Salesforce, the world's leading CRM platform, is set to roll out its next big update - the Winter '24 Release. With an impressive 604 pages of release notes, the upcoming update promises to bring a plethora of new features and enhancements, aiming to elevate the Salesforce user experience to new heights. In this comprehensive review, we will delve into the key highlights of the Winter '24 update, revealing how these changes can impact your organization's Salesforce utilization.

SideKik, the smart Salesforce companion, can help you navigate the detailed Salesforce release notes and answer any queries about the newest features and configurations in the Winter '24 Release. Let's take a look at some high level highlights of the Winter Release.

1. Enhanced Permission Set Visibility

One of the most sought-after enhancements in the Winter '24 release is the improved visibility in Permission Sets. Salesforce users have long requested an easy way to view the permissions enabled in a permission set at a glance, and the upcoming update is set to deliver just that.

With Winter '24, you can access a comprehensive summary of all enabled object, user, and field permissions in a permission set via the new View Summary page. This feature is expected to drastically reduce the time admins and others spend trying to comprehend the functions of a specific permission set.

To access this feature, navigate to Setup → Permission Sets → Select the permission set you wish to view → Click View Summary (Beta).

2. Dynamic Forms General Availability on Mobile

The Winter '24 release also marks the general availability of Dynamic Forms for the mobile Salesforce app. Dynamic forms have revolutionized the way fields are arranged on a page, and their introduction to the mobile Salesforce app is a game-changer for admins and developers alike.

With dynamic forms, admins and developers can dynamically display or hide individual fields on a page and position fields anywhere on a lightning page layout. This feature also eliminates the need for record types in certain situations, thereby simplifying the user interface.

3. Custom Error Messages for Record-Triggered Flows

The Winter '24 update brings a significant improvement to Salesforce Flows. Previously, flow creators had to resort to workarounds to display an error message to users in a record-triggered flow. But with Winter '24, custom error messages can be displayed directly from a record-triggered flow using the new Custom Error element.

This new element allows you to select the error message to be displayed and specify whether the message should appear in a window on the record page or inline next to a field.

4. Mass Quick Actions on Related Lists

The Salesforce community is set to benefit greatly from another feature that becomes generally available in the Winter '24 release: mass quick action buttons on related lists. Prior to this release, quick action buttons for related lists had to be placed at the top of the record page in the actions bar, which was not particularly intuitive for users.

With Winter '24, mass quick actions can be added directly to a related list on a record page. To do this, simply edit the Lightning page, add or select Dynamic Related List - Single, choose Show list view action bar in the properties, and then click add action.

5. Dynamic Import and Instantiation of Lightning Web Components

For developers, the Winter '24 release brings enhanced flexibility to Lightning Web Components (LWCs). Developers can now dynamically import and instantiate LWCs, opening up opportunities for data-driven or property-driven LWC creation. This capability can help simplify code that would otherwise need to list out each possible component to create individually in if, else if branches.

To instantiate a component dynamically, simply use the import() function and pass in the name of the component as a string, like so: import("c/" + "myLittleComponent").

6. Custom CSS on Components in Enhanced LWR Sites

LWR sites, or sites using the lightning web runtime, are the future of Experience Cloud and continue to evolve with each Salesforce release. In Winter '24, admins can apply custom CSS classes to any component in their LWR site using the new Style tab's CSS class section in the component’s properties pane. This gives customers greater control over their site's styling, ensuring consistent branding.

7. Barcode Scanning in Field Service Mobile App

The Winter '24 release also brings a significant upgrade to the Field Service Mobile app. Field Service technicians can now scan barcodes using the app, speeding up data entry and reducing errors. This feature is especially beneficial for users in the field who primarily use mobile devices. To enable this, a Field Service developer must create a Lightning Web Component using the Barcode Scanner plugin and add it to the Field Service Mobile app. Please note that this feature currently only works for iOS.

8. Transaction Dispute Management in Financial Services Cloud

In the banking industry, transaction disputes are a common occurrence, and dealing with them can often be a complex process. The Winter '24 release introduces a new Transaction Dispute Management module in the Financial Service Cloud to help banks manage disputes more effectively. The module allows agents to quickly capture transaction disputes through an intake form, which can then be integrated with their core system. The intake form can be customized to better fit business needs, and for each intake submitted, a case, dispute, and assessment are created.

9. Nonprofit Cloud for Fundraising

The Winter '24 update also introduces the new Nonprofit Cloud for Fundraising app. The app includes many fundraising capabilities already familiar to nonprofits in the NPSP version, such as batch gift entry, campaign management, gift commitments, and transaction management, as well as some new functionality specific to the new Nonprofit Cloud.

10. Intelligence View for Contacts and Leads

Finally, the Winter '24 release brings a significant change to the user experience of navigating Salesforce tabs. Instead of taking users to a list view when navigating to the contacts or leads tab, users are now taken to an Intelligence View. This view helps users focus on which contacts need attention and which actions to take, without needing to sift through list views. If users prefer the old list views, they can easily return to them by clicking the List Views button on the top right of the intelligence view page.

Wrap Up

The Salesforce Winter '24 release is packed with exciting new features and improvements that promise to enhance the Salesforce experience for users, admins, and developers alike. From custom error messages in flows and mass quick actions on related lists to enhanced permissions visibility and dynamic forms on mobile, Salesforce continues to innovate and streamline its platform.

Use SideKik to quickly learn more about the newest features coming your way in the Winter '24 release!

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