduced for number inputs, ensuring better validation.
• Date Input Improvements: Date inputs now display the required format below the field, and error messages for date-related inputs have been enhanced to include the expected date format, improving clarity for users.

lightning-record-form, lightning-record-edit-form, and lightning-record-view-form:

• Salesforce Event Object Support: These components now support Salesforce Event objects, although certain recurrence and reminder fields are not rendered.

lightning-modal:

• Accessibility Improvement: The lightning-modal component now features a white background fill for its close icon, ensuring compliance with contrast ratio requirements and enhancing visibility.

SF Winter ’25 Release Updates for Salesforce Flows

Create or Update Records Efficiently with the Create Records Element

The Create Records element in Flow Builder has been enhanced to streamline the process of creating or updating records based on whether a specified field value already exists in the database.

This update simplifies and speeds up the record-saving process by combining the create and update operations into a single element.

As a result, you can configure and maintain your flow more easily, reducing the risk of errors that might occur from handling these operations separately.

With the Create Records element, your sales team can automatically determine whether to create a new record or update an existing one, ensuring data is always current without manual intervention.

How to Implement:

1. In Flow Builder, drag and drop the Create Records element onto your flow canvas.
2. For How Many Records to Create, select Multiple and choose the relevant record collection.
3. Enable the Update Existing Records option to allow the flow to check if a record with the specified field value already exists.
4. Define the conditions that will determine whether the record should be created or updated.
5. Configure options for processing remaining records if one fails to update or create successfully.

Select Multiple Choices with the Choice Lookup Component

The Choice Lookup component in Flow Builder has been enhanced to allow for either single or multiple selections, up to 25 options. This new flexibility makes it easier to adapt the component to various business processes.

Previously, multiple selections through a lookup field were only possible using the Lookup component, but now you can achieve this functionality with the Choice Lookup component as well.

How to Implement:

1. In Flow Builder, add a Screen element to your flow and drag the Choice Lookup component onto the screen.
2. In the component’s properties, set the Let Users Select Multiple Options option to Yes.
3. Add the relevant choice resources to the component, allowing users to select from the available options.

Provide a Better Screen Flow Experience with Action Buttons (Generally Available)

The Action Button component in Flow Builder allows users to trigger screen actions directly with a button click, running an active auto launched flow and displaying the results on the same screen.

This feature reduces the number of screens required, enabling users to complete screen flows more quickly and with fewer errors.

Now generally available, the Action Button component includes several improvements since its last release.

Key Improvements:

• Running Indicator: A new indicator appears in the action button to inform users that the screen action is in progress.
• Dynamic Input and Output Variables: If you update the input or output variables of the auto launched flow, you can refresh the action’s inputs and outputs without needing to refresh the browser or the flow.
• In Progress Output: The new “In Progress” screen action output allows you to reference the status of the screen action elsewhere in the flow. For example, you can disable another screen component while the screen action is running.
• System Context Notification: If the auto launched flow runs in the system context, a notification is provided to help you secure your data appropriately.
• Conditional Button Disablement: You can disable the action button based on criteria defined using a Boolean resource.
• Accessibility Enhancements: Multiple updates improve the screen reader experience during both design time and run time.

How to Implement:

1. Create and Activate an Autolaunched Flow that retrieves data and stores it in one or more output variables.
2. Add a Screen element to your flow.
3. Include an Action Button component on the screen and configure it to launch the autolaunched flow you created.
4. Add another component to the screen, such as a Data Table, that uses the output of the autolaunched flow.

Salesforce Winter ’25 Release Updates for Sales Cloud

Show Sales Reps Seller Home in More Places

Expand the availability of the Seller Home page to any standard or custom Salesforce app, giving sales users a comprehensive overview of their opportunities, accounts, leads, contacts, and daily agenda.

By applying the Seller Home template as the default home page for your app in Lightning App Builder, you can help sales team members start their day with a complete view of their business.

Previously, Seller Home was limited to only a few standard apps.

How to Implement:

1. Open Lightning App Builder: Navigate to Lightning App Builder and select the app where you want to implement the Seller Home template.
2. Apply the Seller Home Template: Set the Seller Home template as the default home page for the app.
3. Publish the Changes: Once configured, publish the changes so that sales team members can access the enhanced home page immediately.

Optimize Your Strategic Planning with Account Plans

Account Plans in Salesforce enable you to strategically nurture existing relationships and grow key accounts.

This feature provides a centralized repository within Salesforce to research and analyze accounts, set actionable objectives, and monitor growth and development.

With Account Plans, you can maximize revenue potential while aligning your efforts with your customer’s goals and challenges.

Account Plans provide a structured approach to strategic account management, allowing you to:

• Track and analyze opportunities within key accounts.
• Create SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analyses.
• Capture customer needs and market dynamics.
• Focus on clear, measurable objectives with actionable metrics.
• Visualize key stakeholders using relationship maps.

Availability:

• Release Timeline: Available in production on a rolling basis after the Winter ’25 release, with full availability by October 29, 2024.
• Sandbox Access: Accessible in sandboxes only after the feature is live in production. To see the feature in sandboxes, use the Match Production Licenses tool or request a sandbox refresh post-release

How to Implement:

1. In Setup, navigate to the new Account Plans page and enable the feature.
2. Go to Object Manager and configure the Account Plans object as needed.
3. Add the Account Plans related list to the Account object.
4. Set up Relationship Maps to visualize key stakeholders and their connections within the account.

