How to install and use Salesforce Inspector?

Today in this Salesforce tutorial, we will discuss installing and using the Salesforce Inspector in Salesforce Lightning and Salesforce Classic.

What is Salesforce Inspector?

In the recent upgradation, Salesforce introduced an essential and powerful tool named Salesforce Inspector, designed for Salesforce developers and administrators. Salesforce Inspector is a Chrome Extention that provides functionalities to operate on the standard Salesforce platform. This tool contains dynamic features and seamless integration that enhances productivity and also data management.

There are various uses of Salesforce Inspector, and below are some key features of it:

(1) Field Details: When we have to access the compressive field details of any object, then we can get these field details with the help of Salesforce Inspector without writing any SOQL query, and it allows users to view all field values for a record.

(2) Data Import/ Export: The import and export of data is simplified with the help of Salesforce Inspector, where we can export/import data from Salesforce to an external file like a .csv file or a .xlsx file and too in a very efficient manner. We can also export/import data with the help of a data loader, but using Salesforce Inspector is more efficient for small data.

(3) Edit Data: We can also edit data of Values, records, page layouts, and fields with the help of Salesforce Inspector.

How to install Salesforce Inspector?

As I’ve told you at the beginning that Salesforce Inspector is a Chrome Extension, so it is required to use Google Chrome. Now to add this extension, go to the Chrome browser and search Salesforce Inspector. Then in the search results, click on Salesforce Inspector, and in the next window, click on Add to Chrome button, as shown in the picture below.

Install Salesforce Inspector Extension
  • As we click on Add to Chrome a pop-up window will appear, there click on the button Add extension.
Salesforce Inspector Chrome Extension

Now we have added Salesforce Inspector as an extension on Chrome, and from here it can be accessed by logging into Salesforce in Chrome.

How to use Salesforce Inspector in Lightning

After adding Salesforce Inspector in a Chrome extension, we will now discuss how we can use this tool in the Salesforce org. We will perform the following operations using Salesforce Inspector.

  • View and Edit values, records, fields, and page layouts with Salesforce Inspector.
  • Export data with Salesforce Inspector.
  • Navigate the user with Salesforce Inspector.

Now login to your Salesforce account in Chrome browser and follow the steps below.

Step 1- First, we are going to view and edit records of Accounts with the help of the Salesforce Inspector. In the Sales application, click on the Accounts tab.

View Records with Salesforce Inspector in Lightning

Step 2- In the Accounts window, select an account to view and edit data, I have selected an account, Burlington Textiles Corp Of America, to view and edit it with the Salesforce Inspector.

Account record view and edit through Salesforce Inspector

Step 3- Now open the Salesforce Inspector by clicking on the arrow on the upper side of the screen as we click on that arrow, Salesforce Inspector will open and in the dropdown select the option Show all data.

View All data in Records with Salesforce Inspector

Step 4- In this window, we can view all the records related to this account, and from here we can Edit, Delete, Clone, and Export data of the records. Now I will show you how we can edit the data, and for that, click on the Edit button on the top.

Account record edit through Salesforce Inspector

Step 5- In this Account records Billing City was Seattle and I have changed it to Austin, after making changes click on the Save button.

Use Salesforce Inspector in Lightning to edit records

Step 6- After editing the data, I will show how we can export this data. First, click on the Export button at the top.

Export Data from Records using Salesforce Inspector

Step 7- In this step, we have to enter the SOQL query in the text area.

select Id, "Account field" from Account

I need the records for the Number of employees, so I entered the query as SELECT Id, NumberOfEmployees from Account, and then click on Export.

Data export through Salesforce Inspector

Step 8- As we click on the Export button, It will generate a record of the data you have selected. Now we can see the option of three file formats in which we can copy these records. In this case, I have selected Excel format so I will click on Copy (Excel format) and then I opened an Excel file and pasted these details there.

Export Data from Records using Salesforce Inspector in Lightning

After pasting these details in an Excel file we can save that file externally.

Data exported from Salesforce Inspector to excel sheet

After Editing and Exporting, we are going to talk about the most important feature in the next step that Salesforce Inspector Provides i.e., navigating to users. This feature is very helpful when org has more than 1000-1200 users.

