Mobile Development and Customization

The Salesforce Mobile App provides access to Salesforce from iOS and Android devices. It uses Lightning Experience but with an interface optimized for touch screens and small displays.

Mobile app customization areas:

1. Mobile Navigation:
- Configured SEPARATELY from desktop navigation.
- Setup > Salesforce Navigation > reorder menu items.
- The first 4 menu items appear in the app's bottom navigation bar.
- The rest appear in a hamburger menu (≡).
- Can include: objects, dashboards, Chatter, Screen Flows, Lightning Pages.
- Navigation is the same for all users (not customized per profile, unlike desktop Lightning Apps).

2. Compact Layouts:
- Are even more important on mobile than on desktop.
- Control which fields appear in the record's highlights panel on mobile.
- Maximum 7 visible fields (plus the Name field).
- The first field in the Compact Layout is the record's main title.
- On the mobile app, Compact Layouts also determine what's seen in notifications and preview cards.

3. Actions:
- Mobile actions are configured in the Page Layout, 'Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions' section.
- If this section has NOT been customized, Salesforce's default actions are used.
- To customize: open the Page Layout → drag actions to the actions section.
- On mobile, actions appear as buttons at the top of the record.
- Global Actions appear in the '+' button on the global navigation bar.

4. Lightning Pages (Record Pages):
- Record Pages created in Lightning App Builder automatically adapt to mobile.
- But you can create mobile-specific versions using Component Visibility Rules with the condition "Form Factor = Phone".
- Components stack vertically in a single column on mobile.

5. Mobile-optimized Quick Actions:
- Quick Actions with simplified layouts (few fields) are ideal for mobile.
- Use actions that pre-fill fields to reduce data entry on small screens.
- 'Log a Call' and 'New Task' action types are especially useful in mobile context.

What's NOT available on the mobile app:
- ❌ Dashboards have limited functionality (view-only, not fully interactive).
- ❌ Not all desktop Lightning components work on mobile.
- ❌ JavaScript Buttons don't work (same as Lightning desktop).
- ❌ Visualforce pages have limited rendering on mobile.
- ❌ Reports have limited functionality (no report builder, basic viewing only).

What DOES work well on mobile:
- ✅ Screen Flows work fully and adapt to the screen.
- ✅ Chatter works with all capabilities.
- ✅ Einstein Activity Capture syncs emails and events.
- ✅ Offline Access (with limitations, see next section).

Offline Access:
- The Salesforce Mobile App allows working without Internet connection.
- Data is cached on the device and automatically syncs when connection is restored.
- In offline mode, users can:
- View recently visited records (from cache).
- Create new records.
- Edit cached records.
- Offline changes sync in the correct order when reconnecting.
- Enhanced Offline: Improved functionality available in Enterprise+ editions allowing configuration of what data is cached (Offline Briefcase).

Offline Briefcase:
- Administrators configure data sets (Briefcases) downloaded to the device for offline use.
- Can be defined per object and filtered by criteria (e.g., 'My Accounts' or 'High priority Cases').
- Supports up to 50,000 records offline.
- Filters can be based on: record ownership, lookup fields, or custom criteria.

Push Notifications:
- Administrators can configure push notifications for specific events:
- Pending approvals.
- Chatter mentions (@user).
- Task assignments.
- Changes to followed records.
- Configured in: Setup > Notification Delivery Settings.
- Users can customize which notifications they receive from app settings.

In-App Guidance:
- Allows creating prompts (popup messages) and walkthroughs (step-by-step tutorials) directly in the interface.
- Used to train users on new features or processes.
- Configured in Setup > In-App Guidance.
- Available on both desktop and mobile.

Mobile Publisher (Custom branded apps):
- Allows creating branded versions of the Salesforce Mobile App.
- The app is published on App Store and Google Play with the company's name and icon.
- Same Salesforce content but with custom branding.

Mobile design considerations (Design Thinking for the exam):
- Simplify layouts: fewer fields, more quick actions.
- Use effective Compact Layouts — the first field should be the most identifying.
- Prioritize Screen Flows for data collection instead of extensive page layouts.
- Consider that mobile users have less time and attention.
- Prioritize the most frequent actions at the top of the Page Layout.
- Always test customizations on a real device or Salesforce's mobile simulator.