Assign Opportunity Splits to Territories

Sales teams can now assign Opportunity Splits and Opportunity Product splits to specific territories, enabling a more detailed analysis of how different territories contribute to overall sales.

Previously, splits were only associated with the parent opportunity’s territory. This enhancement allows teams to generate reports that highlight each territory’s contribution to closing deals, as well as to forecast based on split amounts across various territories.

Key Benefits:

• Enhanced Reporting: Opportunity splits reports now include the Split Territory and Split Territory Description fields, providing clarity on the contributions of different territories.
• Improved Field Names: The fields previously named Territory and Territory Description in certain reports are now renamed to Opportunity Territory and Opportunity Territory Description to clearly indicate their relevance to the opportunities.
• Better Forecasting: Sales teams can forecast more accurately by analyzing split data across different territories.

How to Implement:

1. Go to the page layouts for Opportunity Splits and Opportunity Product Splits.
2. Add the Split Territory field to the multi-line page layouts.

Capture Forecasts at a Point in Time with Forecast Submissions

Forecast submissions allow sales reps and managers to capture a snapshot of their best estimate of revenue or quantities expected to close during a forecast period.

Typically submitted weekly, these submissions provide a point-in-time view of the forecast, enabling management to compare the current forecast with previously submitted numbers and quotas.

This comparison helps ensure that forecasts are up to date and provides valuable insights into any discrepancies, thereby improving the overall accuracy of the forecast for the sales team and the business.

Key Benefits:

• Snapshot View: Capture a snapshot of the forecast at the time of submission for more accurate tracking and comparison.
• Informed Forecasting: Compare current forecasts against submitted numbers and quotas to identify discrepancies and refine the forecast.
• Enhanced Reporting: Include forecast submission data in reports using the ForecastingSubmission object.

How to Implement:

1. Go to the Forecast Settings page in Setup and turn on Forecast Submissions.
2. Sales reps and managers can use the icons in the forecast summary to capture and submit their forecasts for the period and review or resubmit forecasts from their own past submissions or those of their subordinates.
3. Use the ForecastingSubmission object to include forecast submission data in your reports for deeper analysis.

Important Note: Forecast submissions are only available for forecast types that do not include product families or other forecast groups.

Salesforce Winter ’25 Release Updates for Service Cloud

Discover More Service Capabilities with My Service Journey (Beta)

My Service Journey (Beta) is a new tool designed to help you enhance your Service Cloud implementation by exploring various service areas and capabilities. Whether you want to improve your Help Site, optimize the Agent Console, or explore new features,

My Service Journey allows you to filter and discover capabilities based on your business goals, Salesforce edition, new features, Einstein capabilities, and more.

How to Access and Use:

1. Access My Service Journey from the App Launcher.
2. For easier access, add My Service Journey to your console app’s navigation menu. This allows you to pin capabilities as tabs, making it quicker to return to them as needed.
3. Use the Capability Navigator within My Service Journey to preview, review, and learn more about the available service features, all without leaving the tool.

Add a Description for Queues

You can now add a description when creating or editing a queue in Salesforce. This feature allows you to provide a brief summary of the queue’s purpose, function, or any other relevant information, making it easier for users and administrators to understand the role of each queue.

How to Add a Description

1.  In Setup, use the Quick Find box to enter Queues, and then select Queues.
2. To create a new queue, click New. To edit an existing queue, select the queue from the list.
3. In the Queue Description field, enter a brief summary of the queue’s purpose or function.
4. After adding the description, save your changes.

Winter ’25 Release Updates for Pardot (MC Account Engagement)

Find and Merge Duplicate Prospect Records

Maintain a clean and accurate database by using the duplicate prospect tool in Salesforce Optimizer. This tool helps you identify and merge duplicate prospect records, ensuring that your marketing team works with the most up-to-date and accurate information.

How to Use the Duplicate Prospect Tool:

1. In Salesforce, navigate to Optimizer to begin the process.
2. Use the duplicate prospect tool to scan your database for potential duplicate records.
3. Once duplicates are identified, review the records and merge them to create a single, comprehensive prospect profile.

Pause or Cancel Permanent Prospect Deletions

You now have greater control over bulk prospect deletion requests with the ability to pause, resume, or cancel them using the Table Action Manager.

This feature applies to deletion requests initiated through both the API and the UI, providing flexibility and control over large-scale data management tasks.

Previously, these deletion actions could not be paused or resumed directly from the UI.

How to Use:

1. Initiate Deletion Request: Start a bulk prospect deletion request from either the API or the UI.
2. Manage Deletion Requests: If you need to temporarily halt the deletion process, use the Table Action Manager to pause the request. Once ready, you can resume the paused deletion process. If the deletion request should be stopped permanently, use the Table Action Manager to cancel it.

Final Words

In this post, we’ve highlighted the standout features of the Salesforce Winter ’25 release, which are set to enhance the experience for users, admins, and developers alike by providing greater flexibility and efficiency.

We’re eager to hear about your experiences with these updates. Have you discovered any other noteworthy features in this release? Your insights are invaluable to us and the broader Salesforce community, so please share your thoughts and findings in the comments below.

If you need assistance with any of the following:

• Navigating new release features
• Salesforce audits and system troubleshooting
• Salesforce optimization and customization
• Complex system integration
• Custom AppExchange app development

Book a free consulting call with us, and together we’ll find the best solution for your needs.