Last Updated on May 30, 2024 by Rakesh Gupta

Do you know the full extent of the image features you can implement into a Salesforce flow? We’ve completed more than 600 implementations on top of Salesforce, for photo use cases which, more often than not, are using flows. We are very happy to share some of those capabilities with you so you can unlock all visual use cases on Salesforce.

The following list and subsequent sections are individual use cases as examples of what you could include in your screen flows, allowing people using your flows to accomplish tasks faster, using visual elements seamlessly. 

Note: many of the examples you will see are only possible through 3rd party extensions of your Salesforce via applications. The main app in discussion in this article will be SharinPix.

Take One or Multiple Pictures

If you want to take one or multiple pictures as a part of an inspection flow, you have three options , one being Salesforce native and the other two requiring a 3rd party add-on, like SharinPix. To do so you can do one of several things: 

1. Rely on the basic Salesforce upload file function 
2. Use the SharinPix upload button feature
3. Use the SharinPix album component. When you rely on the basic Salesforce upload file function, you have some limits.

For example,  the image upload capability of Salesforce is limited to 1 MB when you upload via the rich text field. With the other two options, you are using an application on top of your Salesforce, giving you access to features beyond those limitations. The SharinPix upload button features a simpler UI for uploading local image files and even permits drag and drop, though the space is a bit small, so even this is limited.

Additionally, with the basic Salesforce feature, you can’t limit users to having access to only their camera while using file upload. They can also access their camera roll, which in certain cases may not be secure – especially when you need to know that the picture was taken from the device at a certain time. 

For heavier image upload needs, the SharinPix Album component will take you another step further with other features such as image verification, annotation, watermarking, categorization and more. This full access feature even supports better drag-and-drop and comes with the SharinPix mobile launcher containing multiple features including an app that allows you to take a huge number of pictures in a few clicks. There is even background upload functionality.

Upload Different Views of an Asset

Everything in SharinPix is organized in columns, so it’s not really possible to visualize an object in images from multiple angles at the same time. Usually, you have a single column of images and you have to scroll down to see the next, so on and so forth.

With an app added on top of your Salesforce, like SharinPix, you can have an image grid feature. With SharinPix’s image grid feature, you can view images at one time in a grid without scrolling. This is a great feature for eCommerce use cases where having a front, back, side, packaging and action use views images is crucial. For use cases like this, having an organized single screen flow instead of four screens with one image is ideal.

Snap an Aerial View, Take Measurements & Calculate Area

With the right integration, you can take a picture of an aerial view within Salesforce and then use it to take accurate measurement and calculate area. This type of feature is of great use to roofing and solar companies who need to plan from above.

Mobile Native Camera Features and Image Possibilities 

SharinPix offers access to many native camera features through its mobile application. The good news is that this SharinPix app can integrate with any of your flows via the SharinPix mobile launcher. You can take advantage of numerous features from this platform: checklists of pictures to guide your users, Snap & Say for speech-to-text dictation linked with images,  scanned documents, adding annotations directly on images, or operations with template images pulled directly from your business logic. 

Take Picture Following a Checklist

Another component you will find when in the mobile launcher is the Checklist feature via SharinPix. This feature will allow your field users to take pictures from their mobile device in an organized way from a predefined checklist.

Sketch on an Image Template

With SharinPix, you can use an image template to add sketches denoting certain callouts for your records. For example, if your end users are doing inspections of vehicles, it might not make sense to upload specific images for each vehicle. But instead, you could have a generic image that represents all the cars and make sketches on top of it to signify damage or places that need repair.

Annotate a Picture on the Fly

You can create a flow that includes a feature to take a picture and annotate on it live. For example, the user experience for construction might look like this: 1) is the wall damaged (yes/no), 2) if yes, take a picture and circle the damage, so the insurance adjusters know how to describe the damage in the appraisal. The user could also add a straight line to denote scale or measurement within an image.

Reject or Approve Photos or Scanned Documents

You could even institute an approvals process by using tags within an album in your Salesforce. This would be done through tagging an image as either approved or disapproved, you could even filter approved images to have them in their own album or send them to a client. A 3rd party application like SharinPix easily enables this type of usage.

Ask External People to Upload New Pictures to a Specific Record

Depending on your industry, you may need people without Salesforce licenses (such as clients or insurance claimees) that need to upload photos from the field to be associated with their record or case number. With a 3rd party application like SharinPix, the flow will automatically generate a link that can be sent in an automation as a text or email to the customer to gather the images that are needed for the case file. The automation can then end with and internal notification saying that the customer has successfully uploaded their photos. 

Fill out an Offline Form (including photos, signature, sketching)

Another field use case is when personnel on a job site need to fill in an online form with info that will be uploaded to a specific record. With SharinPix, you’ll be able to create a form that includes a place to upload pictures taken directly from the device, which is particularly useful in inspection use cases. From there, the field service worker will also be able to collect a client signature, sketch on the documents and photos and more. With SharinPix, all of these features even work offline, perfect for those working in remote locations.

Scan a Document

With SharinPix from the mobile app launcher, you can also create a parameter to jump directly to the scan document feature in your flow. This is especially useful for keeping track of expenses (scanning paper receipts) or printed prescriptions for medicine, for example.

Run an Inspection by a Floor Plan

Using a floor plan PDF, you can let your field inspectors add photos to markers on the image, giving you the ultimate visual inspection. They could additionally go into an unknown location with a blank floor plan PDF where they could add markers and corresponding photos.

How Can You Visually Upgrade Your Flows in Salesforce?

There are dozens of visual integrations and use cases that you can incorporate into your flows, and these are only a few examples. Some of them are possible with basic Salesforce usage but others do require an additional solution on top of your Salesforce to be made possible.

To learn more about how SharinPix can unlock pro photo usage on your Salesforce and empower your flows, take a look at our AppExchange listing.

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