Create Posts, Polls, and Questions

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Post to your profile feed and other feeds.
  
• Get answers to your questions.
  
• Create and respond to Chatter polls.
  

Accessibility

This unit requires some additional instructions for screen reader users. To access a detailed screen reader version of this unit, click the link below:

Open Trailhead screen reader instructions.

Post All the Things

In the last unit, we gave the high-altitude view of Chatter. Now let’s go to ground level and start using it. Probably the most useful feature of Chatter is the publisher. Use it to add content to any kind of Chatter feed.

The types of things you can do in the Chatter publisher depend on how your Salesforce admin configured Chatter. But typically, you can post content, upload files, create polls, and ask questions. Use the Chatter publisher on the Chatter tab, on a profile, on a Salesforce record, and within groups. We talk more about groups in unit 4.

While you’re working through the content and hands-on challenges in this module, make sure that you’re logged in to your Trailhead Playground. Using your playground ensures that you aren’t changing data in your production org or posting to your company’s Chatter feed.

Post Something to Chatter

Now that your profile details are published. Let’s post something to Chatter. No need to navigate somewhere else. Your profile page has a Chatter feed right there.

On the Post tab, click into the Share an update… field. Before you enter anything, take a moment to look at the options in the Chatter publisher.

With the controls in the rich text editor (1), you can add styles, lists, images, links, code snippets, emojis, and mentions to your post. With the link-to-records feature (2) you can link to a record, such as an account, opportunity, case—even another user—as easily as adding a mention. Use the paper clip (3) to attach up to 10 files to a post or question.

Go ahead and enter Today is a great day to learn Chatter! If you like, style the text.

To make your post easier to find later, add a topic to it. Topics are searchable terms that you add to a post using a hashtag (#). Enter #TakeItToChatter, and press Enter. After you share your post, you can find it by searching for TakeItToChatter. The search results include all the feed items that you have access to that are tagged with #TakeItToChatter. Topics are very useful for finding content about a subject that you’re interested in.

Now click Share.

When you post to your profile feed, anyone who has access to your profile can see your post. And anyone who is following you is notified of your activity.

Tip: Use your keyboard to share your post, comment, or question. For Windows, enter your content and press Ctrl+Enter; for macOS, press control+Enter or command+Enter.

Look at your profile feed to see your own posts, posts where you’re @mentioned, and things your coworkers posted to your profile. Filter a profile feed by Posts by This User to see only that user’s posts. When you filter a profile feed by Posts by This User, posts where the user has commented or is @mentioned aren’t shown.

You can filter your own profile feed in this way to find that thing you just posted and lost. (We speak from experience.) Change the filter on a profile feed to All Updates to see posts from the profiled user and all others who have posted to this profile.

Tip:If you post to someone’s profile and your post disappears, remember All Updates. If the filter Posts by This User is selected, a friendly post from you is filtered out. Change the filter to All Updates, and you’re back in business.

You can see a post in the full feed, or you can see it in its detail view. To get to the detail view of a post, click its date-and-time stamp. In detail view, all you see is that one post, question, or poll with all its related comments or answers. Detail view is useful for cutting out the noise of the other feed content. You can also use detail view to grab a URL that leads to just that one post, poll, or question.

Create and Take a Poll

In the Chatter publisher you can create a one-question poll for gathering opinions on the spot. When you create a poll on your profile page, anyone who has access to your profile can see your poll. On the Chatter page, the poll is available to the people who follow you. In a private group, the poll is available to members of the group. In a public group, anyone can take the poll.

1. To open the Chatter page, click the Chatter tab. 
   If the Chatter tab isn’t visible, from the App Launcher (), search for and select Chatter.
   
2. In the publisher, click the Poll tab.
   
   
3. In the Question field, enter: We’ll be handing out hoodies at the company all-hands. What color?
4. Enter the following answer options in the Choice fields. After you enter Navy Blue, click Add new choice for the remaining options.
   

• Black
• Navy Blue
• Dark Red
• Gray

5. To publish your poll, click Ask.
   

To take the poll and publish your result, select an option and click Vote. To see the poll results, click View results. If you already voted in the poll, click Change vote to reveal theView results link. You don’t have to change your vote to view the results.

Ask a Question

Posting a question is a great way to make a direct appeal to the group of people most likely to have the right answer. The question publisher boosts the visibility of your question by giving it a distinct, bold format. You can post just the question, or you can add details to it. Only your question is bold. You can format details however you like.

1. In the publisher, click the Question tab.
   
2. Enter the following question: Can you post suggestions for rewarming a cold account?
3. Enter the following details: I'm pumped about this initiative, but I need ideas to get started. All suggestions welcome!

4. Click Ask.
   

Now your question is ready to answer by everyone who can access the feed that it’s posted to.

Tip: In Lightning Experience, when you add details in the Details section, you can use your keyboard to post your question. Enter your question and details, then press Ctrl+Enter (Windows and macOS) or command+Enter (macOS only).

As with polls, your followers have the access to answer questions that you posted to your profile page or the Chatter page. Private group members can answer questions posted to private groups. Anyone in your org can answer a question posted to a public group.

When the answers come pouring in, you can raise the visibility of the best answer by selecting it as best. The best answer is marked and copied to the top of all answers. You can remove a best answer using the Remove as Best option.

Upload Files

Posted text is great, but attaching a file to your post or question is even better. In the Chatter publisher, click the Post or Question tab, click in its text field, and look for the Attach files icon . Attach up to 10 files to a post or question.

Let’s step through attaching a couple of files to see how it works.

You can attach multiple files to posts and questions, but you can attach only one file to a comment.

1. In the Chatter publisher, click the Question tab, then click .
   
2. You have a few ways to select up to 10 files:
   

• Upload a file from your computer (1).
  
• Select a file from files that are already uploaded to Salesforce. Select a category (2), such as Owned by Me, and select a file from the results on the right.
  
• Select files that are connected to Salesforce through a connected source (3), such as Quip, Google Drive™, or SharePoint™.
  
  

Tip: To access files that are stored in a library, search for them (4), or click Libraries, and then click to expand a library folder. For all options, use Ctrl+click to select files that are not right next to each other (macOS command+click). Use Shift+click to select a range of files. The window tracks the number of files you selected (5), and the Add button also shows a selection count (6).

3. Click Add.
   
4. Enter the question: Is this the latest client spreadsheet?
   
5. Add more information in the Details section to clarify your question: This is the one I’ve been using for trade show announcements. I want to be certain we’re getting everyone. Thanks in advance!
6. Click Ask.
   

Previews of attached files appear below your post or question. Click a file to open it.

Up to three files are previewed. On the third preview, the count of remaining attached files appears. Click the third file to see full previews of the remaining files.

Now you know lots of ways to join the conversation. Next, we test your skills and then move deeper into Chatter lore.

Resources

• Salesforce Help: Work with Feeds
• Salesforce Help: Work with Posts
• Salesforce Help: Create a Poll
• Salesforce Help: Chatter Questions Overview
• Salesforce Help: Attach a File to a Post or Comment