Cross-object rules
Define rules where a condition on one object triggers an action on another: block the save, create a record or update related records. It is integrity automation, written in a form, with no code and without waiting for a scheduled flow.
Some business rules do not fit inside a single field's validation: an opportunity above a certain amount cannot be saved without a proposal attached; every won opportunity should create an implementation record; changing an account's status has to be reflected in the contracts linked to it. Cross-object rules express exactly that: a condition on one object, an effect on another.
How to create one
- Open Settings and, in the Automation and processes group, click Cross-object rules.
- Fill in the rule Name and pick the Source object, the one whose records will be watched.
- Under When, choose On create, On update or On create or update.
- Under Conditions (all true), click Add condition and build each line: Field, operator and Value.
- Choose the Action: Block, Create record or Update related. The last two also ask for the Target object.
- Tick Active and click Save.
Fields are picked from a list, not typed, which keeps you from getting an internal name wrong. The available operators are equals, not equal, greater than, greater or equal, less than, less or equal, contains, empty and not empty. Conditions add up: all of them have to be true for the rule to fire, and a rule with no conditions at all always fires.
The three actions
- Block: prevents the save and shows the Block message you wrote. The check runs before saving, so nothing is left half done.
- Create record: creates a record on the target object. Under New record data, you build the field and value pairs that will be filled in.
- Update related: walks the target object's records that point back to the source record through the Link field (a relationship field on the source object) and writes the New value into the Field to set.
Cautions and limits
- Actions fired by a rule do not re-evaluate the target object's rules. That is deliberate: it keeps two rules from calling each other in a circle and freezing the system.
- A rule accepts up to twenty conditions.
- Unticking Active turns the rule off without deleting it, which is the safe way to test a hunch.
- A rule that blocks affects everyone, including imports and integrations that save through the same path. Write the message with the reader in mind.
- Under Update related, the Link field is picked among the source object's relationship fields. Without it and without the Field to set, the rule does nothing.
Who can do this
Creating, editing and deleting rules requires permission to administer settings. The effect, though, is felt by everyone: anyone who saves a record on the source object goes through the rule.
Common questions
- My rule does not fire: confirm that it is Active, that the trigger covers the operation you tested and that every condition is true at the same time.
- Comparing numbers and dates: the greater and less operators compare numerically; equals and contains compare as text, and contains is not case sensitive.
- Does deleting the rule undo what it already did? No. Records it created and values it wrote stay put; the rule simply stops acting from then on.
- How is this different from Validations? Validations look after the record itself, field by field. Cross-object rules watch one object and act on another.