Cannot Reference Contact fields in Validation Rule Formula

Question

I'm trying to create a validation rule that disallows a User from creating a record if their contact has a certain checkbox checked. Unfortunately, when I reference the $User object, there is no ">" for the Contact field that allows me to reference Contact fields - instead I can only reference the Contact ID (Image below).

I am currently getting around this by creating a formula field on the User object that references the needed field, but I was wondering if there was any way to drill down to the fields on the Contact via the existing lookup field.

Answer 1

I believe it's an SF limitation, You can't go further with the $User in the Validation Rule.

However, You can create a formula field on the User object, You are allowed to cross-reference in the formula field.

You can access that formula field with $User in the validation rule.