What Is the Salesforce Administrator? Glossary & Key Terms

Organization-Wide Defaults (OWD)
The baseline, most restrictive level of record access for each object in an org, which can then be opened up through role hierarchy, sharing rules, or manual sharing.
Profile
A required setting assigned to each user that controls baseline object, field, and system-level permissions such as what a user can create, read, edit, or delete.
Permission Set
A collection of settings and permissions that grants additional access to users on top of their profile without changing the profile itself.
Role Hierarchy
A structure that controls the level of visibility users have into organizational data, generally granting managers access to the records owned by or shared with their subordinates.
Sharing Rules
Automated exceptions to organization-wide defaults that extend record access to specific users or groups based on record ownership or criteria.
Flow Builder
Salesforce's declarative automation tool used to build screen flows, record-triggered flows, and scheduled flows without writing code.
Validation Rule
A formula-based rule that verifies data meets specified criteria before a record is saved, displaying an error message if it doesn't.
Object Manager
The Setup area used to create and configure standard and custom objects, fields, relationships, and page layouts.
Lightning App Builder
A point-and-click tool for building custom pages and apps using the Lightning Component framework, including record pages, home pages, and app pages.
Custom Object
A database table created by an admin or developer to store information specific to an organization that isn't covered by standard Salesforce objects.
Lookup Relationship
A loosely coupled relationship between two objects that links records without affecting deletion behavior or record-level security inheritance.
Master-Detail Relationship
A tightly coupled relationship where the detail record's security and existence depend on the master record, including cascading deletion.
Report Type
A template determining which objects, fields, and related records are available for use when creating a report.
Dashboard
A visual, at-a-glance representation of data sourced from one or more reports, displayed using charts, gauges, tables, or metrics.
Queue
A holding area where records like leads or cases can be routed for a group of users to share ownership and pull work from.
Assignment Rule
Criteria-based automation that routes new leads or cases to the appropriate owner or queue.
AppExchange
Salesforce's marketplace for pre-built apps, components, and consulting solutions that extend platform functionality.
Sandbox
A separate, isolated copy of a Salesforce org used for development, testing, or training that does not affect production data.
Change Set
A tool for migrating configuration metadata, such as objects, fields, or flows, between connected Salesforce orgs like sandbox to production.
Trailhead
Salesforce's free, gamified online learning platform used to build skills through interactive modules and hands-on challenges called Trailmixes.
Agentforce
Salesforce's suite of AI agent capabilities for building and deploying autonomous and assistive AI agents within the platform, and one of the exam's content domains.
Object-Level Security
Permissions, typically set via profiles or permission sets, that control whether a user can create, read, edit, or delete records of a given object type.
Field-Level Security
Settings that control whether a specific field is visible, editable, or hidden for a user, regardless of their object or record access.
Page Layout
A configuration that controls which fields, related lists, and buttons appear on a record detail or edit page for a given object.