Have you ever wanted to send an email from an opportunity in Salesforce with a list of the product line items? Maybe you need a workflow that notifies Finance of the products sold when an opportunity hits the stage of closed/won? Or how about an automated email with the list of products sold sent to the person who most needs to see this information?
I have seen Salesforce Administrators struggle with these types of requests for years. Fortunately now with Visualforce email templates you can do any of the above and more. Visualforce email templates allow you to use Apex code to pull related information as well as information from the detail record with some minor programming and HTML skills.
If you are a Salesforce drag and drop user, you may be hesitant to jump into Visualforce templates. But as it turns out, Salesforce Labs has a great solution for you. They have a free app on the AppExchange called “Product Line Items in Email Templates” that has sample templates with the Apex code already developed.
This is a great time saver! Just install “Product Line Items in Email Templates” and then clone the sample. You can then modify the HTML code, merged fields, and layout to meet your needs. By using the “Send Test and Verify Merge Fields” button, you can see the results of your modifications as you make them. This can simplify your Salesforce development process.
Apex code may seem a little frightening at first but like anything new once you start to understand the basics, it starts to fall into place. This little app can help you to get started with Apex code and create Visualforce email templates at the same time. Or, use our Salesforce Quick Support Service and we’ll do the work for you!
Salesforce’s versatility increases dramatically when you add Apex and Visualforce capabilities. For those of you that have been hesitant to try Visualforce or Apex, this is a great place to start.
StarrForce is a Salesforce Partner that helps companies deploy, optimize and support Salesforce.com. If you would like information on the services we offer call us at (888) 391-4493 Ext. 101.
