Move Over, JavaScript Buttons and Make Room for the Lightning Experience Configuration Converter!

By now you have heard us talk a lot about Lightning. And, with the Lightning Experience Migration Assistant you have started down the path of checking your readiness, previewing your orgs, and even turning on Lightning for a group of users.

But, you have one last lingering hang-up about it all. JavaScript buttons. JavaScript buttons and links are types of actions in the Salesforce Classic UI. They allow you to create inline JavaScript code that can be invoked via a button or link embedded on a record or list page. Sure, you have been using them for years in Salesforce Classic and they served you well. But, let’s be honest— they are getting in the way of your move to Lightning Experience.

Fear not! Like that friend with a magical UHF to VHF converter, the Lightning Experience Configuration Converter can help make your transition easier. With just a few clicks, this new tool scans your org for simple JavaScript buttons, converts them to point-and-click alternatives, and then deploys everything right to your org.

Let us just pause for moment, because I think this might be your reaction!

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The Lightning Experience Configuration Converter recreates your org’s JavaScript buttons as Lightning components, quick actions, or other declarative solutions, without touching your original buttons. Before committing to any changes, you can preview the new component code or declarative steps and verify the alternatives work as expected.

This tool currently converts some (but not all) JavaScript buttons that implement “url-hacks.” (If you’re not familiar with the term, a “url-hack” is how the community refers to a URL that sets predefined values). This is the most common use case for JavaScript buttons. The Configuration Converter recreates these buttons as either quick actions, Lightning component actions, or custom buttons or links, based on what the JavaScript code is doing. JavaScript buttons can have varying degrees of complexity. Currently, the tool supports simpler “url-hack” implementations.

Let’s take for example, a JavaScript button that opens an external url to: www.google.com and has the JavaScript code: window.open (“https://www.google.com/search?q=San%20Francisco”).

With Lightning Experience Configuration Converter it will create a “Detail Page Button” which opens “https://www.google.com/search?q=San%20Francisco.”

Here’s another example of a JavaScript-based “url-hack” that edits a record and sets a predefined value for a field: The JavaScript Code is: location.replace(“/0016A00000MlPFl/e?00N6A00000IF4Mo=MyValue”).

With Lightning Experience Configuration Converter it will create a Lightning Component Action that edits the record and sets the field with ID 00N6A00000IF4Mo with value “MyValue.”

How do you get started with the Lighting Experience Configuration Converter? Glad you asked. Visit Lightning Experience Configuration Converter and log in with your sandbox or Developer Edition org credentials.

Under Settings, list the objects that you want to scan for JavaScript buttons. For performance and manageability, we suggest you scan one object at a time.

Click Refresh Buttons.

Select Convert to recreate detected JavaScript buttons or Convert and Deploy to recreate detected JavaScript buttons and add the new Lightning alternatives to page layouts.
Thoroughly test the changes before deploying to your production org.

So, what do you say? Are you ready to embrace the efficiency of the Lightning Configuration Converter? Get started by logging in to Lightning Experience Configuration Converter with your sandbox or Developer Edition org credentials. Don’t forget to learn more about this topic with Trailhead, in the module below.

Additional Links:

Lightning Experience Configuration Converter Help (Live June 6th, 2018)

Introducing Sample Components for Lightning Component Actions

Sample Lightning Component Actions Github repository

Lightning Alternatives to Javascript webinar

Lighting Now! Trailblazer community group