In Salesforce, maintaining data integrity is crucial for the smooth operation of your organization. One of the mechanisms Salesforce provides to ensure data quality is Validation Rules. Occasionally, users may encounter a Field Filter Validation Exception, which can disrupt workflows and frustrate users. This article delves into what a Field Filter Validation Exception is, its common causes, and effective strategies to resolve and prevent it.
What is a Field Filter Validation Exception?
A Field Filter Validation Exception occurs when a record fails to meet the criteria defined by a validation rule based on specific field values or conditions. Validation rules are logical statements that evaluate the data entered into one or more fields and prevent users from saving invalid data. When the data does not satisfy the validation rule’s criteria, Salesforce throws a Field Filter Validation Exception, preventing the record from being saved.
Field filter validation exception, Sometimes when you are editing a record in Salesforce, we see an error message like “FIELD_FILTER_VALIDATION_EXCEPTION, Value does not exist or does not match filter criteria,”.
Common Causes of Field Filter Validation Exceptions
- Strict Validation Rules: Overly restrictive validation rules that do not account for all legitimate data scenarios.
- Incorrect Logic: Errors in the validation rule’s formula, such as incorrect use of operators or functions.
- Data Entry Errors: Users entering data that inadvertently violates validation rule criteria.
- Missing Field Dependencies: Validation rules that depend on fields not being populated or incorrectly referenced.
- Profile and Permission Issues: Users lacking necessary permissions to bypass certain validation rules.
This error appears when there is a lookup filter defined on an object and you modify it so that the update does not reflect the filter criteria. To fix this issue, check if any lookup filters are defined in the object and make sure any modifications are adhering to the filter criteria.
How to fix Field filter validation exception?
- Go to Setup -> Customize -> click on <Object name> -> Fields.
- Scroll through your Fields until you find a Lookup Field.
- Click on the Field and review the detail page to see if any filters exist.
- Review the Filter Criteria to be sure your modifications adhere to it.
Best Practices to Prevent Field Filter Validation Exceptions
- Utilize @isTest Annotation: In Apex test classes, ensure validation rules are properly tested under various conditions.