Winter ’17 Features in Both Lightning Experience & Salesforce Classic

The list of Winter ’17 features below only apply to both Lightning Experience and Salesforce Classic.

There are additional Winter ’17 features available to Lightning Experience only or Salesforce Classic only. Visit the Winter ’17 Release Highlights post.

1.Process Builder enhancements:

This is HUGE, y’all…Create a process that can be invoked from another process! With invocable processes, you can reuse certain processes. Build the invocable process once and call it from multiple processes or from multiple criteria nodes within the same process.

View processes and invocable processes in one place using the Process Type column.

Ability to access Owner Fields, not just OwnerID, from Process Builder. You can now reference the email or name of a case’s owner.

(PILOT) Access encrypted data in custom formula fields, flows, and process builder. You can reference encrypted fields in formulas with & (Concatenate), isBlank, isNull and spanning relationships. You can access encrypted data from most elements in flows and Process Builder, except filtering or sorting records.

2. Visual Workflow enhancements:

(BETA) Ability to run flows with a Lightning skin rather than Classic.

(BETA) Display flow screens in two columns

(PILOT) Access encrypted data in custom formula fields, flows, and process builder. You can reference encrypted fields in formulas with & (Concatenate), isBlank, isNull and spanning relationships. You can access encrypted data from most elements in flows and Process Builder, except filtering or sorting records.

3. Global picklist or custom picklist enhancements:

(Generally Available) Streamline picklist maintenance with Global Picklists. Global picklists are always restricted, so global picklist data is always clean. Users or the API cannot add additional picklist values. This is done via the Picklist Value Sets function in setup.
Create and manage global picklist value sets from either Classic or Lightning Experience user interface. Previously, this could only be managed in Salesforce Classic.
Make a local custom picklist dependent on a local custom picklist that uses a global value set. Previously, it was not possible to do afield-level replace on shared picklists.
Ability to switch a custom picklist that uses a global value set from multi-select to single-select, or vice versa, in the user interface.
Ability to de- or re-activate unrestricted picklist values. Previously, you needed to delete values first.
Make any custom picklist field required.
Increased 255 character limit for standard, multi-select picklists
Updated UI labels for picklists

Streamlined Metadata API for picklists

4. Enhancements to the Contacts to Multiple Accounts functionality:

Indirectly relate person accounts to business accounts by adding the Related Accounts related list to the person account page layout.
Triggers and validation rules are now supported for the Account Contact Relationship object.
For those using Community Builder templates, Account-contact relationships can now be viewed, created, and edited.

5. Take ownership of multiple leads from a queue at one time. From the queue, select up to 200 leads to assign via the Accept button.

6. Customization enhancements:

The number of unique relationships per object has been increased from 10 to 15.
When you create a new permission set, you can immediately associate it with an available permission set license.

Permission set list enhanced to display the permission set license associated to a permission set

Since Lightning component actions are now added to the page layout, the Salesforce1 actions section has been renamed to Salesforce1 & Lightning Actions.
Salesforce newsletter options removed from the user page layout.

7. Security enhancements:

Sharing: More Granular and Efficient Recalculation
Object-specific share locks allow admins to make changes to sharing rules for multiple objects simultaneously.
(PILOT) Update Org-Wide Defaults with Asynchronous Parallel Recalculation. Recalculation of OWD is processed asynchronously and in parallel.
Login password-free with Lightning Login: Users with the “Lightning Login User” permission can set up Lightning Login. This feature requires the use of the Salesforce Authenticator (version 2 or later). On the user’s Advanced User Details page, the user clicks the Enroll link to prompt a notification on the user’s mobile device. A tap to approve and a fingerprint or PIN to authenticate completes the enrollment. Enrolled users can login using only their username, skipping the password field and clicking login on their mobile device. They can still login with their username/password on a non mobile device.

Note: Lightning Login is generally available as of October 15, 2016. Before then, it’s not available in sandboxes.

Users can use a U2F security key to verify their identity instead anytime they’re challenged to verify their identity, instead of using Salesforce Authenticator or one-time passwords sent by email or SMS, but rather users insert their U2F security key into a USB port to complete verification.

