Configuration and Setup15% of the exam

Sharing model and record access

How record access is built: org-wide defaults as the restrictive baseline, then the role hierarchy, public groups, owner- and criteria-based sharing rules, account and opportunity teams and manual sharing to open it up, restriction rules to narrow it, View All versus View All Data, and how folder access differs from record access.

Official exam objective
Given a user request scenario, apply the appropriate security controls based on the features and capabilities of the Salesforce sharing model (for example: Teams, Sharing hierarchy, public groups, org-wide defaults, sharing: roles, subordinates, role hierarchy, report and dashboard folders).

~8 min read · 11 practice questions ·

What the exam expects

  • Set org-wide defaults as the most restrictive baseline an object needs, knowing sharing features only add access and restriction rules are what narrows it.
  • Predict what the role hierarchy grants managers, when it fails (users in the wrong role), and when to turn off Grant Access Using Hierarchies.
  • Choose between a public group, a sharing rule (and its target), a team, and manual sharing for a given audience.
  • Explain that folder access controls who can open a report, not which rows it returns.
  • Tell View All Records on one object from View All Data.
  • Recognise when a master-detail detail object can't have its own sharing.

Key facts

Sharing features and the default
Detail
They only add access; none is stricter than the org-wide default
Set org-wide defaults
Detail
Setup, Sharing Settings; Manage Sharing permission
Account Private
Detail
Opportunity and Case must be Private; Contact Private or Controlled by Parent
Detail object in master-detail
Detail
Controlled by Parent; not editable
Grant Access Using Hierarchies
Detail
Can be deselected only for custom objects
Role hierarchy
Detail
Users see records owned by or shared with roles below them
Roles and Internal Subordinates
Detail
The role plus all internal roles below it
Sharing rule limit
Detail
300 per object, including up to 50 criteria-based
Team member access
Detail
Can be greater than the org-wide default, never less
Manual share on owner change
Detail
Deleted by default
Restriction rules
Detail
Narrow sharing-granted access to records matching criteria
Restriction rules and View All
Detail
A View All Records/Data or Modify All Records/Data holder sees every record regardless of the rule
View All Records vs View All Data
Detail
One object vs every object; neither overrides field-level security
Folder access levels
Detail
Viewer, Editor, Manager
Sources for this section (10)
  • Why must an org-wide default be the most restrictive level any user needs?
  • What does a manager lose if a rep has no role assigned?
  • On which objects can you turn off Grant Access Using Hierarchies, and on which can't you?
  • When would you use a team or manual sharing instead of a sharing rule?
  • What does Viewer access to a report folder allow, and what does it not change?

The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.

Keep reading with the Platform Administrator pack

  • Core concepts
  • Exam traps
  • Worked scenario

The pack includes:

  • All 28 lessons of the Platform Administrator guide, with reading progress
  • Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
  • Inline practice questions and one-click topic practice (11 questions for this lesson)
  • An official source cited for every claim
  • An AI tutor that answers from the guide
  • Unlimited timed practice exams

Practice for the Platform Administrator exam