Salesforce read block

This block does the opposite of the action block: instead of writing to Salesforce, it reads a field and saves it in a variable that you can use in the rest of the conversation. With that you can greet the person by name, tell them what status their request is in, or send them down a different path of the flow based on what their record says. The block has a different name depending on your integration type:

Integration type	Block name
Single object	CRM Object
Multi-object	CRM Multiple Object

In multi-object the two Salesforce blocks have almost identical names. The one that reads is CRM Multiple Object. The one that writes is CRM Multiple Object Action, with “Action” at the end.

What to understand first

Each block reads a single field. If you need three pieces of data, you will use three blocks.

If Treble does not find the record, the variable stays empty. The flow does not stop or show an error: the variable simply arrives without content, and if you use it in a message the person will see a blank space.That is why it is a good idea to place a Conditions block right after, which checks whether the variable has a value and sets up an alternate path when it doesn’t.

Add the block

From the conversation builder, open the blocks panel and look for the read block under Advanced blocks.

Adding the read block from the blocks panel

The name you see in the blocks panel may not be the same one that later appears on the block in the canvas. Go by the icon and the description (“saves the variable in Treble”): it is the block that brings information from the CRM, not the one that saves it there.

Drag it onto the canvas and click Settings to open it.

Configuration

Single object
Multi-object

The modal has two steps and a final field to name the variable.

1. Object and hierarchy

Object. Which object you are going to read from. It can be your parent entity (for example Contact) or one of its related objects.Hierarchy. What to do when the person has more than one record of that object.

Option	What it does
First created	Reads from the oldest record
Last created	Reads from the most recent record
Custom	You define a filter to point to a specific record

The read hierarchy and the write hierarchy are independent settings. If you read with First created and write with Last created, you will read from one record and write to another. When both blocks must work on the same record, check that the hierarchy matches.

2. Property

The Salesforce field whose value you want to bring. In the example, Lead Source.

Variable name

At the end you define what the variable will be called. If you type cliente_fuente, in the rest of the conversation you use it as {{cliente_fuente}}.

Use lowercase names with underscores, without spaces or accents. They are easier to type correctly in messages and avoid errors that are hard to spot.

The modal has three steps, because you first have to say in which of your objects the person will be looked up.

1. Reference object and phone field

Reference. Which of the objects you configured during installation will be used to find the person.Phone lookup field. Which phone field of that object is used for the lookup. The dropdown lists all the phone fields of the object (Phone, Mobile Phone, Fax, and any custom ones you have).

Choose the same field where your records’ numbers are actually stored. If you choose a different one, Treble will not find anyone and all variables will arrive empty.

2. Object and hierarchy

Steps 2 and 3 of the CRM Multiple Object block

The object you are going to read from —it can be the same reference object or a related one— and what to do when there is more than one record.

3. Property and variable name

The property is the field you want to bring. Below it, the variable name you will use it with in the conversation.

Use the variable

Once configured, the block shows a summary on the canvas and, below it, the variable it produces. You can copy it with the copy button and paste it into any later block.

The read block feeding a message with the variable

The read block has to go earlier in the flow than the block where you use the variable. If you place it after, the variable does not have a value yet at the moment the message is sent.

In multi-object, the read block and the write block are told apart by the last box of the summary: the read block ends in Variable, the action block ends in In the property → Set.

Read block and action block on the canvas

Common uses

Personalize the greeting

Read the name from the record and use it in the first message. Remember the alternate path: if the person is new and does not exist in Salesforce, the variable arrives empty.

Branch the flow based on the status of a record

Read a status field and connect the block to a Conditions block. That way you can give a different message to someone whose request is in progress and to someone whose request is already approved.

Save the Id to write to that same record later

In multi-object you can read the Id of a record into a variable and use it later in the custom hierarchy of the action block (Account ID = {{client_id}}). It is the most reliable way to make sure the write lands on the record you want, and not on another one of the same object.

CRM Action block

Avoid asking what you already know

If the data is already in Salesforce, read it instead of asking for it. It shortens the conversation and prevents the person from typing something different from what you already have on record.

Common issues

The variable arrives empty

The most common causes, in order:

The person does not exist in the object you chose. This is normal for new contacts: set up an alternate path.
The phone lookup field is not the right one. Check in Salesforce which field the numbers are actually stored in.
The record exists but that field is empty in Salesforce.
The hierarchy points to another record. If the person has several, you may be reading from the wrong one.

The field I want does not appear in the property list

You need to sync. Run the object sync and open the block again.

The variable brings a strange code instead of the text I see in Salesforce

This happens with picklist fields and relationship fields. Salesforce internally stores a value different from the one it shows on screen, and that is what Treble reads.If you need to show the text to the person, use a Conditions block to translate the code into the corresponding word.

A date field does not arrive as expected

Date and date/time fields arrive in Salesforce’s internal format, not in the format you see on screen or the one used in your country.If you are going to show the date to the person in the chat, first check how the value arrives with a real test before publishing the flow.

The message shows {{mi_variable}} as is, with the curly braces

The variable name in the message does not exactly match the one you defined in the block. Check uppercase, accents and underscores; the safest thing is to copy the variable from the block with the copy button.

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Salesforce read block

What to understand first

Add the block