See Also
Troubleshooting
Field Update
A field is being updated with a value - you don't know where it's coming from. How to track it down:
- Set history tracking on that field if you can (if you don't have 20 fields already)
- Alternatively set Feed Tracking for that field (probably turn it off after you find it).
- Does it have a default value
- If it's a picklist,is that value checked as default.
- Search for the field in the Setup Search
- https://instance.salesforce.com/ui/setup/SetupSearchResultsPage?setupSearch=Field%20Name
- Look in the Field Updates list of Workflows to see if any active workflow is updating the field.
The next ones are a bit harder.
- Is a Process Builder updating the field - good luck with finding which process is updating the field - you will have to look through each and every process.
- Is a Flow updating the field - again you will have to look through each and every Flow - but look for the Record Update and Record Create panels.
- Finally it may be a trigger. Use tricks like MavensMate and Git for Non Developers to export the Salesforce configuration to a text file so you can search through the files for the field name (search on the API name).
Changing API Names
OK, so I just needed to change an API Name - I HATE doing this because you don't know what it's going to break, BUT it's worse than having old outdated field names - HINT try to not name API Names as business processes. Eg this one was Workshop Name, and I needed to change it to a more generic name Marketing Name (the label can still say Workshop Name if that is what you want, but this client started doing more than Workshops so the word Workshop is not relevant anymore).
So, we KNOW that field names are not changed on any integrations. I have Drawloop installed for this client. So I stuck all the drawloop files in one folder on my PC and searched in that folder for the old field API Name - easy.
BUT did you know that:
- Field names are NOT updated in Visualforce Email Templates if they are more than one relationship away. Eg I had MyCustomObject__r.Campaign__r.WorkshopName__c - this didn't get updated.
- This breaks Process Builder and FLOWS! Big time. And you only get a version ID in the Flow error message. From here https://success.salesforce.com/ideaView?id=08730000000DlBIAA0 this is a great tip. Also see Process Builder Errors and Weirdness.
"Go to Workbench > Info > Metadata Types & Components > then choose 'Flow' from the dropdown > click Expand All. Then do a browser Find to search for your ID." (This was a process that updated a record that made another process action, and the ID was in the flow error message from the first process).
Also check in Paused and Waiting Flows to make sure something is not stuck in there.
Also check any other integrations you have!
This is a fabulously detailed post from Johan (@simplysfdc) on this topic http://www.simplysfdc.com/2016/09/salesforce-rename-field-name_4.html
Now to clean up this mess.