This feature can be enabled via Session Settings by checking the feature “Let users use a security key (U2F).

On the user’s Advanced User Details page, clicking the Register link will prompt the user to log in and insert a U2F security key into the computer’s USB port. A tap of the button (if the security key has a button) will complete the registration. Is the user is without their security key, they can still use the Salesforce Authenticator, any previously registered verification method that generates a verification code, or a temporary verification code generated by an admin.

Restrict location-based automated verifications with Salesforce Authenticator.
There are now new options to restrict the use of location-based automated verifications when users authenticate with Salesforce Authenticator. Previously, automated verification was allowed from all locations (this is the default). However, you can select to restrict use to trusted IP addresses only or to disable it completely under Session Settings.

Users can connect using a second one-time password generator app in addition to connecting with the Salesforce Authenticator. Users may prefer using either Salesforce Authenticator or a third-party app, such as Google Authenticator, on their mobile devices.

On the user’s Advanced User Details page, click on the Connect link next to App registration: One-Time Password Generator:

More ID token options for authenticating connected apps: you can now configure the ID token in the OAuth request.
Restrict custom lightning components to specific objects: You can restrict the component to certain objects when building a Lightning component bundle designed for use on Lightning pages by adding the new <sfdc:object> tag set to the .design file.
Logging in to a Salesforce server instance, such as na1.salesforce.com, now requires an HTTPS secure connection. Previously, HTTPS was required for logins via login.salesforce.com and custom domain URLs
Health Check enhancements:
- Instantly fix security risks in Health Check with one click “Fix Risks” feature to address your org’s security vulnerabilities in Login Access Policies, Password Policies, and Session Settings without leaving the Health Check page.
- You can now audit your certificate and key management settings in Health Check
- Limit users who can view and edit information on the Health Check page using the API with the permission “Manage Login Access Policies” and “Manage Password Policies” and “View Setup and Configuration” system permissions.

8. Development enhancements:

Within the Developer Console, you can rename test suites easily using the Test Suite Manager’s new Rename Suite button.
AppExchange is integrated into the Salesforce org. Admins can install items from the AppExchange without ever leaving your org.
Custom Metadata Type enhancements:
- (GA) Use relationship fields for custom metadata types to look up records of other custom metadata types.
- You can now easily navigate between related custom metadata records by creating list views with relationship fields.
- In addition to bulk loading custom metadata records using the custom metadata loader, you can now update existing records of a custom metadata type as well.
- When you delete a custom object referenced by a custom metadata type relationship lookup, setup will return an error with a link to the referencing custom metadata record. Previously, it showed a text lists of records.
- Deleted custom metadata type relationship fields can be restored, just like regular custom fields.
- There are limitations when querying custom metadata types using SOQL
  - You can’t use the ORDER BY clause on a relationship field.
  - SOQL and Setup (or Metadata API) queries sometimes behave differently.. SOQL queries will only return records that reference objects you have permission to access while queries via setup or metadata API will return all records, even those that reference objects you don’t permission to access.
  - SOQL limits apply when querying custom metadata types.
Monitor Platform Cache with diagnostic methods
Escape special characters in merge fields for apex callouts that use named credentials
New and changed apex classes, exceptions, and Interfaces
Use ConnectApi classes (Chatter in Apex) to flag inappropriate posts and comments or identify as spam, include rich text and inline images in your comments, provide article and file recommendations to guest users, and more.
Lightning Components: actions, events, styles, and security
API request limit calculation is simplified and there are 15,000 more calls per 24-hour period.
SOQL now gives you read access to name fields on foreign keys, even if you don’t have access to the referenced object.
SOSL includes support of snippets and highlighting for Case, CaseComment, FeedItem, FeedComment, Idea, and IdeaComment.
Bulk API: The daily batch limit has been increased to 10,000 for all orgs!

