Harness the Power of Restriction Rules in Salesforce

Salesforce is known for its robust and flexible platform, allowing businesses to customize their CRM experience to suit their needs. One of the critical aspects of any CRM system is ensuring data visibility and access control. With the Winter ’22 Release, Salesforce introduced Restriction Rules, a new feature designed to help admins refine record visibility even further. In this blog, we’ll explore the concept of Restriction Rules, their application, and limitations. We’ll also provide a step-by-step guide to implementing them in Salesforce.

Related Read: Salesforce Workflow Rules

What are Restriction Rules?

Restriction Rules are a tool that enables Salesforce admins to limit the visibility of specific records for selected user groups. This feature provides an additional layer of control, allowing admins to restrict access even if the Organization-Wide Default (OWD) settings are set to Public Read or Public Read/Write. Restriction Rules essentially offer a more granular approach to data access control, ensuring the right users have access to the right information.

Supported Objects for Restriction Rules

Restriction Rules are applicable to these entities: Custom Objects, Contracts, Calendar Events, Tasks, Time Logs, and Time Log Entries. Once activated, Restriction Rules have implications on several Salesforce elements such as List Views, Lookup Fields, Related List, Reporting, Searches, and SOQL (Salesforce’s own Query Language)

Restriction Rules: Limitations & Considerations

There are some limitations and considerations to keep in mind when working with Restriction Rules:

• Enterprise Edition supports only two Restriction Rules per supported object, while Unlimited and Performance Editions allow up to five.
• Only specific data types can be used in the recordFilter and userCriteria fields of Restriction Rules. These include Boolean, Date, DateTime, Double, Int, Reference, String, and Time.
• The EQUALS operator is the only supported operator. Other operators, like AND, OR, etc., are not supported.
• Formulas are not supported in Restriction Rules.
• When migrating Restriction Rules between orgs using change sets, be mindful of org-specific IDs (e.g., role, record type, profile IDs) that may need to be updated in the target org.

Also read – What are Escalation Rules in Salesforce?

Guide to Setting Up Restriction Rules in Salesforce

Step 1: Begin by Opening the Object Manager and Selecting an Object

To begin, open the Object Manager in Salesforce and select the object you want to apply Restriction Rules to. This can be any custom object or a standard object such as Accounts, Contacts, or Opportunities.

Step 2: Next, navigate to Restriction Rules and opt for New Rules.

Next, navigate to the Restriction Rules section for the selected object and click on the “New Rules” button to create a new Restriction Rule.

Step 3: After that, key in your preferred Rule Name and tick the Active checkbox.

In the new Restriction Rule window, give the rule a name that describes its purpose. Then, select the “Active” checkbox to ensure the rule is activated and enforced.

Step 4: In the User Criteria section, pick the group of users to which this restriction rule will be applicable.

In the User Criteria section of the Restriction Rule, specify which users the rule applies to. You can choose to apply the rule to all users or limit it to specific roles or profiles.

Step 5: Under the Record Criteria section, specify which records the selected users can access and then hit Save.

Lastly, in the Record Criteria section, define the specific records to which the chosen users can have access. You can filter records based on a wide range of criteria, including record owner, record type, and custom fields. 

After you’ve finished configuring the settings, click the Save button to finalize and create the Restriction Rule.

By following these steps, you’ll be able to create Restriction Rules in Salesforce that give you granular control over data access for different user groups. 

Summing Up

Restriction Rules are an innovative addition to Salesforce’s extensive data visibility and access control features. By implementing Restriction Rules, admins can further tailor their Salesforce org’s data access to suit their organization’s specific needs, ensuring the right users have access to the right information. With the aid of this guide, you’re now well-prepared to utilize Restriction Rules to its fullest potential, thereby enriching your Salesforce experience.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are Salesforce restriction rules?

Restriction rules in Salesforce allow administrators to define who can’t see particular records of a custom object. This is a step beyond the usual permission sets and sharing settings. Instead of specifying who can see certain records, restriction rules specify who can’t see certain records based on conditions.

2. How many restriction rules are there in Salesforce?

In Enterprise and Developer editions, you can set a maximum of 2 active restriction rules for each object. However, in Performance and Unlimited editions, you can establish up to 5 active restriction rules for every object.

3. How to use restriction rules in Salesforce?

To use restriction rules in Salesforce:

1. Go to Setup and search for “Restriction Rules”.
2. Select the custom object and click “New Restriction Rule”.
3. Name and describe the rule.
4. Define criteria for record restriction.
5. Assign applicable profiles or permission sets.
6. Save and test the rule.

4. What is the real-time use case of restriction rules in Salesforce?

A real-time use case for restriction rules is in a company with multiple sales teams using a custom object to track leads. The company can use restriction rules to ensure each team cannot see the other teams’ leads, even though they all access the same custom object.

5. Why can’t I see restriction rules in Salesforce?

If restriction rules aren’t visible in Salesforce, consider these factors:

• Feature Availability: Check if your Salesforce edition supports this feature.
• Permissions: Ensure you have the “Customize Application” permission.
• Object Support: Restriction rules are typically for custom objects, not standard ones.
• User Interface Changes: Salesforce updates might alter the interface; consult the latest documentation or your admin for assistance.