Currency Fields in Conga (aka WHERE'S MY COMMA???)

I received a case a week or so ago, asking me to add commas to the invoice template that we are using with Conga.

I looked at the template, and checked the field from which it was pulling the data within Salesforce.com.

I checked the "view data" on the Conga Dialog window, and it had a comma, I checked the "template builder" and yep - it had a comma.

Looks fine to me.

So I pulled the template - sure enough.. it's not showing up with commas!

Today, I will show you how to fix this problem. It's super easy-peasy, and you'll be a hero, and let's just be honest. Everyone wants to be a hero every once in a while.

First, let's take a look at our original template.  Notice that whoever created the original, apparently realized that the formatting was "wrong" because they added a dollar sign as a static element.

Well, it looks like that was "okay" for a couple of years, but not so much any more. 

So, I did a quick web search, and found this Conga help document called How to Format Number or Currency Values in Word Templates.   *Disclaimer: This method happens to be for Version 7, and I have not yet tested it for any other version. Version 7 is the version that is in use in my org. 

This page gives a really good overview of the different number formatting styles that can be used in a MS Word Template, so if you need to format your number in another way, take a look at that page.

There is a cool format that can change the number to words, which I want to play with, just for the novelty... but I digress! Let's fix our template to format as currency.

Now, right click on your merge field, and choose "Edit Field".

Click in the field name, and hit "End" to bring your cursor to the end of the name. (End is a button on your keyboard)

Then, type or paste in the following:

\#Currency

When you are finished, it will look something like this:

Now click "OK".

Do this for every field that should be formatted as currency. AND - don't forget to take off any static formatting that was on the template, such as the dollar sign that was on my original template. The formatting that we put into the merge field name, will add the dollar sign and the comma!

Now, test your template!

You need to follow your standard process of uploading to Conga Templates, or saving wherever you keep your templates, but now... You're done!

OMG MY SEARCH BAR IS GONE!!!

Seriously... this is funny to me. As a Salesforce.com Admin/BA for two different companies now, I've seen this happen countless times. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to start a running count on how many times it happens...

Yep, that's right... we don't have Chatter enabled right now. We're a big company, and getting software "changes" approved at least as far as social networking stuff is concerned is big. We're working on it, but we aren't quite there yet.

Here is the scenario:

New users are added... they log on for the first time and they get that pop up. You know the one... it's tricky right? You log on for the first time ever, you have no clue what you're doing, and BAM!

Well... you know... nothing here says anything about it completely changing the way stuff looks... or that it's going to do this for every single person in the company! It's free, and hey, it looks cool... so why not....You click the button

And you're like... hmmm okay cool!!!!  Suddenly people all over the room are yelling!!!

HEY... 

                              Where's my search bar... 

                                                         hey Shannon, our search bar is gone... 

what's going on?  

and... me, in my little office with no windows... 

Phones start ringing, cases are coming in by the bucket full... and I'm thinking oh my gosh... what is going on...

Then I realize... someone has turned on Chatter again!!!

Some of you are super lucky, you don't have to do this, because you've had Chatter from it's inception. I've got to do this about once a month. But... it's an easy fix, which means quick, and I can close out a BUNCH of tickets and everyone loves me for about 12 seconds. :-)

But... I'm a tiny bit twisted... so... I actually kind of enjoy waiting for people to start screaming about their search box being gone, and just saying.. ."oh hold on a second... okay hit refresh... BAM fixed it for you".

MUAH!

A little ray of light...

The Rainy Day

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary; 
It rains, and the wind is never weary; 
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

*~~***~~*

In my last post, I was just seriously down. I'd been having some bad times... it kept going!!!!  I ended up in a terrible accident (I was not at fault btw), and my vehicle was totaled. I was truly lucky to be alive.  

The day following my car accident, my mother had surgery to clear out that carotid artery that caused her strokes right after Christmas. Three days later, the day after she came home from the hospital, she started having seizures, and I had to call 911 again. She was rushed to the hospital, then life-flighted to another hospital. Then, after she got out of ICU from that, and was in her second day of inpatient physical therapy, she had a heart attack, and her heart completely stopped beating. They performed CPR and such and brought her back. A few days, later, they implanted a internal defibrillator, and she went through another round of inpatient physical therapy. She's been home for about a month now, and is learning to walk all over again. This makes the third time just this year! Last Thursday, my son calls, and he's driving himself to the ER, he's "darn near cut both his fingers off".

Please note, that those were his words, not mine. He is fine, it took 10 stitches, but he didn't sever any nerves, and went back to work after one day of recovery.

Mom is walking more and more every day, I finally got a new car, it sure is pretty, and it's starting to look a bit more like there is some good times on the way.

I'd say that I'm finally starting to see some daylight.

Now... I am working for this trend to continue. I honestly am not up to any more drama this year. 

