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Cross Object Merge Fields in Email Template

While it seems that you can use cross object merge fields in an email template, because they are exposed as merge field values, it does not work. Please allow the ability to use cross objects merge fields in email templates. Right now the only workaround is to use hidden formula fields on the parent object to copy the child object fields there and then build the template using those hidden formula fields. The disadvantage to this is that you are using up your custom field quota just to create an email template.

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Latest Comment from Salesforce

David Louie - 1 year ago

Hi all, thank you for your passion for this idea. We don't plan to address this immediately on the roadmap, but we are weighing different options on how to provide this capability. If you can elaborate on your use case as a comment on this idea, that would be very useful input as we strategize on how to meet this request.

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Arun Singh - 13 hours ago

When custom field can do not sure why SF not provided this option in email template
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Barunava Pal - 1 day ago

Can't believe Salesforce is asking for use cases for such an obvious feature!
We have a bunch of complex emaiI requirements around cases with dynamic rules of selecting to addresses so we designed a custom object where we insert record with to addresses when a qualifying event happens and then we send the email through a workfow on the custom object. We need to use a lot of case fields in these emails. We have Case lookup in the custom object. If cross object merge fields were allowed, We didn't have to create so many formula fields.

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Moriah Vice - 9 days ago

This capability means that I can identify recent programs that our customers have purchased with the timelines associated with that product. That allows for more customized renewal notices specific to the particular product.

Customers can purchase multiple products, and the renewal timeframes are different based on the product.

The related object in question contains the term end date and the program purchased. The program purchased is the merge field I would be interested in adding to my email, with the term end date used to define when I should be sending the renewal notices.

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Jodie Miners - 23 days ago

The whole of the Lightning Email stack is fundamentally broken and does not seem to have any investment from Salesforce or even a PM working on it. No significant releases to handlebars format in lightning email templates in many releases. There has been absolutely no direction given as to the future of Classic or Visualforce Templates and any guidance for planning which email functionality to use moving forward. The complete lack of availablility for Lightning Emails to be automated (except by an unofficial Flow Action) is apalling.

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Hu zd - 29 days ago

This cannot convince us that you have not yet realized this function. It also dragged on for 11 years.
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Brian Duvall - 2 months ago

We offer a 100% free AppExchange app for exactly this use case - Single Email Helper (https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N3A00000EJedlUAD). As you can see, we use standard merge field syntax & HTML formatting to produce the desired email output. Reach out to support@gearsdesign.com if you have any questions.

Single Email Helper Syntax/Example

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Sam Pickard - 2 months ago

Use Case: Send an email to the primary contact on a renewal opportunity as a reminder that it's coming due. This email would address the contact using their name as well as some opportunity information like amount and due date.

The workarounds of using process builder or formula fields works here but it's frustrating to create so many unnessesary custom fields.

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Steve Roch - 2 months ago

Unbelievable that in 2020 this still doesn't exist whereas in every other CRM in the world this is obvious and all the major AppExchange products such as Conga Composer and 360SMS allow cross object merge tags using the __r syntax. So someone emailing from a Loan would say Hello {Loan__c.Contact__r.FirstName}. Like I said this syntax is easily supported (even 5 tables up) with 360SMS so you can send an outbound Text but not an email. Seriously???

And what's worse the formula idea suffers from the classic SF issue where the child LOAN object is not automatically tickled if the Contact.FirstName is changed. Salesforce will display it on the interface but if you look underneath using SF Workbench, the value is the old value (which unfortunately is what will be merged) unless you make an actual update to the child object. :-(

My suggestion for everyone. Use Conga Composer for your email templates and use 360SMS for your texting templates.

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Amy Perryman - 2 months ago

Incredibly frustrating! We have delayed migrating our classic templates to lightning because of this.
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FORTE Rénald - 2 months ago

Use Case. From a (lightning) Case, we would like to merge fields from any properties of widget accessible from the case page layout. We for example displayed a widget on the case page layout with properties of a junction object related to the account . We would like to merge fields from this account junction object into our email we will send from the case .

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Yudi Muttaqin - 2 months ago

I have "loan" custom object as parent object and "asset" as child object. Loan object has loan expiry date. I need to send email alert to the customer in loan object 7 days prior to loan expiry date with the email body that list all assets related to the loan. I am 100% sure, there are thousands of similar use cases as this capability is very basic. It is embarassing that it takes 11 years to provide this capability.

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Lynn Shaw - 2 months ago

Trying to reference the instance of Salesforce that the Email Template is being launched from so that the email reflects that change and has a link to the correct location & record.

So, Prod is not UAT and is not INT. The email should show the user a link that points to the referenced record in the appropriate instance.

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Juan Manuel Jardim Mendes - 2 months ago

Why you don't implement this functionality?

11 years has past and nothing. Salesforce, do you relay hear your customers?
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Joanna Roberts - 2 months ago

A use case for this feature request would be inserting an email template on an Opportunity record, and wanting to address the email to the Account's name. From what I can tell, the only way to do this currently is to create a formula field in the Opportunity in order to be able to access the Account name. Simply allowing the Account name to appear in an email template seems like a disproportionately trivial use of a field on the Opportunity object.