Comparing Profiles and Permission Sets with Snapshot

Introduction

Snapshot is a powerful tool that facilitates the comparison of profiles and permission sets within Salesforce deployment pipelines. It helps in viewing, editing, comparing, and reporting on various profile and permission set characteristics, such as object permissions, Apex class access, field permissions, and more.

Viewing Profiles and Permission Sets

1. Within Snapshot’s deployment pipeline, you can view the profiles by right-clicking any item and selecting ‘View Profiles’.
2. A matrix report will be displayed with profiles listed on the left-hand side and characteristics such as object permissions, Apex class accesses, page accesses, app visibility, field permissions, layout assignments, record types, tabs, user permissions, and custom permissions across the top.
3. Snapshot allows you to view either all of the profiles or filter them by specific characteristics.
4. The generated table can be exported in CSV, PDF, or HTML format for sharing with team members.

Editing Profiles

1. Snapshot provides editing palettes for making changes to various permissions.
2. For instance, to edit object permissions, select a block of permissions by clicking the checkboxes and choose ‘Apply’.
3. The edited permissions can be pushed to any Salesforce organization.

Comparing Profiles Between Source and Destination

1. To compare profiles between a source and a destination, right-click on the arrow between them and select ‘Compare Profiles’.
2. This will open a side-by-side view of profiles by their characteristics (e.g., object permissions) in two different Salesforce organizations.
3. There is also an option to switch to a single table view, which stacks the source and destination columns horizontally. This view is particularly useful for exporting the data as a CSV.

Permission Reports

1. Snapshot offers several reports that show various permissions. The first set of reports displays profiles on the left-hand side and various characteristics across the top (similar to the matrix report mentioned earlier).
2. Users can select the desired reports to include them in the display report tab automatically.
3. Reports can be saved or scheduled to be sent to specific groups for keeping them informed.

Combined Security Reports

1. A special category within the permission reports is the Combined Security Reports. These reports show the profile and associated permission sets for a specific user.
2. For example, you can see if a user has read and view access based on their profile, and what additional access they have been granted through permission sets.
3. Permission sets that result in changes are shown in green, while those that are ineffective are shown in red.
4. Combined Security Reports are vital for organizational security as they help in understanding the true permissions of a user at a glance.

Conclusion

Snapshot is an essential tool for managing profiles and permission sets in Salesforce. Through its various features including viewing, editing, comparing, and reporting, it provides comprehensive insights into the permissions and configurations, thereby ensuring better security and compliance in Salesforce deployments.