After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
You’re probably comfortable with the idea of app stores. Whether you’re downloading apps on your phone, tablet, computer, or other device, you have to download and install apps to make the most of your technology. Salesforce is the same way.
Salesforce has a community of partners that use the flexibility of the Salesforce platform to build amazing apps that anyone can use. These apps are available for installation on
(some for free, some at a cost).
A package is a set of pre-created configurations and developments. At various points in your Trailhead learning journey, you may need to install a package in order to complete a challenge or work through the steps in a badge.
Packages allow us to load sample data, custom objects and fields, or just about anything else into your Trailhead Playground.
To install an app or package in your Trailhead Playground, you just need the package ID provided in the Trailhead content. This is a long string that starts with 04t you’ll know it when you see it.
First things first: Launch your Trailhead Playground by going to any hands-on challenge, scrolling to the bottom of the page, and pressing ENTER on Launch right below the dropdown menu showing the name of your playground.
Once in your playground, if you see a link in your org labeled Install a Package, fantastic! Follow the steps in the Your Playground Has the Playground Starter App section below.
If not, activate the App Launcher button on your Salesforce page to launch the App Launcher. You will land in a search field. Type the word Playground, then press down arrow. Choose the Playground Starter app and keep reading.
If you don’t see the Playground Starter app, go ahead and skip to the Your Playground Doesn’t Have the Playground Starter App section.
If your playground has the Playground Starter app, follow these steps to install an app or package.
When your package or app is finished installing, you see a confirmation page and get an email to the address associated with your playground.
If your playground doesn’t have the Playground Starter app, never fear. Follow these steps to install a package. To do this, you’ll need your username and password for your Trailhead Playground, as well as the package installation link. If you don’t have your username and password on hand, go to the previous unit and get them.
Next, take a look at that installation link. Does it begin with appexchange.salesforce.com? If so, you’re installing an app, not a package, and you can skip to the next section, Install an AppExchange App. Otherwise, you’re installing a package, and you can keep reading.
For this example, let's go ahead and install the Playground Starter app.
When your package or app is finished installing, you’ll see a confirmation page and get an email to the address associated with your playground.
Now that you have the Playground Starter app installed in your Trailhead Playground, you can use it to more easily install other apps and packages in the future (and for the hands-on challenge at the bottom of this page).
To install something from the Salesforce AppExchange in your Trailhead Playground, you need your playground username and password. If you don't already have your playground's credentials handy, refer to the previous unit and follow the instructions there to get them.
Once you have your Trailhead Playground username and password, connect your Trailhead Playground account to your Trailblazer.me profile.
Now that your Trailhead Playground account is linked to AppExchange, you can install the app you want.
You'll get an email once the app is finished installing.
Want to see what was included in the app or package you installed?
On this page, you'll find all of the components you installed.
Click to return to the unit on Trailhead to access your challenge at the end of the reading.