The Quip Document component for Salesforce: A guide for admins (Spring ’19 Release)

The Quip Document Lightning Component lets users work with fully functional Quip documents, spreadsheets, slides, and chat rooms directly within Salesforce objects and records. All of your favorite Quip features are there—comments, @mentions, Live Apps, and more. It's all the collaboration you need right where you need it.

To set up a Quip Document Lightning Component on Salesforce records and objects you must be a Salesforce and Quip Admin. After you go through the steps to integrate Salesforce and Quip this process takes about 10 mins per component. Here's an outline for how to do it:

• 🔑What you Need
• 🔗Connect Quip and Salesforce
• 📥Creating a Field for the Quip Document Component
• ☁️Embed the Component on objects and records
• 👥 Set the Component Permissions
• 📬Use mail-merge syntax to pre-fill new documents from a template
• 🏆Best Practice Recommendations
• ⚠️Limitations
• ❓FAQ
• Looking for more automation? Check out the Summer '19 Release functionality 

Functionality overview

For an overview of all Quip & Salesforce integration functionality options: Quip & Salesforce Integration Summary

For the sake of flexibility, Salesforce admins can configure the Quip Document Component in different ways to accommodate different needs.

Configuration Option	Description
Allow different documents on each record	This option lets users attach different documents to different records, or create and embed new documents from scratch. It also provides a way for admins to programmatically attach pre-selected documents to different records on the same object.
Use the same document for every record	This option allows admins to choose a single, pre-existing document to be embedded on every record associated with a given object.
Use a template to create new documents for each record	This option lets admins specify a template from which users can create and embed new documents on a per-record basis. Any Quip document can be used as a template, and mail-merge syntax can be used in the template to pre-fill documents with information from the record.
Use different templates for different records	This option allows admins to specify different templates for different records on the same object. It's a bit more advanced than the other approaches here, as it requires admins to programmatically pre-populate the component field with different template URLs, rather than manually choose a single template URL.

 

Part one - What you need

1. You will need to be a Salesforce Admin for your instance.
2. You will need to have a Quip for Salesforce license.
3. You will need to be a Quip Admin if the Quip site already exists.

• If you can see the Admin Console in Quip, you are a Quip Admin.
• If you are a paying Enterprise customer and/or are not a Quip Admin, contact your Quip AE, Salesforce AE, or Quip Support.

 

Part two - Connect Quip and Salesforce

Before you get started, make sure you've connected your Salesforce org to your Quip site by enabling Files Connect and setting up the appropriate permissions.

• For a detailed guide of this 20 minute process: Salesforce Lightning Integration Setup Instructions with Pictures (2019)

 

Part three - Creating a Field for the Quip Document Component URL

If you are using the same document for every record, please skip to Part four. For other configurations, Quip needs to store the URL of the template/document in an editable Salesforce field. This field needs to be editable by the end user that would create the template. To create a new URL field, please use the instructions below.

For the object you will be using, go to Object Manager > Fields & Relationships > New Custom Field > URL Field > Next.

1. Choose the field type as URL 
2. Name the field
3. Save
4. Establish field-level security
5. Add to page layouts
6. Save

 

Part four - Embed the Component on objects and records

Note: the component is only available in the lightning app builder.

After completing the 9-step Quip setup process in Salesforce, open the Lightning App Builder on the page you want to edit.

Step 1. In Lightning App Builder > Search for the “Quip Document” component > drag the Quip Document component from the Components panel onto the page.

Step 2. Choose an option for how you want the component to behave:

Option 1

If you select Allow different documents on each record, you'll be asked to choose a field for the component to store the URL of embedded documents.

• If that field's value is blank, users will be able to choose existing documents to embed, or create and embed new documents from scratch.
• Alternatively, you can programmatically pre-populate the field with Quip document URLs of your choice. To get the Quip URL use Quip in the web browser.

Option 2

If you select Use the same document for every record, you'll be asked to specify a Quip document URL.

That document will be embedded on this page, and every record associated with this page.

To get the Quip URL use Quip in the web browser.

Option 3

If you select Use a template to create new documents for each record, you'll be asked to specify:

• A Quip template URL. Users will be able to create new documents on each record based on that template.
• A custom field of the type “URL,” in which the URLs of newly created documents can be stored.
• Best practice: Use mail-merge syntax to pre-fill new documents from a template
  
  
  

Option 4

If you select Use different templates for different records, you'll be asked to specify:

• A component field in which template URLs can be located.
• A component field in which the URLs of newly created documents can be stored.
• Best practice: Use mail-merge syntax to pre-fill new documents from a template

 

Step 3: If requested, choose the default permissions for any new documents that are created using the Quip document component.

