Configure Field Audit Trail
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you'll be able to:
- Enable field history tracking for standard and custom objects in Salesforce.
- Define data retention policies, including Archive After and Archive Retention periods.
- Distinguish between active history data in the related list and archived data in long-term storage.
Now that you understand the theoretical benefits of Field Audit Trail (FAT), it’s time to see how those concepts are applied in a real-world scenario. Step into the shoes of a compliance administrator for Northern Trail Outfitters. Next, learn how to enable foundational tracking settings and define a specific retention policy to meet regulatory standards. And explore how to verify that field changes are being captured correctly using the Field History Explorer.
Enable Field History Tracking
Before you can define retention policies, you must ensure tracking is turned on for the objects that matter most to your business. When you enable tracking on an object, you can select up to 50 fields per object to monitor.
- From the Shield Home page, click Field Audit Trail, and then click Field History Tracking.
- In the Field History Tracking Search box, enter
Accountto display the Account object. - Select Enable Field History Tracking for the Account object.
- Select Track Field for these Account object fields:
- Account Name
- Phone
- Billing Address
- Account Name
- Save your work.
Configure Field Audit Trail Policies
With your fields selected, you’re ready to apply the specific governance rules that differentiate Field Audit Trail from standard tracking.
There are three main components to a retention policy.
- Archive After (Months): How long data stays in the History related list before moving to the archive.
- Archive Retention Years: How long the data remains in the archive before being permanently deleted.
- Grace Period: A short window (usually days) where you can adjust the policy before it takes effect.
In this step, define a retention policy that dictates how long data stays in the production object before being archived, and how long that archived data remains accessible.
- From the Shield Home page, click Field Audit Trail, and then click Field History Tracking.
- In the Field History Tracking Search box, enter
Accountto display the Account object. - Change the value in Archive After (Months) to 12 months.
- Change the value in Grace Period (Days) to 7 days.
- Save your work.
Verify Field History Tracking
In this final step, modify a record in real-time to generate history data. Then, use the Field History Explorer to confirm that your changes were captured, ensuring your audit trail is active and reliable.
- In the App Launcher search box, enter
Account, and then select Account. - Click New to create a new Account record.
- Enter
Acmeunder Account Name. - Enter
123-456-7890under Phone. - In DOB, select any date in the past.
- Save your work.
- From the Shield Home page, click Field Audit Trail, and then click Field History Explorer.
- In the Review History Search box, enter
Acmeand select Acme. - Confirm that your changes to the Account - Acme record appear and that field history tracking is capturing and storing your data.
When a user updates the Account Name, Phone, or Billing Address, Salesforce automatically logs:
- The user who made the change.
- The date and time of the update.
- The old and new values.
Because you’ve set a retention policy, this data stays in the related list for the duration of your Archive After period. Once that time passes, the data is automatically moved to long-term storage, keeping your primary history list clean and performant while ensuring you remain audit-ready.
Now that your audit trail is active and your retention policies are in place, it's time to put that data to work. In the next unit, use Field History Explorer to investigate changes, filter by user, field, or date, and support compliance audits.