CRT-101 · Question #178
What should an administrator use as an identifier when importing and updating records from a separate system?
The correct answer is D. External ID. External ID is the correct choice because it's a custom field specifically designed to store identifiers from external systems, enabling upsert operations that match incoming records to existing ones without relying on internal system identifiers. Record ID (B) is Salesforce's…
Question
What should an administrator use as an identifier when importing and updating records from a separate system?
Options
- ARich Text field
- BRecord ID
- CAuto-Number field
- DExternal ID
How the community answered
(55 responses)- A5% (3)
- C2% (1)
- D93% (51)
Explanation
External ID is the correct choice because it's a custom field specifically designed to store identifiers from external systems, enabling upsert operations that match incoming records to existing ones without relying on internal system identifiers.
- Record ID (B) is Salesforce's internal identifier - it's auto-generated, not portable, and changes between environments (sandbox vs. production), making it unreliable for cross-system integration.
- Auto-Number field (C) is also system-generated and sequential, so it can't be mapped to a value controlled by the external system.
- Rich Text field (A) is a formatting-focused field type with no special indexing or matching capabilities, making it unsuitable for record lookup or import matching.
Memory tip: Think "External system → External ID" - the name literally tells you its purpose. If data is coming from outside, you need a field that stores an outside key.
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