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Use All the Service Console Productivity Tools Together

Learning Objectives

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

  • Use split view.
  • Run a macro.
  • Use and find the keyboard shortcuts.
  • Insert quick text.
  • Perform mass quick actions.
  • Use the History utility.

Work with Split View to See More

It’s demo time! Maria’s hard work has paid off and she’s ready to show off the new agent productivity tools to Sita, Roberto, and some all-star agents. Maria sets up a fake case so she can demo all the tools at once.

Instead of working from a list view, Maria wants to show the power of split view. She starts her demo from a closed case. Instead of navigating back to a list view to open another case, she shows how easy it is to open a case from split view instead.

To open and close split view, click the vertical bar at the very left of the console.

Two side-by-side images of the Service Console, one showing split view closed and the other with split view open

Run a Macro to Send Emails

Now it’s time to demo the macro she created. This macro sends an email to the customer requesting photos of the damage in order to process the replacement. She opens a case that doesn’t have any customer photos.
  1. Open a case you want to work with.

    If you’re following along, update the email address for the case’s contact to your own. That way when you send the email, you can see it yourself.

  2. Click Macro in the utility bar.

  3. Select the macro you want to run.

  4. Click Run Macro.
     Macro utility, showing the Run Macro button
    The macro runs on the open case record.

    Macro utility, running a macro

  5. After the macro completes, click Done.

    Macro utility, showing the macro completed with the Done button highlighted

Learn Keyboard Shortcuts for Fewer Clicks

In preparation for quick text, Maria wants to highlight where agents can find other keyboard shortcuts. To open the keyboard shortcuts panel, open the Help Menu and click View Keyboard Shortcuts. You can also use a shortcut to view the menu. Enter Cmd+/ on MacOS and Ctrl+/ on Windows.

Maria mentions that Keyboard shortcuts are a great navigation tool for service team members who primarily navigate without a mouse, such as keyboard and screen reader. If anyone at the demo wants to learn more, she names these links: Accessibility Standards in the Salesforce Help and the Accessibility Basics module on Trailhead.

View Keyboard Shortcuts in the Help Menu

Keyboard shortcut window showing all the available shortcuts

Insert Quick Text to Add Content

While Maria was showing off the available shortcuts, the customer has demo-magically responded. The case was updated with a photo and Maria verifies it. Now it’s time to send along another email confirming the replacement and verifying the customer’s address. Maria demos how quick text can help with emails too. Demo Double Bonus: She gets to also demo how the Email action is prepopulated with an email template!

If you didn’t customize the Email action with a predefined email template, you can still follow along. If you want to go back and customize your action, head back over to Unit 2.


Here’s what Maria does.
  1. Select the Email action.

  2. Place your cursor in the middle of the prepopulated email body.

  3. To insert quick text, you can use a button or a keyboard shortcut.

    • Click the quick text button in the email toolbar: Quick text button
    • Enter one of the following commands:
      • MacOS: Cmd+.
      • Windows: Ctrl+.

  4. Select the quick text you want to enter.

    Email publisher for a case, showing quick text being inserted into the email

Perform Mass Quick Actions to Reduce Clicks

Now it’s time to reassign the cases so the next agent can process the replacements. Maria wants to show off mass quick actions. She heads over to the case list view.

Note: Keep in mind that mass quick actions don’t work on the Recently Viewed list.

Here’s what Maria does on the My Open Cases list view.

  1. Select the cases you want to perform mass quick action on.

  2. Click Replacement Owner. (This is the mass quick action you set up.)

  3. Fill out the action details.

    • Select a new owner. If you don’t have any other users in your org, you can leave yourself as the owner.
    • Set the status to Escalated.
  4. Review your changes in the Fields to update section.
     Mass quick action that shows the Case Owner, Status, and Internal Comments fields updated for two case records
  5. Click Save. Then click OK to perform the action.
     Mass quick action, confirming changes

View History to Revisit Salesforce Records

Last on the demo is the History utility. Maria’s been working with a lot of records and she wants to show her team how agents can find a list of the records they’ve visited.

To open the utility, press H on your keyboard or click History in the utility bar. If you opened any subtabs, they’re listed in context of the workspace tab. You can also copy links for records in one click.

History utility, showing a nested contact under a case record

Maria’s demo ends in a round of applause. Sita, Roberto, and the all-star agents are amazed at how much time the agent productivity tools can save. With the green light from everyone, Maria assigns her agents the quick text and macros permission sets that she created. She’ll reach out to agents in Chatter and in upcoming trainings to make sure the tools are adopted. But with the number of clicks and time the tools save, she’s pretty confident that her agents will say, “These are great. Got any more?!”

Explore Advanced Service Console Productivity Tools

Here are a couple more tools that Maria plans to look into.

Apex QuickActionDefaultsHandler interface Use this Apex interface to override email field values based on complex logic. For example, you can use this Apex interface to apply a specific email template and BCC a manager on only high-priority cases.

Note: Email defaults set with this Apex interface override all other defaults, including a quick action’s predefined email template and predefined field values.
Salesforce Flow for Service Give your users a to-do list with Salesforce Flow for Service, and associate records to flows using Salesforce automation tools. Show flows, quick actions, and recommendations from your Next Best Action strategies. To create your list, associate actions with a record page using an Actions & Recommendations deployment or Salesforce automation tools. You can create default lists for specific channels, like phone and chat, and show which actions that you want users to complete first and last.

Looks like there are always more ways to increase agent productivity. Maria’s excited to implement more time-saving tools for Ursa Major Solar in the future.

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