Salesforce Admin – Data Import/Export & Tools Questions

Data management is a critical responsibility for Salesforce Administrators, involving the import, export, and maintenance of organizational data. These questions cover Data Loader functionality, success and error logs, hard delete operations, scheduling jobs, API differences, batch size considerations, handling failed records, upsert operations, exporting related data, and secure data handling. Understanding these concepts is essential for maintaining data quality and integrity in Salesforce.

Data Management - Q&A

  1. Q1. What is the purpose of Success and Error logs in Data Loader?
    Ans: Success logs list records successfully processed along with their Salesforce IDs. Error logs capture failed records along with detailed error messages, helping identify issues like missing required fields or validation rule failures.
  2. Q2. What is a Hard Delete in Data Loader and when should it be used?
    Ans: Hard Delete permanently removes records from Salesforce without sending them to the Recycle Bin. It's used when data should not be recoverable, often for GDPR compliance or to clear large volumes of obsolete data.
  3. Q3. How can you schedule a Data Loader job?
    Ans: By using the command-line interface (CLI) and creating a process configuration file, we can use Windows Task Scheduler or cron jobs to run Data Loader commands at scheduled times for automation.
  4. Q4. What is the difference between Bulk API and SOAP API in Data Loader?
    Ans: Bulk API is optimized for loading or deleting large volumes of data asynchronously in batches, while SOAP API is synchronous and better suited for smaller datasets where immediate processing is needed.
  5. Q5. What happens if the batch size in Data Loader is too large?
    Ans: If the batch size is too large, it may cause performance issues or failures due to Salesforce governor limits. A common best practice is to use a batch size of 200 for Bulk API and 50 for complex triggers or workflows.
  6. Q6. How do you handle failed records in Data Loader?
    Ans: Review the error log, fix the data issues (e.g., missing lookups, invalid values), and reprocess only the failed records instead of the entire dataset.
  7. Q7. Can Data Loader perform an Upsert operation?
    Ans: Yes, Upsert allows inserting new records or updating existing ones based on a matching field (like External ID or Salesforce ID). This avoids duplicates and simplifies data sync processes.
  8. Q8. How do you export data with relationships using Data Loader?
    Ans: We can export parent-child relationships using relationship queries in SOQL (like SELECT Id, Name, Account.Name FROM Contact) when running Data Loader in export mode.
  9. Q9. How do you ensure sensitive data is handled securely in Data Loader?
    Ans: Enable "Encrypt passwords" in settings, avoid storing credentials in plain text, and restrict access to CSV files and logs containing sensitive information.
  10. Q10. What should you check if a Data Loader job fails without an error in logs?
    Ans: Verify internet connectivity, Salesforce login IP restrictions, API enabled on the user profile, and ensure the security token is correct if logging in from a new IP address.

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