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Steve DuboseSteve Dubose 

How to modify the "Subject" field to be a true picklist

Hello,

When using the "Log a Call" feature, we would like for our users to select from a picklist when using the "Subject" field. While the "Subject" field type currently shows as being a picklist, it is anything but that. 

The reason we are trying to force our users to select from a picklist is so that we have continuity with naming conventions and more efficient reporting. The stardand "Subject" field allows users to free-form type anything they want, limiting our ability to have strong and concise reporting. 

Because of this, I created a custom field called "Log a Call Subject" with the field type as picklist. This allowed us to achieve what we wanted from a continuity perspective, however we experienced a data gap when we noticed that the values for "Log a Call Subject" we not visible in the Past Activites section on landing pages (for example on the Account or Contact objects). Rather, each activity was still showing the "Subject" for the header, when we would like for it to show the new custom field I created "Log a Call Subject". I tried editing this compact layout to replace the "Subject" with "Log a Call Subject" without success. We also noticed a gap in the reports we subscribe to (Call Reports) where we had both columns ("Subject" and "Log a Call Subject") next to each other and only the "Subject" field was hyperlinked. This led us to believe that if we wanted to have clickthrough functionality, that we would be forced to use the standard salesforce field "Subject". 

Long story short, if possible, I would like to consolidate the number of fields we're using ("Subject" and "Log a Call Subject") and only use one (preferablly the standard salesforce "Subject" field). Is there any way to modify this field to be a true picklist with the ability to have field dependancies via development?

Thanks so much!
SD
Zhen Yueh LeanZhen Yueh Lean
Hi Steve, we have the similar issue internally as well. Our initial approach was to create a validation rules to prevent users from entering invalid values. This is the simplest way however it created a lot of manually work for users to type in the correct value. We ended up using a custom vf page to create task. But I think if you could wait a little more, seems like salesforce is going to change this in the next release:

https://success.salesforce.com/ideaView?id=0873A0000003XZKQA2

So I think it is worth trying out validation rule for now without investing too much time/resource :D
Steve DuboseSteve Dubose
Thanks so much for the feedback. Glad to hear SF might be addressing this. This actually the first time I ran into a challenge that I wasn’t able to resolve with a simple solution. Best, SD Steve DuBose | Director of Strategy and Innovation M 630-518-6802 | The National Family of Companies | www.nlt.com www.nlofa.com www.nlofm.com We have a new website: www.nlt.com!