Visualforce Developer Guide
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What is Salesforce Classic Mobile?
Salesforce Classic Mobile is a client application provided by Salesforce that allows users access to their data from an iPhone or Android mobile device. The Salesforce Classic Mobile client application exchanges data with Salesforce over wireless carrier networks, and stores a local copy of the user’s data in its own database on the mobile device. The data sent to the device is determined by a mobile configuration. Mobile configurations are sets of parameters that define a relevant subset of the user's Salesforce records.
A separate Salesforce Classic Mobile license is required for each user who uses a mobile device to access Salesforce. For organizations using Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions, Salesforce provides one mobile license for each Salesforce license. Organizations using Professional or Enterprise Editions must purchase mobile licenses separately.
Which Devices Can Run Salesforce Classic Mobile and Visualforce Mobile?
Salesforce Classic Mobile can run on most iPhone and Android devices.
What are the Capabilities and Limitations of the Mobile Application?
Salesforce Classic Mobile is a native client application with an embedded browser that can pass information between the client application and Visualforce pages. The embedded browser communicates with Salesforce using the device's internet connection; the native client application communicates with Salesforce asynchronously through the SOAP API. The embedded browser can execute JavaScript, but the native client application cannot.
- Available Objects
- Administrators can mobilize accounts, assets, contacts, opportunities, leads, tasks, events, price books, products, cases, solutions, and custom objects. Custom links, s-controls, mashups, merge fields, and image fields cannot be mobilized. The following do not execute in the mobile client application but will run server-side after a record is saved and submitted to Salesforce: workflow rules, validation rules, formula fields, and Apex triggers.
- Permissions, Record Types, and Page Layouts
- User permissions, record types, and page layouts are inherited from Salesforce. Administrators can optionally change the properties of a mobilized object by further restricting permissions of mobile users or excluding unnecessary fields from mobile page layouts.
- Related Lists
- If administrators mobilize a related object—in other words, add a child data set to a parent data set—the object automatically becomes a related list on the mobile device.
- Dashboards and Reports
- Reports are sent to the device in Excel format and display in a basic table. The report viewer in the mobile application does not support sorting, summaries, subtotals, or grouping.
- Custom List Views
- iPhone users can access custom views created by Salesforce administrators in the Mobile Administration Console. In the mobile application, custom views are limited to two columns.
- Visualforce Tabs and Web Tabs
- iPhone users can access Visualforce tabs and web tabs in the mobile client application if the tabs have been mobilized by a Salesforce administrator. Although the native client application lets users access data offline, Visualforce tabs and web tabs require a connection to the wireless network because the tabs are launched in an embedded browser.
When Should Visualforce Mobile Be Used?
The majority of popular consumer and enterprise mobile applications are client-side applications that require installation and periodically connect to a server to send and receive data. There are two main reasons why mobile client applications are so prevalent over mobile on-demand applications:
- Connection
- Mobile devices do not maintain a constant network connection. With a client application, users can work offline and still have uninterrupted access to their data.
- Speed
- Wireless data networks are still very slow. Client applications are highly responsive.
Visualforce Mobile provides a way to build custom interfaces and business logic for mobile devices, but developers should only turn to Visualforce Mobile when their needs cannot be met using the capabilities of the native client application. For example, developers might be able to replicate the same functionality in a Visualforce page by building custom objects, creating custom fields, and writing Apex triggers that run server-side when a record is updated. Until the speed and reliability of wireless networks improve, the best experience for mobile users is one where the client application performs the operations.
There are situations, however, where the native client application cannot satisfy a customer's requirements. Use Visualforce Mobile to:
- Mobilize a standard Salesforce object that the client application does not support.
- Integrate with another Web API, such as Google Maps.
- Reproduce Salesforce functionality that is not available in the client application, such as responding to approval requests or sending emails using an email template.
- Integrate with a peripheral device, such as Bluetooth or embedded GPS.
- Override the action of the standard buttons on record detail pages. When possible, write Apex triggers instead of overriding buttons with Visualforce.