Salesforce Winter’18 Release Notes are at your Doorstep

Each release comes with a lot of breathtaking features. Winter ’18 builds artificial intelligence (AI) right into the Salesforce platform, so you can build apps that get smarter with every interaction. Salesforce Einstein also powers improved lead scoring, data discovery, duplicate management, and recommendations. Lightning Partner Central extends Salesforce CRM to your partner network, while Lightning Omni-Channel helps you route customer service cases to the right agent at the right time. You get more tools to help your users adopt Lightning Experience, plus Lightning console split view, which lets you open multiple records and related records on one screen.
Here are the Salesforce Winter18 release notes.

1. New Lightning Base Components

Lightning Base components are out-of-the-box components created with Salesforce Lightning Design System CSS. If there are no Lightning Base components, we would need to use aura or HTML components and write custom CSS to make look and feel similar to Lightning Experience. Base component starts with lightning: namespace. There are many new Base components introduced like lightning:datatable, lightning:checkboxGroup, lightning:dualListbox,  lightning:progress indicator, lightning:progressBar, lightning:slider.

2. Component Library (Beta)

We can already see all standard and custom component information using https://<myDomain>.lightning.force.com/auradocs URL. However, as part of Winter 18 release, Salesforce came up with revamped website just like Lightning Design System to show code snippets on how to use Lightning Components. You can navigate to Component Library using https://<myDomain>.lightning.force.com/componentReference/suite.app URL.

3. Lightning Data Services (GA)

We are hearing about Lightning Data Services from almost last one year and finally, it’s available for use.

4. Conditional Rendering of Lightning Component in App Builder

Going forward we can add a condition in Lightning Page builder to decide when to render Lightning Component. More power to point clicks and easy to manage rendering of components without any code change or deployment.

5. Lightning Component Payload Increased from 1 MB to 4 MB

Lightning Component batches multiple Apex calls into single queue to avoid multiple server trips. This payload includes all data serialized into JSON, previously only 1 MB of data could be serialized which is increased to 4 MB. Request payload limit of Javascript Remoting is also increased from 1 MB to 4 MB.

6. Automatic Styling of Visualforce Pages (Beta)

Using the lightning Stylesheet attribute in apex: page, now we can easily convert old classic Salesforce pages to Lightning design System. Right now this feature is in Beta. If existing Visualforce has custom CSS, then it may conflict with Salesforce Lightning Design System CSS and may not work properly.

7. Debug Logs

Before Winter 18, we could have only 50 MB of debug logs for infinite time. Winter 18 onwards, we can generate logs of 250 MB every 15 minute. Only catch is, logs would be available for 7 days. Still it’s a great feature in complex customized organizations to troubleshoot issues on the basis of debug logs.

8. Flow as Object Specific Action (Beta)

We can invoke flow directly from record page using Lightning Action. This is in Beta right now. Previously after creation of flow, we had to wrap up flow in the Visualforce page and then use it anywhere else. This feature will for sure increase adoption of flows between Salesforce admins.

9. Embed Flow directly in App builder and set variables

We can embed any flow directly in App builder using Flow component. We can also decide one vs two-column layout. We are able to set variable values as well in flow.

10. Add Flow in Lightning Component

New Lightning Base Component lightning: flow has been introduced in Winter 18 which can be used to embed flow anywhere in the Lightning Application.

11. Custom Template

Now we can define custom templates using Lightning Component for record, app or home pages. There are new interfaces and tags introduced for .cmp and .design bundles of Lightning to achieve a custom template. You can watch recorded video shared on meetup or read more here.

12. Deterministic Encryption in Shield (Pilot)

Deterministic encryption lets you filter encrypted data in reports, list views, and WHERE clauses in SOQL queries. It’s also compatible with Unique and External ID fields and custom indexes. Right now it is in pilot mode and to enroll, we need to contact the Salesforce account executive.

13. Shield Improvements

Below major Improvements are made in Shield

• Encrypt data in Chatter (GA)
• Access Encrypted fields in Flow and Process Builder (GA)
• Encryption coverage report using Encryption statistics (Beta)
• Skinny table support (Beta)
• Event Monitoring for key management.

14. Wait for Platform event in Flow

There are multiple ways to perform action on Platform event like Trigger or Bayeux protocol. Now we can use wait element in Visual flow to subscribe and wait for event to occur.

15. Salesforce DX (GA)

Last but not the least, SalesforeDX is one of the most awaited products of the year and it would be GA in Winter 18. Salesforce DX can be enabled for any Salesforce instance and they are known as Developer Hub. One Developer Hub can have multiple Scratch Orgs. Scratch Orgs are temporary Salesforce org that can be created quickly and metadata can be deployed from SCM.
Do you have any queries related to Salesforce? Reach out to our team and we’d love to talk!!