Understanding Guest Users in Salesforce

Oct 13, 2025 by thesweetdesigns.com 141 views

Introduction

Salesforce provides a robust platform for creating and managing content, including articles. One of the key features of articles is the ability to enable voting, which allows users to rate and provide feedback on the content. However, by default, article voting is only available to authenticated users. In this article, we will explore how to enable article voting for unauthenticated/guest users, allowing them to vote on articles without being prompted to log in.

Understanding Guest Users in Salesforce

Before we dive into the implementation details, it's essential to understand what guest users are in Salesforce. Guest users are unauthenticated users who can access a Salesforce site without logging in. They can view and interact with the site's content, but they cannot access any sensitive information or perform actions that require authentication.

Enabling Article Voting for Guest Users

To enable article voting for guest users, you need to create a custom button on the article page that allows them to vote without logging in. Here's a step-by-step guide to achieve this:

Step 1: Create a Custom Button

To create a custom button, follow these steps:

Go to the Setup page in your Salesforce org.
Click on Customize > Buttons, Links, and Actions.
Click on New Button or Link.
Select Article as the object and Standard as the button type.
Enter a label for the button, such as "Vote".
Click Save.

Step 2: Add a Custom Controller

To enable the custom button to work with guest users, you need to add a custom controller that will handle the voting logic. Here's how to do it:

Go to the Setup page in your Salesforce org.
Click on Customize > Objects > Article.
Click on Customize > Buttons, Links, and Actions.
Click on New Button or Link.
Select Article as the object and Standard as the button type.
Enter a label for the button, such as "Vote".
In the Behavior section, select Custom as the button type.
In the Controller section, select New.
Enter a name for the controller, such as "ArticleVoteController".
Click Save.

Step 3: Implement the Custom Controller

To implement the custom controller, you need to create a new Apex class that will handle the voting logic. Here's an example implementation:

public with sharing class ArticleVoteController {
    @AuraEnabled
    public static void voteArticle(Id articleId, Integer rating) {
        // Get the article record
        Article__c article = [SELECT Id, Title, Rating FROM Article__c WHERE Id = :articleId];
    // Check if the article exists
    if (article != null) {
        // Update the article rating
        article.Rating = rating;
        update article;

        // Return a success message
        return &#39;Article voted successfully!&#39;;
    } else {
        // Return an error message
        return &#39;Article not found!&#39;;
    }
}

}

Step 4: Add a Custom Visualforce Page

To display the custom button and handle the voting logic, you need to create a new Visualforce page. Here's an example implementation:

<apex:page controller="ArticleVoteController">
    <apex:form>
        <apex:pageBlock>
            <apex:pageBlockSection>
                <apex:outputLabel value="Article Title:" />
                <apex:outputText value="{!article.Title}" />
            </apex:pageBlockSection>
            <apex:pageBlockSection>
                <apex:outputLabel value="Rating:" />
                <apex:inputField value="{!article.Rating}" />
            </apex:pageBlockSection>
            <apex:pageBlockSection>
                <apex:outputLabel value="Vote:" />
                <apex:commandButton value="Vote" action="{!voteArticle}" />
            </apex:pageBlockSection>
        </apex:pageBlock>
    </apex:form>
</apex:page>

Step 5: Assign the Custom Visualforce Page to the Article Page

To display the custom Visualforce page on the article page, you need to assign it to the article page layout. Here's how to do it:

Go to the Setup page in your Salesforce org.
Click on Customize > Objects > Article.
Click on Page Layouts.
Select the article page layout.
Click Edit.
Drag and drop the custom Visualforce page onto the page layout.
Click Save.

Testing the Custom Button

To test the custom button, follow these steps:

Go to the article page.
Click on the custom button.
Enter a rating and click Vote.
Verify that the article rating has been updated successfully.

Conclusion

Introduction

In our previous article, we explored how to enable article voting for unauthenticated/guest users in Salesforce. However, we understand that you may have questions about the implementation process. In this article, we will address some of the most frequently asked questions about enabling article voting for guest users.

Q: What are the benefits of enabling article voting for guest users?

A: Enabling article voting for guest users allows them to provide feedback on articles without being prompted to log in. This can be beneficial for several reasons:

It increases user engagement and participation.
It provides valuable feedback to authors and content creators.
It helps to improve the quality and relevance of content.

Q: How do I create a custom button for article voting?

A: To create a custom button for article voting, follow these steps:

Go to the Setup page in your Salesforce org.
Click on Customize > Buttons, Links, and Actions.
Click on New Button or Link.
Select Article as the object and Standard as the button type.
Enter a label for the button, such as "Vote".
Click Save.

Q: What is a custom controller, and how do I create one?

A: A custom controller is a class that handles the logic for a custom button or link. To create a custom controller, follow these steps:

Go to the Setup page in your Salesforce org.
Click on Customize > Objects > Article.
Click on Customize > Buttons, Links, and Actions.
Click on New Button or Link.
Select Article as the object and Standard as the button type.
Enter a label for the button, such as "Vote".
In the Behavior section, select Custom as the button type.
In the Controller section, select New.
Enter a name for the controller, such as "ArticleVoteController".
Click Save.

Q: How do I implement the custom controller?

A: To implement the custom controller, you need to create a new Apex class that will handle the voting logic. Here's an example implementation:

public with sharing class ArticleVoteController {
    @AuraEnabled
    public static void voteArticle(Id articleId, Integer rating) {
        // Get the article record
        Article__c article = [SELECT Id, Title, Rating FROM Article__c WHERE Id = :articleId];
    // Check if the article exists
    if (article != null) {
        // Update the article rating
        article.Rating = rating;
        update article;

        // Return a success message
        return &#39;Article voted successfully!&#39;;
    } else {
        // Return an error message
        return &#39;Article not found!&#39;;
    }
}

}

Q: How do I add a custom Visualforce page?

A: To add a custom Visualforce page, follow these steps:

Go to the Setup page in your Salesforce org.
Click on Customize > Objects > Article.
Click on Page Layouts.
Select the article page layout.
Click Edit.
Drag and drop the custom Visualforce page onto the page layout.
Click Save.

Q: How do I assign the custom Visualforce page to the article page layout?

A: To assign the custom Visualforce page to the article page layout, follow these steps:

Go to the Setup page in your Salesforce org.
Click on Customize > Objects > Article.
Click on Page Layouts.
Select the article page layout.
Click Edit.
Drag and drop the custom Visualforce page onto the page layout.
Click Save.

Q: How do I test the custom button?

A: To test the custom button, follow these steps:

Go to the article page.
Click on the custom button.
Enter a rating and click Vote.
Verify that the article rating has been updated successfully.

Conclusion

Enabling article voting for guest users in Salesforce requires creating a custom button, adding a custom controller, implementing the custom controller, adding a custom Visualforce page, and assigning the custom Visualforce page to the article page layout. By following these steps, you can allow guest users to vote on articles without being prompted to log in. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.