9. Shield Platform Encryption enhancements:

(GA) The Shield Platform Encryption Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) service gives you the option to generate and manage your own tenant secrets outside Salesforce as an option to the built-in Salesforce key management infrastructure.
(GA) Encrypt your search index: Prior to Winter 17, search results may still show data in plaintext even if the fields were encrypted since the search index itself wasn’t encrypted. Search Index Encryption runs automatically when Shield Platform Encryption is in use.
Shield Platform Encryption is now FedRAMP compliant. Government agencies can now use Shield Platform Encryption.
Pardot Connect can accept encrypted contact email addresses if your Pardot org allows multiple prospects with the same email address, provisioned after June 14, 2016 and your org uses Shield.
Lightning Outlook and Lightning Sync work with Shield. Users with the “view encrypted data” permission can see the encrypted data used in emails and events.
Shield works with the Shared Activity lookup field. You can encrypt the contact name and use the field in shared activity lookups to relate multiple contacts to specific events or tasks.
(PILOT) Access encrypted data in custom formula fields, flows, and process builder. You can reference encrypted fields in formulas with & (Concatenate), isBlank, isNull and spanning relationships. You can access encrypted data from most elements in flows and Process Builder, except filtering or sorting records.

10. Import My Accounts and Contacts Wizard is retired, use Data Import Wizard instead.

11. Deployment enhancements:

Apex test suites are available through the Metadata API, using the ApexTestSuite type. Create an Apex test suite once and deploy it and its test classes to each of your test environments.
Your quick-deploy time window has has expanded from 4 days to 10 days
Global Value Set (i.e. global picklist) is available as a change set component.

12. Search Enhancements:

Spell Correction for Custom Objects Searches: Users will see results that match a corrected spelling of the search term.
Person Account searches where the search terms appear in both business account and contact fields will now return person account records in the search results.
When you enable Shield Platform Encryption, you also get Search Index Encryption where search index files are encrypted using an org-specific AES-256 bit encryption key.
Knowledge article searches will highlight excerpts below the article titles that match the search terms.

13. Chatter enhancements:

Create report charts for records related to the Chatter group on standard Salesforce objects
Group managers can send emails and notifications to all group members, regardless of their email preferences. This was previously in BETA.

14. Ability to add contacts, person accounts and leads to and update campaign members using the Data Import Wizard in one source file.

15. New version of Data Loader, which supports Windows 7, Mac OS X El Capitan where TLS 1.0 is disabled and must use TLS 1.2. Windows XP and earlier versions of Mac OS X don’t fully support TLS 1.2.

16. Salesforce Connect enhancements:

Run reports on all data, regardless of where it’s stored, including external object records.
Users can switch between feed view and details view to view external object records.
The search results for external objects is no longer limited to 25 rows.

17. Field Service enhancements:

Manage the workforce with service resources, where you can manage a resource’s availability (territory, timeframes when the resource is not available to work), and expertise. Services appointment related list tracks the service appointments assigned to the resource.
Schedule work with service appointments, with the ability to specific scheduled and action service appointments.
Create and manage service territories, where you can set territory operation hours, assign resources to a territory, and create territory hierarchies.
Create custom report types to track field service records in your org.
Salesforce will calculate a street address’ latitude, longitude and location accuracy to certain types of field service records

18. Work Orders enhancements:.

Standardize your work orders with work types. Use work types to specify how long a task will take and what skills are needed to complete it. Then assign service appointments to the work order types.
Work orders now supported in Professional Edition orgs with the Service Cloud.
Article suggestions are now displayed with the work order based on the work order’s title and description.
(BETA) Create up to 50 criteria-based sharing rules for Work Orders
Work order hierarchies can now have up to 10,000 records. There are no longer any limits on hierarchy depth and width.
New status options on Work Orders

19. Social Customer Service enhancements:

Connect your company’s Instagram account directly to Service Cloud to track cases, and respond directly to customers.

20. Salesforce Knowledge enhancements:

New Knowledge Support REST APIs allow authorized and guest users to retrieve the user’s visible data categories and their associated articles.
Salesforce Knowledge functionality is now available in Professional Edition.