There are many handy Salesforce features that don’t get the credit they deserve. Salesforce Calendars is one tool that gives you the ability to turn any Salesforce object into a calendar view. There are no plug-ins required, nor additional cost involved!*
If you’re tired of cross-referencing your campaign spreadsheet with the Campaign records in your Salesforce org, then this guide is for you.
Salesforce Calendars are simple to set up. Calendar visibility can be toggled on and off to avoid clogging your Salesforce Calendar view. These views are visible with other teams using Salesforce. If you no longer require a particular Campaign calendar view, it can be easily deleted without interfering with the Campaign data.
Here’s how you can create your own Campaign calendar for Salesforce in less than five minutes.
*Note: you must be on Professional Edition or higher to enjoy this feature.
Salesforce Calendar Tab
Head to the “Calendar” tab, where you can view and manage calendars for any Salesforce object. Campaigns work well because they typically use a start date and end date.
Step 1: Think About the View
To limit which records appear in your Salesforce Calendar, you will select a list view. A list view is a filtered list of records for that object. So, to filter the records that appear in your calendar, you need to create a list view with those filters applied.
This is a nice tip which you can then apply to any calendar you wish to create, regardless of the Salesforce object.
Step 2: Create a Salesforce Calendar
- Go to the Calendar tab. Click on the cog icon, New Calendar.
- Set the date fields you want to be reflected on the calendar (“start date” and “end date”).
- Filter by any list view you have set up (step #1) e.g. My Active Campaigns, All Manufacturing Campaigns, etc.
- Choose the field you want to display on the calendar.
This is what the quick and effortless setup looks like:
Tips for Salesforce Campaign Calendars
- Move Campaign entries to different dates using drag-and-drop: These date changes will be reflected on the Campaign record.
- Drag-and-drop: If a Campaign record doesn’t appear for you to drag-and-drop (i.e. you have too many records displayed that day), click “more” to view the additional records. Drag-and-drop isn’t available for the additional records that appear when hovering over the Campaign record – but you can update any of the record’s details, while remaining in the Calendar by clicking “edit”.
- Toggle calendars on/off: Keep your view clear to only show what you need to focus on. What you view is specific to you; whichever Calendar views you toggle on/off are “sticky” to your preferences. Even if other users are viewing the same Calendar views as you are, they won’t interfere with what you want to see.
- Multiple calendars: Apply Calendars to other objects to gain visibility into different areas of the organization. However, the more Calendar views you have selected, the slower the load time. You will become quickly frustrated at the loading speed of multiple Calendars, so limit the number of calendars you have toggled “on”
- Calendar sharing: How can others in your organization view the calendar? Custom calendar views will be visible to all users (just depends whether they toggle on/off). The only calendar view that you will need to share with other users is the ‘My Events’ view. Bear in mind that events (records) which are accessible from the calendar view could depend on the viewing user’s record access.
Summary
Salesforce Calendars are a free* option to map your Salesforce Campaigns into a calendar view.
If you’re tired of cross-referencing your campaign spreadsheet with the Campaign records in your Salesforce org, then this solution is a no-brainer for you.
Salesforce Calendars are simple to set up, calendar visibility can be toggled on and off, and can be easily deleted without interfering with the Campaign data.
At Salesforce Ben, we rely on this functionality a lot. Do you use the Salesforce Calendar, or something different to map out your campaign calendar?
*Note: you must be on Professional Edition or higher to enjoy this feature.