Salesforce Summer '24 Release Summary

The Summer ’24 Release Notes are now available. Let’s take a look at some of the main features!

Analytics

Data Cloud Reports & Dashboards

Both of these changes apply to Data Cloud in Developer, Enterprise, Performance and Unlimited Editions.

Summarize Complex Data with Matrix Reports. We can now summarise Data Cloud data into matrix reports (i.e. group by column and row).
Export More Records from Data Cloud Reports. The export limit on reports using Data Cloud data has increased from 2,000 to 50,000 rows.

Customization

IdeaExchange Delivered: Use Blank Spaces to Align Fields on Dynamic Forms-Enabled Pages. Add blank spaces to Dynamic-Forms to improve layout/formatting.
IdeaExchange Delivered: Set Conditional Visibility for Individual Tabs in Lightning App Builder. Dynamically select whether a Tab should be displayed/hidden on a LWC-enabled Lightning Record Page.
Create Rich Text Headings in Lightning App Builder. Add Rich-Text components to Lightning Record Pages and stylize the text as a header (e.g. H1 – H6).

Einstein AI Features

Summer ’24 provides many Einstein AI Features and Platform updates. Check out the flipchart below for a summary of the main ones.

Einstein Search

Search Manager becomes Generally Available in Summer ’24. Along with this, there are a number of enhancements. These include:

Provide Relevant Results with Objects to Always Search in Search Manager (Generally Available). Objects to always search also becomes Generally Available. This is now controlled within Search Manager.
Ensure Security in Search with Search Manager. Apply field-level security to 100 sensitive custom fields per object in Search Manager.
Improve Search with Insights from Search Insights (Pilot). Gain insights into the search behaviours and results of users. Use this to help your team find the information they need more easily. Requires Data Cloud.
Other Improvements in Search Manager. Deploy Search Configurations between environments with the new SearchCustomization metadata type.

Flows

Summer ’24 introduces a large number of Flow updates. Here are some of the main ones.

Flow Builder

Let Einstein Build a Draft Flow for You (Beta). As covered in the Einstein AI Features section, you can use Einstein Generative AI to create a draft version of a Flow. This requires Einstein licensing.
Transform Your Data in Flows (Generally Available). The Transform element in Flow is now Generally Available. It has been enhanced with mapping tips to help identify errors, prior to saving.

Screen Flow Updates

IdeaExchange Delivered: Collect User Input to Build a List of Records from a Screen (Generally Available). The Repeater component allows users to ‘add more’ data as needed. There are a number of enhancements since the Spring ’24 Beta release, including: support for standard (generally available) and custom components, conditional field visibility, input validation, and more. Click here for more info.
IdeaExchange Delivered: Empower Users to Fill in Addresses More Quickly with the New Search Field in the Address Screen Component. Auto-complete address fields in Screen Flow with data from Google Maps.
IdeaExchange Delivered: Require User Input in the Address Screen Component. Address fields can now be made mandatory. This makes all fields within the address component required.
Troubleshoot Screen Flows Faster with More Detailed Error Messages. Runtime errors in Screen Flow are now more descriptive (e.g. network connectivity issues, etc).
Restrict User Input on Screen Components with the Disabled and Read Only Fields. Two new modes for fields available. Disabled: field is greyed out and users are unable to navigate to/modify value. Read Only: users are unable to modify the value, but can navigate to/copy values.
Run and Use the Results of an Autolaunched Flow on the Same Screen with the New Action Button Component (Beta). Action buttons can now be added to a Flow. Use this to run Autolaunch flows which can retrieve and use resulting outputs reactively, without users leaving the screen.

Flow Orchestration

Configure Conditions More Easily with Is Blank and Is Empty Operators in Flows. Use the ‘Is Blank’ operator to check if text contains no characters/only whitespace or if other data types are null. ‘Is Empty’ can be used to check if a collection is empty.