Step 9- Now go back to Account or Setup page, and there click on the arrow button to open the Salesforce Inspector, then in the dropdown, click on the Users option and then enter the user name you want to navigate, and in the last click on the profile info.

Navigate Users with Salesforce Inspector

Step 10- After selecting the profile, click on the Details button.

Salesforce Inspector Navigate Users

The user profile details window will appear on the screen as we click on Details.

Navigate User details from Salesforce Inspector in lightning

We have successfully Viewed, edited, exported data, and navigated users with the Salesforce Inspector in Salesforce Lightning version.

How to use Salesforce Inspector in Classic

We will discuss the various ways to use the Salesforce Inspector in Classic.

  • View and Edit values, records, fields, and page layouts with Salesforce Inspector.
  • Export data with Salesforce Inspector.
  • Navigate the user with Salesforce Inspector.

First, add the Salesforce Inspector in Chrome Extension and then log in to the Salesforce account in the Chrome Browser because the Salesforce Inspector extension works in Chrome only.

Step-1: On the Home page of Salesforce Classic, click on the Accounts tab.

View All data in Records with Salesforce Inspector in Classic

Step-2: Select an Account from the accounts tab to view and edit the records. I have selected the account Edge Communications to view and edit data.

Use Salesforce Inspector to view records in Classic

Step 3- Now to view all the data of this account open Salesforce Inspector by clicking on the sliding arrow on the right side of the screen and then in the dropdown click on the Show all data button.

Open Salesforce Inspector in Classic

Step 4- In this window, we can view all the fields related to this account and to edit these fields click on the Edit button on the top.

Edit Records in Classic with Salesforce Inspector

Step 5- In this step, we will edit the fields from the Value section. Here I have changed the Account Number and Billing City fields from the value section and in the same way you can change other fields also. After making the required changes click on the Save button.

Salesforce Inspector edit records in Classic

As we click on Save the records will be updated with the changes we have made. Now in the next step. I will show you how we can export data with the help of Salesforce Inspector.

Step 6- Now go back to the Show All data window, and there click on the Export button on the top of the screen.

Salesforce Inspector Export data from Account records

Step 7- Now to export data we have to enter an SOQL query mentioned below to get the records of that field.

select Id, "field name" from Account

I needed the records for the field Annual Revenue so I entered the query as SELECT Id, AnnualRevenue from Account, and then click on Export.

Export Data from Records in Classic using Salesforce Inspector

Step 8- As we click on the Export button, a data of field record will be generated. Here we can see three options Copy (Excel format), Copy (CSV), and Copy (JSON). In this case, I have selected Excel format so, I will click on Copy (Excel format) and then I opened an Excel file and pasted these details there.

Export Data to external file using Salesforce Inspector in Classic

After pasting the record details in an Excel file or the format you have selected, we can save that file externally.

Export Data from in an excel file using Salesforce Inspector

Till now we have viewed, edited, and exported data with the help of Salesforce Inspector. Now I will show, how we can Navigate Users using Salesforce Inspector. In big organizations where there are more than 1000-1200 users then in that case, Salesforce Inspector is very helpful to navigate the user easily.

Step 9- Now open the Salesforce Inspector by clicking on the arrow icon and in the dropdown click on the tab Users then search user in the search bar and then select user profile.

User Navigation with Salesforce Inspector

Step 10- After selecting the user profile click on the Details button.

Get User details using Salesforce Inspector

As we click on Details, user details will appear in the next window, and from here we can edit information and change the password of the user by using the buttons Edit and Change Password.

View User details using Salesforce Inspector

Now we have successfully Viewed, edited, exported data, and navigated users with the Salesforce Inspector in the Salesforce Classic version.

Conclusion

In this Salesforce tutorial, we have learned about installing or adding the Salesforce Inpector in Salesforce. Later we discussed the properties and functionalities of Salesforce Inspector. We also viewed, edited, and exported records in Lightning and Classic versions with the help of Salesforce Inspector, and at last, we learned how to navigate users with Salesforce Inspector.

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