Force.com Platform Fundamentals

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Introducing Workflow Actions

When a workflow rule is triggered, its associated actions are executed.
Workflow Tasks
A workflow task assigns a task to a user according to a particular template.
Just as in Microsoft Outlook, tasks include information about something that needs to be done by a certain time, such as making a telephone call or returning a library book. Assigned tasks appear in a user's My Tasks related list on their Home tab and generate reminder messages that pop up when a user logs in.
When we define a workflow task, we provide default values for the Assignee, Subject, Status, Priority, and Due Date fields for tasks that are generated by an associated workflow rule. We can also make sure that a notification email is sent to the assignee when a task is automatically generated.
Workflow Field Updates
A workflow field update changes the value of a particular field on the record that initially triggered the workflow rule.
Cross-object field updates are also available for changing the values of fields on a related master record. For details and limitations, see “Understanding Cross-Object Field Updates” in the Salesforce Help.
Workflow Email Alerts
A workflow email alert sends an email according to a specified email template. Unlike workflow tasks, which can only be assigned to users of the app, workflow alerts can be sent to any user or contact, as long as they have a valid email address.

Additional actions are available. For example, a workflow outbound message sends data to an external Web service, such as another application in the cloud. Outbound messages are used primarily with application programming interfaces, so we won't be using them in this chapter. For information about more actions, see “Workflow and Approvals Overview” in the Salesforce Help.

Note

A workflow rule can include any combination of actions when the rule is triggered. For example, one rule might send out an alert and update two fields on a particular record. The action that one workflow rule takes can also trigger the execution of another workflow rule.