Hard Code IDs in Salesforce Flows

Hard-coding record IDs, particularly Record Type IDs , within Salesforce Flows is a poor practice for several reasons:

• Environment Variability: Record Type IDs differ between environments (e.g., sandbox, production, and developer orgs). If you hard code a Record Type ID in a Flow and deploy it to another environment, the ID may be invalid, causing the Flow to fail.
• Maintenance Burden: Whenever a Record Type is renamed, removed, or changed, the hard-coded ID becomes outdated, and fixing it requires editing and redeploying the Flow. This increases the risk of errors and maintenance overhead.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Hard-coded values lock you into specific IDs. If your business requirements evolve and you introduce new Record Types, the Flow might break or require significant refactoring.
• Avoiding Technical Debt: Hard coding IDs introduces hidden dependencies that make it harder for new developers or admins to understand the logic, thereby creating technical debt over time.

Instead of hard-coding, you can dynamically query the Record Type ID based on the name, ensuring flexibility and easier deployment across environments.

Example: Fetching Record Type ID in a Salesforce Flow

Let’s explore a real-world example of using Flow to dynamically fetch a Record Type ID based on the Record Type Name and then utilizing that ID for further operations.

Use Case: Creating a Case with a Specific Record Type

Imagine you have a Support Case object with multiple Record Types like Product Issue, Billing Issue, and General Inquiry. Instead of hard-coding the Record Type ID for Product Issue, you can retrieve it dynamically in a Flow.

Step-by-Step Guide

• Build the Flow (Autolaunched Flow or Screen Flow):
  
  
  • In Salesforce Setup, go to Flows under Process Automation.
  • Process Automation. New Flow.
• Add a "Get Records" Element to Fetch the Record Type ID:
  
  
  • Drag a Get Records element onto the Flow canvas.
  • ObjectRecordType
  • Filter Condition: Set it to look for the Record Type where:
    
    • Object = Case
    • Record Type Name = "Product Issue" (replace with your specific name)
  • Store the Record ID in a variable, say

                                   
                                      
                          varRecordTypeId.
    
                           onditions:
                             Object: Case
                             DeveloperName: 'Product_Issue'
                         Store:
                             Record ID in 'varRecordTypeId'
    
                                    

    

    Figure 1: Use get record element to fetch record Type Id.

• Use the Retrieved Record Type ID in a "Create Records" Element:
  
  
  • Add a Create Records element to the Flow.
  • Object: Case
  • Set the Record Type ID field dynamically by assigning the value from
    

     
                    
        varRecordTypeId.
    
                  

  • Fill in other Case fields (such as Status, Priority, Subject, etc.) based on your use case.

     
                            
                             
       Create Record: Case
        RecordTypeId: varRecordTypeId
        Status: 'New'
        Priority: 'High'
        Subject: 'Product Issue Report'
    
                           

    

    Figure 2: Use get record element to fetch record Type Id.

• Complete and Activate the Flow:
  
  
  • Save and validate the Flow to ensure there are no errors.
  • Activate the Flow, and it’s ready to dynamically assign the correct Record Type based on the name, not the hard-coded ID.

  

  Figure 3: New case record is created with RecordType Id Dynamically assigned.

Advantages of This Approach

• Environment Consistency: The Flow will work across sandbox, developer, and production environments without modification, as it no longer relies on environment-specific Record Type IDs.
• Maintenance Efficiency: If the Record Type name changes, you can simply update the name in one place rather than updating multiple hard-coded IDs.
• Future-Proof: If you add more Record Types in the future, you can easily modify the logic to include them without reworking hard-coded elements.

By following this approach, you can make your Salesforce Flows more robust, flexible, and maintainable over time.

Conclusion

Dynamically retrieving Record Type IDs in Salesforce Flows ensures that your automations are environment-independent, easy to maintain, and scalable. Avoid the pitfalls of hard-coding IDs and make your Flows flexible enough to adapt to changes in your Salesforce org.

For any queries please reach out to support@astreait.com