Flow Management

Manage Your Flows More Efficiently with the Automation Lightning App. A new Lightning App is available to view and monitor flows. Provides easy visibility into when Flows were modified, or contain an error.
Organize Your Flows Based on Categories and Subcategories That You Define. Two new text fields (Category and Subcategory) added to Flow record detail pages. In conjunction with the new Automation Lightning App, you can filter on these categories and create List Views to help manage Flows.
Have Unlimited Paused and Waiting Flows. Paused and Waiting Flow limit has been removed. Storage limits still apply.

Flow Actions

Lock and Unlock Records with an Action. Lock, unlock and control who can edit records whilst locked via Flow.

General Setup

Fix Formula Syntax Errors with Einstein for Formulas. Use Einstein to help you create, update or troubleshoot formulas in Salesforce (e.g. formula fields, validation rules, etc).
Add New Custom Fields to Dynamic Forms-Enabled Pages. When creating new fields, select whether you wish to add the field to Lightning Record Pages with Dynamic Forms.
Access More External Data Types with the Custom Adapter for Salesforce Connect. Additional data types now supported: currency, date, email, percent and phone.
See Dynamic Forms-Enabled Lightning Page Information for Custom Fields. See which Lightning Record Pages reference a custom field via the ‘Where is this used?’ button.
Track Value Changes in Key Objects and Fields. New screen available to view and manage Field History Tracking. No change to retention period or number of fields which can be tracked.

Permissions

IdeaExchange Delivered: Get a Summary of a User’s Permissions and Access. Easily view permissions, public groups and queues assigned to a user with ‘User Access Summary’.
IdeaExchange Delivered: See where a public group is used. See what Sharing Rules, List Views, Report Folders, Dashboard Folders & other Public Groups reference a Public Group.
IdeaExchange Delivered: See what’s enabled in Permission Sets and Permission Set Groups. ‘View Summary’ in Permission Sets and Permission Set Groups is now Generally Available. Summer ’24 updates the page layout and also displays assigned Custom Permissions.
IdeaExchange: Automate and Migrate User Access with User Access Profiles (GA). Create policies to automatically assign/remove permissions. Active policy limit increased from 20 to 200. Policies can be reordered.
IdeaExchange Delivered: Allow Users to Freeze Users and Monitor Login History without the Manage User Permission. Allow users to freeze users or view login history without the Manage User Permission (i.e. which also grants other permissions such as resetting passwords, view all users, managing IP addresses, etc).

Other Updates

Here are some of the other features and updates which caught my attention.

Accessibility

There are a number of accessibility/UI enhancements in Summer ’24, such as:

Get Improved Accessibility in List Views. Keyboard controls for navigating related lists. Improved support for screen readers when using the chart window. Screen readers include the list view name with the pin list button and whether it is/is not pinned. Chart/filter buttons display tooltips when in focus.
See Improved Contrast in Focus States. To better support Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS) has been updated with a new focus styling. This displays a darker line around a component which is in focus.

Certificates

IdeaExchange Delivered: Limit Who Receives Notifications About Certificate Expiration. Control who receives certificate expiration emails by assigning specific admins the ‘Receive Certificate Expiration Notifications’ user permission. Emails contain more detailed instructions on how to update certificates.
Create 3072-Bit Sized Certificates. A new key size is available for self-signed and certificate authority (CA) certificates, 3072-bit. As with 2048-bit keys, 3072-bit has a one-year expiry. 4096-bit remains recommended if you use Salesforce Shield Bring Your Own Key (BYOK).

Data Cloud

Data Cloud (formerly Salesforce Customer Data Platform/Genie) is continuing to receive significant attention, with a number of updates expected between May and July this year. Whilst there are too many items to cover in depth, here are some of the key updates:

Data enrichment options (i.e. sharing Data Cloud data with Salesforce) are being enhanced in May.
Data segmentation (counts and prioritisation) are expected to be enhanced in June.
There are a number of updates for Einstein Studio in July.

