Frequently asked questions

  1. Is Chatter a website that anyone can see or is it just for my company?
  2. What are some of the ways that businesses are using Chatter?
  3. Who can use Chatter in my company?
  4. Who can see what I post?
  5. What should I post on Chatter?
  6. How should I use Chatter groups?
  7. How can I “follow data” in Salesforce via Chatter?
  8. Can I use Chatter to share files?
  9. Can I preview documents in my feed?
  10. Does Chatter work with all browsers?
  11. How long are Chatter posts stored, and what about compliance?

1. Is Chatter a website that anyone can see or is it just for my company?

Chatter is completely private and secure for your company. Anything posted in Chatter is just for people within your company to see and collaborate on.

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2. What are some of the ways that businesses are using Chatter?

Everyday, we hear more great examples of how our customers—and even our own employees—are using Chatter. Generally, people are using Chatter to stay on top of what’s happening at work, share files, work more closely with each other, find internal experts, and reduce email traffic. More detailed examples include:

  • When a new competitor enters the market, a cross-functional team uses a Chatter group to share findings and tools to help beat the competition.
  • A sales manager gets new insight into her team’s activities and can follow key opportunities so she always knows when something changes on an important deal.
  • A customer service rep is on the phone with a customer and needs ideas to solve a new problem that doesn’t have a solution in the knowledge base yet. Within minutes of posting to a group on Chatter, several people chime in with suggestions.
  • A sales rep is looking for an inroad at a large company. After posting on Chatter, he discovers that one of his colleagues is an old friend of one of the company’s top executives.
  • When a marketing manager makes a major change to a popular product datasheet, she posts the document to the feed of a sales VP, knowing that most of the sales team follows her and will see the new version.

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3. Who can use Chatter in my company?

Chatter is included in all paid Salesforce licenses. You can also extend Chatter to everyone in your company for free with Chatter Invitations. Admins can either turn on this feature to allow current Salesforce users to invite coworkers to Chatter, or create Chatter users manually. For more information on how to get your whole company on Chatter check out Chatter invitations.

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4. Who can see what I post?

  • You can post updates in a lot of different places on Chatter, so it’s important that you understand who within your company will see what you post.
  • Posts entered in the status box on your home or profile page will be visible to everyone.
  • Posts entered on a colleague’s profile page will be visible to everyone.
  • Posts to a record (account, opportunity, case, etc.) or group will be visible only to people with access to that record or group.

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5. What should I post on Chatter?

Chatter is a collaboration and communication tool for businesses. Use Chatter to post business-related updates, not what you had for breakfast or saw at the movies last night. A good rule of thumb to keep Chatter business-relevant is ask yourself if you would mind your CEO or HR team reading your post before clicking submit.

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6. How should I use Chatter groups?

Groups are a great way to share information on particular topics or within specific department or cross-functional teams. Groups can be completely public and open for everyone to join, or completely private so discussions can be kept confidential.

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7. How can I “follow data” in Salesforce via Chatter?

With Chatter, every record in Salesforce, such as an individual account or opportunity record, can be followed. This means that whenever something changes in that record, you’ll be notified instantly. With Chatter, your data talks to you.

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8. Can I use Chatter to share files?

Chatter makes sharing files easier than ever. You can share files by uploading them in your feed, in groups, or on records (accounts, opportunities, cases, etc.). No more sending large files around or dealing with multiple versions.

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9. Can I preview documents in my feed?

With many common business file types—like Microsoft Office documents, unprotected PDFs, and many image files—you can preview the file right in your feed before downloading it.

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10. Does Chatter work with all browsers?

Chatter works well with newer browsers, such as Internet Explorer 7 (or more recent versions), Safari, Firefox, and Chrome. Chatter will NOT work with Internet Explorer 6, so we recommend that users of this browser upgrade to a newer version of Explorer.

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11. How long are Chatter posts stored, and what about compliance?

Chatter posts, like any other data in Salesforce, are stored forever unless deleted by an administrator or a user. Only users can delete their own posts or Chatter wall items. Administrators who have complete access to Salesforce can also delete posts in Chatter.

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