Showing overdue Opportunity close dates with a Salesforce image and formula field

The use of exclamation, and check icons is a common sight within applications and helps to clearly show where data or processes are either satisfactory or in need of amendment.

Using an exclamation icon we can show where Opportunity close dates are overdue and need to be updated in Salesforce. We can use a check icon to show that all is well and no action is required.

Salesforce CRM contains images for various flags and icons.

In this recipe, we will display an image derived by a formula field that shows whether the Opportunity close date is within date or is overdue.

How to do it...

Carry out the following steps to create a formula field to display Salesforce images to show graphically whether the close date is overdue or within date for Opportunity records:

1. Click on the Setup gear icon in the top right-hand of the main Home page, as shown in the following screenshot:
   
2. Click the Setup option, as shown in the following screenshot:

3. Navigate to the Opportunity customization setup page, by clicking the following: Objects and Fields | Object Manager | Opportunity | Fields and Relationships.

Locate the Fields & Relationships section on the right of the page.

4. Click New.

We will be presented with the Step 1. Choose the field type page.

5. Select the Formula option.
6. Click Next.

We will be presented with the Step 2. Choose output type page.

7. Type Close Date Valid in the Field Label text box.
8. Click on the Field Name. When clicking out of the Field Label text box, the Field Name is automatically filled with the value Close_Date_Valid.

 

9. Set the Formula Return Type as Text.
10. Click Next.

We will be presented with the Step 3. Enter formula page.

11. Paste the following code:

/***********************************************************  
Warning Graphic for the Opportunity.  
If the Close Date has been reached display a warning  
***********************************************************/  
IMAGE(  
  IF(  
    AND(  
      NOT(IsClosed),  
      CloseDate < TODAY()),
      "/img/msg_icons/warning32.png",  
      "/img/msg_icons/confirm32.png"),  
      "", 15, 15) 

12. Optionally, enter the following in the Description field:

 Field to display an image according to whether
 the Close Date is overdue or within date 

13. Optionally, enter the following in the Help Text field:

 Field to display an image according to whether
 the Close Date is overdue or within date

14. In the Blank Field Handling section, select the option Treat blank fields as blanks.

 

15. Click Next, as shown in the following screenshot:

We will be presented with the Step 4. Establish field-level security page.

16. Select the profiles to which you want to grant read access to this field via field-level security. The field will be hidden from all profiles if you do not add it to field-level security.
17. Click Next.

We will be presented with the Step 5. Add to page layouts page.

18. Select the page layouts that should include this field. The field will be added as the last field in the first two column section of these page layouts. The field will not appear on any pages if you do not select a layout.
19. Finally, click Save.

How it works...

The Opportunity record formula field graphic is dynamically generated based on whether the Close Date is within date or overdue and appears on both opportunity detail and edit pages.

You can see what this looks like when the Close Date for an opportunity record is overdue in the following screenshot:

You can see what this looks like when the Close Date for an opportunity record is within date in the following screenshot:

There's more...

The Close Date Valid formula image field is not only shown when the record is being viewed or edited but can also be seen when you include the field in a list view.

Formula fields containing an image can also be sorted on in the list view.

You can see what this looks like within a list view when the list of opportunity records are either overdue or within date for the CLOSE DATE VALID column, as shown in the following screenshot: