Salesforce: Topic in Lightning

Topic is another Salesforce feature that is probably not so well-known, but with good governance and maintenance, it served as a good tool to organize posts and records. Topics are case insensitive. 

Where to add Topics?

Topic is enabled by default for Chatter Post in Lightning. Topic also can be enabled for objects, follow this link to enable it.

To add topics in Chatter post:

• start with # continue with the topic, for example, hello world, hit enter key then continue with the post, in this case, the topic is 2 words - hello world. 
• You can have multiple topics in chatter port. 
• As you type after #, the system will look for existing topics and you can simply select the existing topic.

To add topics into a record object:

• Do not need to start with #, just type the topic and hit enter when done. 
• Need to type in the Topics component in lightning, see post below for Topics component. 
• You need to have edit permission on the record to be able to add topics to that record. 
• Same with adding topics in the Chatter post, you can add multiple topics for a record, also as you type, the system will look for existing topics and you can simply select the existing topic.

If you open a topic, the topic in the Chatter post will show under Feed, while topics added to records will show under the Related tab.

Topics Component

Once you enabled Topics for an object, you need to add the component to the Lightning page, so your users can use it.

Reporting

You can run a report on Topic to see the usage, including the related records, you need to create a custom report type with Topic Assignments as the primary object.

If you do not have access to the record, you will not see the topic in the report too.

Search

You can search a topic from the global search box, you do not need to add # before the topics. see screenshot below, the one on the top is correct.

Deleting Topics

Only users with Delete Topics permission are able to delete a topic, this is only for the topic that relates to a record (not for a topic related to a Chatter post). Once the topic is deleted, topics added in the related record will be removed.

Reference:

• Configure Topics for Records in Lightning Experience
• Organize Records with Tags and Topics
• Delete Topics