2014 Has Been Rough (crybaby alert)

For those of you who may not know me via Facebook or in person, my parents (mom and stepdad) retired and moved in with me three years ago. I've been struggling a bit trying to keep everything under "control" at home, working long hours, trying to get part time jobs, selling off possessions that I didn't need, etc. In September of last year, I finally started feeling like I was accomplishing some of my goals.

Well the day after Christmas, my mother had a stroke, two days later my step dad and I both ended up with the flu, then he developed pneumonia, and ended up in the hospital too. Mom was in one hospital, Step-dad in another one. So I was bouncing back and forth between hospitals, while trying to recover from the lovely affliction that is the FLU!!!

Step-dad came home three days ago, Mom was in the hospital until yesterday. Now we're attempting to get physical therapy and occupational therapy and home health visits, and medical equipment and everything all lined up for Mom, and follow up doctor's appointments etc. for everyone else.

When I checked my email this morning, I got the news that I wasn't renewed for another term as a Salesforce.com MVP. I have to tell you guys, 2014 has already been seriously rough for me, and that news just makes my heart hurt.

This is a fantastic program, it's one of the most fun things I've ever been a part of. It's also a seriously humbling experience to be grouped with the people that are a part of this program.

Thank you everyone for the ride, it was bumpy but worth it. Now I'm going to go and have a bit of a pity party, and cry a bit. Then, I'm going to come back strong.

Dreamforce Sessions you HAVE to go to.

Allright, after reading so many posts about who to meet at Dreamforce, and the best tech sessions and so forth... Here is my list of Dreamforce '13 Sessions that you MUST attend (if you can get a seat). Now, this list is not all-inclusive, as there's only so much time in a day to get to sessions. So if there's a session that you think SHOULD be on here.. please comment and add a link!

The below links go directly to the agenda builder in the Dreamforce org. If you haven't booked your seat at Dreamforce yet... do so NOW. And then pray that you can get a hotel room withing 100 miles of San Francisco. Then... chastise yourself for being a procrastinator, and block of the time for next year's Dreamforce so you never make the same mistake again!!! Oh, and use the MVP Dreamforce Referral Code $100 off D13MVPREF

MONDAY

Salary Negotiations, Knowing your Worth and Not Settling For Less 

This one is hosted by Melanie Quandt & Geraldine Gray. (Yet another one of my personal friends)

The job market is tough, but you are tougher. The key is knowing what you bring to the table and what the fair value is for your contribution. Join us in the Success Community Zone for an informal talk on how to hone your brand, know your worth, and negotiate for the salary, raise, or situation you deserve.

Women in Technology Table Talk: Becoming a Powerful Communicator

Often, as a woman, it's hard to effectively communicate with authority and presence without being perceived negatively. How can we take a seat at the table with other developers and make sure our ideas are heard? Join us in the Women in Technology Salon for an informal talk on how to get your message across positively, with confidence and persuasion.

MVP THROWDOWN - Bring it ON! 

 Join Salesforce's MVPs as they share stories of their success, brainstorm cool ways to use technology, and even bring the (friendly) heat to salesforce.com product managers in the dreaded dunk tank of doom -- actually more of a chair.

Be a Groupie! (Why You Should Get Involved With a Salesforce.com User Group)

Join User Group Leaders with nearly 25 years of combined experience running Salesforce.com user groups, many of whom are also Salesforce MVPs, as they debunk the myth that user groups are nothing more than social groups. They will answer questions such as: What is a user group, what kinds are there, and who runs them? Where can I find them and how do I join one? And most importantly, What's in it for me? Find your local user group at https://success.salesforce.com/usergroups ... And keep the Dreamforce excitement going all year long! Community-Led Session

Salesforce Fundamentals: Strategy for Campaign and Lead Management
Led by Maria Belli, Bryan Boroughf, Deepa Patel & Shell Black (ALL SUPER MVP’s!!!)  Join us as we provide you with an understanding of how Campaigns and Leads are managed in Salesforce and how you can see real ROI with your marketing efforts. Community-Led Session

TUESDAY

Workshop 300: Code Custom App Logic (with Apex)

Code the cloud! In this hands-on workshop you’ll take a tour of the cloud-based and desktop development tools at your disposal. Along the way you’ll learn how to query with SOQL and SOSL, create stored procedures and database triggers, and write unit tests.

Analytics Snapshots: Common Use Cases That Everyone Can Utilize

My MVP "Sister" Launa Saunders, Rhonda Ross and Elizabeth Shephard are hosting this one. It promises to be worth your time in spades! Have you heard about Analytic Snapshots, but been intimidated about setting your first one up? Or, are you simply unsure of how you can use them? Join us as we show you how setting up a snapshot can be as simple as performing three easy steps. Several use cases that virtually every organization can take advantage of will be discussed, such as tracking user logins over time, measuring Chatter adoption, reporting on changes to key fields, and more! Step-by-step instructions for setting up your own snapshots will be available so you can put what you learn into practice immediately. Community-Led Session

DUH the Dreamforce Gala with Green Day and Blondie

Hello... Blondie and Green Day... Nuff Said right?