For more information on features and timelines, please refer to Data Cloud Features Released by Month.

Default No-Reply Organization-Wide Email Addresses

Create and Verify Your Default No-Reply Organization-Wide Email Address to Send Email (Release Update). Winter ’25 requires Orgs to have a customer verified, default no-reply email address. If this is not in place, some emails will fail to send from Salesforce after the Winter ’25 release.

Google Chrome Storage Partitioning

Temporarily Opt Out of Google Chrome Storage Partitioning. Google Chrome storage partitioning is enabled in Summer ’24. This can impact multiple web APIs used in a third-party context (e.g. localStorage and sessionStorage). This can be temporarily disabled via Setup | User Interface | Disable Google Chrome Storage Partitioning for Salesforce Domains, but will be enforced by Google on September 3rd 2024.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Updates

As covered in the last release, Salesforce customers are contractually required to use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for direct logins into Production environments. In the Summer ’24 release:

Salesforce Admins Get In-App Reminders If MFA Is Turned Off. Admins will receive in-app reminders, when using setup, if MFA has been turned off. This will be where ‘Require multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all direct UI logins to your Salesforce org’ setting in ‘Identity Verification’ has been disabled in Production.

New Domain for Setup

Add the New Setup Domain. During Summer ’24, the domain used to access setup will change. If your company has internet access restrictions in place (i.e. via firewalls and allowlists), ensure that .salesforce-setup.com is added to allowed domains.

Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS) Architecture Updates

Prepare Your Component Customizations for Design System Architecture Updates.
- Starting in Summer ’24, Salesforce is updating internal Lightning Components, Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS) styles and custom properties.
  - Where an org has no customisations, the changes are not expected to cause visible UI changes.
  - If your org has been customised using supported techniques, little/no UI impact is expected.
  - Any customisations made using unsupported techniques may be impacted.
- For more information, review the SLDS Architecture Updates FAQ.

Salesforce API Only Systems Integration Profile

Delete the Obsolete Salesforce API Only Systems Integrations User Profile. The standard ‘Salesforce API Only Systems Integration’ Profile is obsolete. Summer ’24 converts this to a custom Profile, to allow you to delete it. Salesforce recommends using the more secure ‘Minimum Access – API Only Integrations’ Profile instead.

Feature Retirements

There are several updates on feature retirements:

Feature	Retirement Date
Engage for Gmail Chrome Extension Is Being Retired	June 2024
Elevate Retirement	1st October 2024
Streaming API Versions 23.0 Through 36.0 Are Being Retired	Winter '25
Social Customer Service Starter Pack Is Being Retired	16th November 2024
Salesforce Functions Is Being Retired	31st January 2025
Einstein Automated Contacts	February 2025
Standard-Volume Platform Events Are Being Retired	Summer '25
Cadence Builder Classic	Summer '25
foundationConnect	31st January 2026
Legacy Chat Is Being Retired	14th February 2026
Salesforce for Outlook (Retiring)	December 2027

Release Updates

Each release introduces core updates for performance, security, and usability. Summer ’24 has the following:

x5 enforced this release (cannot be disabled when enabled).

A further x15 release updates are planned to be enforced in Winter ’25. Given the volume of items scheduled to be enforced, it is recommended to plan for these now. Click here for more information.

Summary

Summer ’24 provides many new and improved features. As always, be sure to check the release notes for other items to help your org!

Until next time, thanks for reading! 🐧

Bonus Penguin Fact 🐧

Dogs have a reputation for being a man’s best friend. However, as it turns out, they can be pretty good friends for penguins too!

A population of little penguins (Eudyptula novaehollandiae) were struggling due to predation by foxes. However, a farmer, called Allan (Swampy) Marsh, decided to help by sending his Maremma Sheepdogs to protect the population. This has been successful and is continuing to help the little penguin population recover. Such has been the success of the intervention that it has been made into a movie called Oddball. Click here to read more!

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Salesforce Summer ’24 Release Summary