In an effort to phase out Notes and Attachments Salesforce removed the ‘upload or attach’ button as part of the Winter ’18 Release. Salesforce released Enhanced Notes and Files to replace the legacy function and improve its capabilities. Notes and Attachments still exist, but have become more obsolete as users transition to features optimized for the Lightning Experience. Enhanced Notes and Files are standalone related lists that improve the note and document management functionalities in Salesforce. Organizations are leveraging these features for a more secure and user-friendly experience. In this post we will discuss best practices for the set up and use of Enhanced Notes and Files as well as some of their limitations.

Setting up Enhanced Notes + Files

Users on Salesforce Lightning automatically have Notes and Files visible. Users in Classic have them in their instance, but the standard is that they are hidden. To make Notes and Files visible in Classic, an admin must add the File subject to user’s tab bar. Admins also need to add Notes and Files to the page layout of individual record types including contact, account, lead and opportunity objects.

When transitioning to Enhanced Notes and Files historic information will not be lost. Organizations can choose to use a third party application like Salesforce Lab’s Magic Mover to do a bulk conversion of both Attachments to Files and Notes to Enhanced Notes. Once the transition is complete, the ability to create new Notes and Attachments should be turned off so that users adopt the new features.

Enhanced Notes

Enhanced Notes is the premier note-taking Salesforce tool and is an improvement from classic Notes. Classic Notes are created in plain text while Enhanced Notes use rich text with formatting options. Perhaps the most important improvement is the ability to protect sensitive data by limiting access. When a note is attached to a record, anyone with access to the related record can automatically see it. Enhanced Notes allow users to create private notes with a few additional steps. Salesforce explains the different levels of access on Protect Sensitive Data with Private Notes. Enhanced Notes are optimized for Lightning Experience and offer additional capabilities including relating notes to multiple records, adding images, supporting revisions and sharing with other users.

Files

Salesforce Files are also optimized for Lightning Experience and can be shared across multiple records and users. Legacy attachments can be made visible in read-only mode if Attachments has been enabled on each page layout. If this step is not taken than Attachments will not be shown.

The most significant improvement is that Files are accessible from multiple objects in your Salesforce instance and are searchable. This makes it easier to find something stored as a file regardless of which record you attach it to. Users can also upload and track multiple file versions without overwriting the original file. Other capabilities include sharing files through public links where no password is required, integrating with external systems, previewing files without having to download them and saving files in Salesforce that are up to 2GB (80x larger than what is supported on attachments).

Reporting

Enhanced Notes and Files offer considerable advantages over legacy Notes and Attachments. One limitation, however, is reporting. There have been little to no improvements made on reporting from one tool to the next. It is difficult to report on Notes and Files because they are non-standard by nature. Users who create reports for relationship tracking and management are already accustomed to these limitations. It is possible to create a report on what notes have been added to records, but the report will not show users which record a note is attached to.

To create a Note report:

• Click ‘Reports’ and then click ‘New Reports’
• Select ‘Content and File Reports’ folder and pick ‘Content and File Reports’
• Click ‘Show All Files’
• Click ‘Remove all Columns’
• Depending on your reporting needs add any or all of the following fields:
  • File ID
  • File Name
  • Created By
  • Published Date
  • Archived
  • Size (MB)
  • Last Revised By
  • Versions
  • Create a filter: File Type equals “SNOTE” so that only Notes appear

• Do not include any of the following fields or the records will disappear:
  • Downloaded By
  • Download Date
  • Download User Type
  • Link Name
  • Link Created Date
  • Link Expiration Date
  • Password Protected Link
  • Link Last Accessed Date
  • Total Link Accesses
• Save and Run the report

For more comprehensive relationship tracking users can leverage Activities. Activities can be reported on by date, Contact, Account, or Opportunity and can include tasks and events.

Summary + Conclusion

Enhanced Notes and Files provide improved functionality as compared to legacy Notes and Attachments. Despite the known reporting limitation Notes and Files provide a better user experience and improved capabilities. It is recommended for admins to switch to the new features and is especially relevant for organizations as they transition to Lightning Experience.