WEDNESDAY

2nd Annual Comedy of Clouds

Hosted by some of my friends, @DarthGary, @SteveMoForce, @MichaelForce et al. A full hour of Salesforce.com comedy skits. Here's a link to last years session video. If you are easily offended, please don't watch this video, or come to the session. I can't guarantee that we are going to be completely PC. Don't get me wrong, we are going to try... but... if you are confused about this session... this is the SNL of Dreamforce (and yes, I'll be performing)

The Power of the Community

Hosted by myself, Denise Carbone, Steve Mo (Molis), Cicle Horsky, Gina Skocilich & Jackie Travieso
Have you ever wondered how other administrators and organizations handle what seems to be a simple objective or even a more complex project? You’ve read through the Help & Training, you just don’t know where to start or how to get over a technological hump? You are not alone - we have all been there! In this session, learn where to go for guidance and about the power of the Salesforce Community, how users help other users in this panel of Salesforce Community MVPs and User Group Leaders who use the exact same resources to problem solve, brainstorm creative work-arounds, research, and so much more! This is your opportunity to ask someone who has been there, done that…and is willing to share their experience. It’s called COMMUNITY and you need to be a part of it too! Community-Led Session

How Advocacy Programs Drive Scalable Success - Inside the Salesforce.com MVP Program

Hear how focusing on your top online community & social media contributors can help drive large scale engagement, build raving brand advocates and increase product loyalty.

AND... those are my picks. Of course I am reserving the right to add more later as I discover them.



Have a great day, and look me up at Dreamforce!!!

Change is GOOD

Good morning!

Taking a page from Martin Luther King Junior, "Something is happening in Houston, something is happening in our world." I've moved on from the company that was the genesis of my Salesforce.com revolution. It was a sad day on Friday. After ten years, I received an offer that I "couldn't refuse". And so, I bid adieu to my home away from home MRC, and say bonjour to my new home away from home NRGEnergy.

This morning, I have been here for four days, but it still feels like the first day. Everything is new and exciting, and I can't wait to get to work! I feel like a schoolkid at a new school where they are able to reinvent themselves as the "cool kid".

As we ramp up in preparation of Dreamforce '13, and as I am adjusting to my new job and new commute and new office and new co-workers, I can't help reflecting on the past while I am preparing for the future. Change is good my friends, never allow yourself to stagnate!

Two quotes about change for today...

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." ~ Maya Angelou

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." ~ Anatole France

MVP Summit - Amazingness

I'm just now getting around to blogging about the Salesforce.com MVP Summit. I feel a bit lazy about it, since there were some of us that were blogging it out on the airplane on the way home. I needed to take some time to organize my thoughts after the whirlwind of awesomeness.

I'm not going to run on and on about every cool thing that happened, most of the details are under NDA, so I can't share the exact discussions.

I can tell you that the co-founder of Salesforce.com, Parker Harris was there the entire day, and spoke very frequently and very forthrightly  in response to our questions and comments.

I can tell you that it was an amazing experience, spending two days with this many others who are as passionate about Salesforce.com as I am!

Having breakfast with Parker Harris (@parkerharris) and Peter Coffee (@petercoffee) was amazing. Having Charlie Isaacs (@charlieisaacs) treat us to dinner and drinks on Friday Night... amazing.

Discussing our thoughts and wishes for Salesforce.com with a room full of executives and product managers that were actually interested in hearing them, seeing some demos of new features that will be released at Dreamforce, and knowing that Salesforce.com actually cares deeply about what their community thinks about them, was the biggest amazing feature of the entire event.

Thank you Salesforce.com, Charlie Issacs, Peter Coffee, and Parker Harris for making us feel like superstars!

AND - A HUGE thank you to Matt & Erica for pulling this all together, and herding us for three days.

Matt - you are a "harsh taskmaster" and so good at what you do!

I am proud beyond words to be a part of the "Kuhl Kids".

There are several terrifc blog posts out there, and here are the links:

http://redargyle.squarespace.com/blog/2013/9/1/thoughts-on-the-salesforce-community-mvp-summit.html

http://blog.jeffdouglas.com/2013/08/30/recap-2013-salesforce-mvp-summit/

http://limitexception.herod.net/2013/08/31/mvp-summit-san-francisco-thank-you/

http://ericforcefield.wordpress.com/2013/08/31/history-was-made/

http://www.shellblack.com/salesforce/community/mvp-summit-2013-recap/

http://adminhero.com/2013/09/02/2013-mvp-summit/