Is there a way to remove "Inactive" contacts from appearing in a Search?
This is in regards to Case>New>Contact Name>Look up:
3 Answers
According to the idea Filter out inactive records when searching this isn't currently possible.
It would be really nice to be able to set a default to filter out inactive contacts and other record types when searcing in Salesforce.
Feel free to vote on and promote that idea.
There is also a recommendation from Salesfix to make the inactive records distinct in the search results:
To help see which Contacts are Inactive when you search for the contact, create a workflow rule to automatically append x- to the First Name of the Contact
At the simplest level, the workflow rule would just watch for a change to the IsActive__c field and prepend an 'x-' to the firstname.
I don't have an is active field setup, but I do have a is naughty checkbox field (long story).
An that is pretty much it. Of course, it's a bit naive as it can't handle the field being unchecked. I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader.
answered Oct 4, 2018 at 20:44
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Yeah I found that too... Super disappointing. Is there no way, shape, or form via validation rule or something to hide those? "To help see which Contacts are Inactive when you search for the contact, create a workflow rule to automatically append x- to the First Name of the Contact" -Ohhh that's dirty lol... I can see how that would work though. If that's possible in workflows then it's gotta be possible in Process Builder too... I'm trying to avoid building new workflows.– TimCommented Oct 4, 2018 at 20:48
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Can you throw me a bone on this one: "create a workflow rule to automatically append x- to the First Name of the Contact". What would the formula be to append x- to the First Name of the Contact"? Also, thank you.– TimCommented Oct 4, 2018 at 20:55
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You need a workflow rule looking for changes to the checkbox field of interest. Whenever that field gets set to true fire the field update to prepend something to the Contacts firstname. If you want the process to be reversible it will be more complicated. Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 22:00
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1You're awesome Daniel, Thank you so much! I think this is going to help more people than just me. I very much appreciate it!– TimCommented Oct 4, 2018 at 22:16
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Update Just in case somebody else comes across this. It's a cute workflow but no matter what Prefix you add, whether "x_" or "00"; the search function will still find the name that's associated with the inactive account. So if you search "John", Then x_John will still appear and will be checked inactive. the only difference is the name. A John is a John regardless of the x_. So final conclusion, there is currently no way in Salesforce to filter out inactive contacts.– TimCommented Oct 5, 2018 at 0:06
Since "Inactive" is just determined by the value of a boolean (checkbox) field on the Contact object, you can filter out Inactive accounts by setting up a search results filter.
In Salesforce Classic, find the Contact object under Settings. Then look under "search layouts" and edit "search filter fields". Add the "Inactive" field to the selected fields list and save your changes.
When you do a search for Contacts now, you should see a "show filters" link at the top left of the table (in Classic). Use the dropdown to only show contacts where inactive = false.
Couple of options that have been mentioned before if Contact object is private -
- Assign contacts to a position that is not active in the field (e.g. a manager)
- Assign contacts to an admin or a position that sits outside the normal role hierarchy
These actions hide contacts everywhere, which may be confusing users more than helping them. We found that the prefix option was actually better :)
