Glossary
Salesforce & CRM glossary
54 key terms and acronyms from across Salesforce & CRM certifications, in plain English. Definitions are simplified for learning; the official exam outlines are authoritative.
- Agentforce
- Salesforce's AI agent layer that administrators set up and govern.
- App
- A collection of tabs and items grouped for a set of users.
- AppExchange
- Salesforce's marketplace for installable apps and components.
- Approval process
- An automated route for records to be approved or rejected by people.
- Autolaunched flow
- A Flow with no UI, started by another process such as another Flow.
- Case
- A customer issue or request tracked through to resolution.
- Change set
- A package of metadata moved between related orgs (e.g. sandbox to production).
- Custom object
- An object you create to store data specific to your business.
- Dashboard
- A visual summary built from one or more reports.
- Data Import Wizard
- The built-in tool for importing standard objects up to a row limit, with matching.
- Data Loader
- A client app for importing, updating and deleting large data volumes and all objects.
- Declarative
- Building with point-and-click configuration rather than writing code.
- Duplicate / matching rule
- Rules that detect and prevent duplicate records.
- Einstein
- Salesforce's built-in AI features for predictions and assistance.
- Field
- A single piece of data on a record; its field type sets what it can hold.
- Flow
- Salesforce's declarative automation tool for building business processes.
- Formula field
- A read-only field calculated per record from other fields at read time.
- Junction object
- A custom object with two master-detail relationships, creating a many-to-many.
- Lead
- A potential customer not yet qualified; converts into account, contact and opportunity.
- Lightning App Builder
- The drag-and-drop tool for building app, home and record pages.
- Lightning Platform
- Salesforce's low-code platform for building apps with clicks and, when needed, code.
- List view
- A saved, filtered list of records for an object.
- Lookup relationship
- A loose link between two objects; the child can exist without the parent.
- Maintenance module
- The free Trailhead module that keeps a credential active each release.
- Managed package
- A versioned, upgradeable package, typically distributed via the AppExchange.
- Master-detail relationship
- A tight parent-child link with ownership, cascade delete and roll-up summaries.
- Object
- A table of records. Standard objects ship with Salesforce; custom objects you create.
- Opportunity
- A potential sale tracked through stages of the sales process.
- Org
- A single Salesforce instance (organisation) with its own data, configuration and users.
- Organisation-wide defaults (OWD)
- The baseline record visibility per object (Private, Public Read Only, Public Read/Write).
- Page layout
- Controls field and section arrangement, and related lists, on a record.
- Permission set
- Extra permissions granted on top of a profile, assigned to many users.
- Permission set group
- A bundle of permission sets assigned together for a job function.
- Production org
- The live org your users work in day to day.
- Profile
- A user's baseline set of permissions and access, assigned one per user.
- Programmatic
- Building with code (Apex, Lightning Web Components); outside this exam's focus.
- Queue
- A holding location that routes records like cases or leads to a team.
- Record
- A single row of data, such as one account, contact or case.
- Record page
- A Lightning page that lays out a single record's details and components.
- Record type
- A variant of an object with its own picklist values and business process.
- Record-triggered flow
- A Flow that runs automatically when a record is created, updated or deleted.
- Report type
- The template defining which objects and fields a report can use.
- Role
- A position in the role hierarchy that opens record access upward to managers.
- Role hierarchy
- The structure that grants managers access to their subordinates' records.
- Roll-up summary field
- A field on a master-detail parent that aggregates child records (COUNT, SUM, MIN, MAX).
- Sandbox
- A copy of an org used to build and test safely, separate from production.
- Scheduled flow
- A Flow that runs on a set schedule.
- Screen flow
- A Flow that guides a user through screens to collect or show data.
- Sharing rule
- A rule that opens records sideways to groups beyond the role hierarchy.
- Standard object
- A built-in object such as Account, Contact or Opportunity.
- Tab
- A navigation entry that exposes an object, page or web content in an app.
- Trailhead
- Salesforce's free online learning platform and certification prep.
- Unmanaged package
- A one-time bundle of metadata that the recipient then owns and edits.
- Validation rule
- A rule that blocks a save when data does not meet a condition.