Salesforce Platform Developer Practice Exam

What happens to the owner field on detail records in a master-detail relationship?

1. It can be set manually

2. It is automatically set to the master record's owner

3. It is irrelevant in this relationship

4. It can often be changed

The correct answer is: It is automatically set to the master record's owner

In a master-detail relationship, the owner field on detail records is automatically set to the owner of the master record. This reflects the tightly coupled nature of the master-detail relationship in Salesforce, where the detail record (also referred to as the child) is dependent on the master record (or parent). When a detail record is created, Salesforce automatically assigns the owner of the detail record to be the same as that of the master record. This design ensures data integrity and simplifies the management of records, as the ownership of detail records is directly tied to their parent. Consequently, if the owner of the master record changes, the ownership of the detail records can also be affected, depending on the scenario, which reinforces the idea that the child record's existence and ownership are inherently linked to the parent record. This automatic ownership assignment enhances the efficiency of record management within Salesforce, streamlining processes associated with record ownership, sharing settings, and visibility. In contrast, other options suggest a level of control or relevance of the detail record's owner that does not apply due to the inherent structure of the master-detail relationship.