Making the Most out of your Home Page
So that big empty space when you log in, that's your home page. Chances are that when you first log in, it'll be a big empty space. And if you've got a huge monitor like I do, it can look like a big, scary, expanse of nothing.
I'm going to show you how to make the most out of the home page by placing object views, reports, charts, clocks, and notes on it so you can mash together the information that is important to you without having to do anything but log in.
The worst thing you could ever see when logging in:
I don't feel productive with a blank white space. The first thing we'll change is the background image. There are two situations, the Global Administrator can define the wallpaper for anyone or each user can pick for themselves. This is done on the Customization tab of User Properties (or Company Setup). Here's a stunning picture of a drive through the Canadian Rockies.
The Home Page: Redux
That looks way better. Let's talk about putting stuff on the home page and organizing it. The when clicked will turn into an X. The wrench icon are the global settings for any Home Page Component (or widget, gadget, or whatever you want to call them). The /X will slide down a whole bunch of icons. These can be dragged onto the home page to display object records or other items.
The note, clock, and general settings
Two components unique to the home page are the Notepad and the Clock. When dragged out to the page, these will show either a sticky note that you can type anything on or a clock (for telling the time!).
Each component has its own settings that appear when the mouse cursor hovers over. Little wrench define settings for that particular component. Settings vary by the type of component it is, but they're all pretty straightforward. The space to the left of the wrench can be "grabbed" onto to move the component around. The X deletes the component.
Reports, Charts, and Object Views
The Home Page is just more than a possible manifestation of your physical desktop, with post-it notes all over the place. It is also possible to drag out and view a report, chart, or filtered list of object records. These all update whenever the home page is refreshed.
Drag the Report out to be able to choose any report you have access to (from the wrench>Report picklist). And if the report has a chart, you can also display that.
If you don't have a report for any given thing and just want to see a list, whether it is a View or not, you can drag that out as well. You can display records from any object you have permission to view. As an added bonus, the name of the View selected will show in the title bar.
Making the good look even better
Sometimes my own home page starts to look a little messy. Clicking on the wrench and then organizing the components vertically or horizontally at the very least gives me a good starting point in making my home page look good.
The only limit to components you can display on your home page is whatever looks good on your screen!
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