Salesforce Platform Developer Practice Exam

Which of these functions is available in a formula field?

1. ISCHANGED

2. ISNEW

3. REGEX

4. IF

The correct answer is: IF

In Salesforce, formula fields are designed to calculate and display values based on other fields or specific criteria dynamically. The function that stands out in the context of what is available in a formula field is the IF function. The IF function allows you to create conditional logic within your formula fields. You can specify a condition to check and return different values based on whether that condition is true or false. This straightforward conditional evaluation is fundamental for tailoring data representation according to the requirements, such as showing different text based on a user’s selection or value from another field. While other functions might be very useful in different contexts, they are not applicable in all formula field scenarios. For instance, ISCHANGED and ISNEW are used within validation rules or workflow rules to determine the state of a record during operations and are not available within the body of a formula field. REGEX is also not used directly in formula fields as a standalone function; instead, it is available in certain formula contexts, primarily for string matching and manipulation but not as a function for conditional logic in the way that IF performs. Thus, the ability to leverage the IF function for conditional evaluations makes it a key feature for creating effective and dynamic formula fields within Salesforce.