People are often confused.
Why? Because the Elements Catalyst and Salesforce username structure are slightly different. We wanted to make it easier to manage multiple Spaces and Orgs - from a single user Elements Catalyst login - so we didn't copy the Salesforce approach.
User names
First we need to understand the naming conventions.
Salesforce user name
- A username is linked to an individual Org - a Dev, Production or a Sandbox Org. You cannot have the same username to log into multiple Orgs.
- It is a random name but it needs to be in an email format e.g. name@name.name
- Pick a naming convention that is easy to remember quick to type. The shortest you are allowed is a@a.aa
- Every username has an email address associated with it. Multiple usernames can have the same email address.
- Username needs to be unique across ALL Salesforce users
username email Org
another.devorg@1.prod pete@zenalpha.com Production
sandbox1@za.za pete@zenalpha.com Sandbox-CPQ
pete@123.com.sandbox pete@zenalpha.com Sandbox-int
pete@123.com.sandbox.cons pete@zenalpha.com Sandbox-cons
dev123.pete@test.aa pete@zenalpha.com Dev123
Elements user names
- Your email address. A real email address. pete@zenalpha.com
- You log into Elements - there is only one instance
- An Elements Catalyst user can access multiple Elements Catalyst Spaces
Elements Spaces
A quick recap on the principles of Spaces
- A Space is secure, ring-fenced work area. Think of it as an "implementation of Elements"
- DO NOT think of Spaces as folders. A corporate will probably only have ONE Space. A consulting firm will have one Space for internal operations and a separate one for every client.
- You can invite users to Spaces. They can then only see what is in that Space - provided they have been given view or edit rights. Every user in a Space can see the other users.
- An Elements Catalyst user can be a member of multiple Spaces. One login - multiple Spaces.
- Whoever sets up the Space is the Admin. But you can assign admin rights to multiple people and Admin rights can be transferred by assigning admin rights to another, who then removes yours. A Space could be set up by a consultant and then transferred to the client at the end of the project.
- Finally, a user needs a separate license for each Space they are an Editor in.
- A Space can be FREE, PRO, or PRO-TRIAL.
Here is the important part.....
Each Salesforce Org is sync'd to its Elements Catalyst Org Model.
A Space can be connected to multiple Salesforce Orgs (Production & Sandbox). So a Space will have multiple Org Models.
Space limits for Orgs:
- FREE: zero Orgs.
- PRO: requires an add-on SF connection license. A single add-on license allows to connect 1 Production and up to 6 associated Sandbox Orgs.
A picture... This shows how multiple Salesforce Orgs can be sync'd to Elements Catalyst Spaces.
Setting up the sync: 1st Org
Every Org needs the free Elements managed package installed from the AppExchange. This is the small purple box in the Salesforce Org in the image above.
If you are existing Elements user and you want to sync with a Salesforce Implementation, you must use Manual setup. Do not use the Quickstart.
If you are a new user, the first install can be using our QuickStart setup. That is because Quick Start creates a new Elements Space called Salesforce Documentation and sets up the connections. QuickStart can be used to connect a Dev, Production or Sandbox. You can change the Space name.
Important: QuickStart will create an Elements username that is the email associated with Salesforce username for the Org you are connecting.
Using QuickStart
The video is 5 mins long, but once the managed package is installed the set up takes 26 seconds - yes, I timed it.
Setting up the sync: 2nd.3rd... Orgs
If you want to connect a Prod to a Space with Sandboxes or a Sandbox to a Space that has a Prod or a Sandbox then here is the help topic
If you want to connect multiple Prod Orgs to a Space - you will need multiple SF connection licenses. Here is the help topic