1. View and edit: Anyone in your company will be able to view and edit created documents, both within the Quip component and directly through the document URL.
2. View only: Anyone in your company will be able to view created documents, both within the Quip component and directly though the document URL. In order to edit the document, they'll need to request access.
3. Must request access: People will need to request permission to view and edit the document.

Note that if you put the Quip Document component on a page that isn't a record—a home page, for example—you'll be limited to one option: Use the same document for every record. In this case you'll need to provide the URL for a single, pre-existing Quip document. The component will otherwise be fully functional, however, and you'll be able to work with that document as you would any other.

Use mail-merge syntax to pre-fill new documents from a template

Quip supports basic mail-merge syntax for auto-filling data from Salesforce. This syntax supports standard and custom fields that are directly on the object, as well as foreign keys up to one additional level. Note that any Quip document can be used as a template - nothing special required.

 To discover the field name of your fields:

1. Setup
2. Object Manager
3. Fields & Relationships
4. Use the “Field Name” column to find the right syntax for your reference field
   1. [[Account.AnnualRevenue]]
   1. This is a standard field on the Account object so we just reference it directly.
   2. [[Account.Owner.Name]]
   1. Owner does not need __r because it's a standard field; we can just reference it directly.
   3. [[Account.CustomLookupField__r.CustomField__c]]
   1. __r is needed in CustomLookupField__r because the Account object has a custom lookup field called CustomLookupField__c.
   4. [[Account.CustomField__c]]
   1. Since CustomField__c is not a lookup to another object, we can directly call the field name.
1. Use __r for custom reference fields. Standard fields do not need to have __r.
2. see https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.soql_sosl.meta/soql_sosl/sforce_api_calls_soql_relationships_and_custom_objects.htm
3. Examples

The basic structure works like this:

[[objectname.fieldname]]

On an Account object, for example, that contains a Description field, you can pull the data from that field by inserting the following anywhere in a Quip document:

[[Account.Description]]

As mentioned above, you can expand foreign keys on an object up to one level up. For example, if Account contains a foreign key referencing an Owner, and Owner has a Name field, you can pull the data from that field by inserting the following anywhere in a Quip document:

[[Account.Owner.Name]]

A few notes:

• Please reference the field name in this syntax, not the field label. If your template syntax isn't working, double check you're referencing the correct data.
• The document is auto-filled based on data at the time of its creation. It won't be automatically updated to reflect any future changes in that data.
• Your requests are limited to a maximum of 250 fields, with no more than 20 lookup fields.

For more information about formatting requests, see the SOAP API developer guide's inventory of standard objects and fields.

Part five - Best practice recommendations

Sizing recommendations for the Quip Document Component layout

Type	Location	Size
Document	Main page section	900 pixels
Document	Page sidebar	600 pixels
Slide Deck	Main page section	900 pixels
Chat Room	Main page section	600 pixels
Chat Room	Page sidebar	600 pixels

Put the Quip Document Component on a page tab

When you put Quip as a Tab on a page it is more easily discoverable, and it provides a better experience for end-users who may experience slow Salesforce page loading.

To do this:
In the Lightning App Builder Page > Tabs > Click where you want the tabs to go > Add Tab > Name your tab (for expl: Account Planning ) > Drag the Quip Document Component onto the Tab.

Consider having a tab for every template as well as one where end-users can create their own free-form notes document.

Quip Templates

Click on the hyperlinks below to get started with your own version of these pre-built templates.

Account Planning Template 

Territory Planning Template

Account Transitions Template

Call Plans Template

Customer Success Plan Template

Customer / Partner Matrix Template 

Swarm Room Template

 

 

Root Cause Analysis Template

 

 

Service Manager Performance Review Template

 

 

Tier 3 Case Escalation Template

 

 

Part six - Known limitations

With the Spring '19 Release:

• The component will not be enabled for:
• Communities 
• Salesforce for Gmail
• Salesforce mobile
• Utility bar
• Sales and Service Console
• The Conversation pane and Document History are only available in Expanded View
• Quip notifications are not synced with Salesforce notifications (exploring options in 2019)
• Limited support for 3rd party Live Apps
• Unable to sync folders of documents between Quip and Salesforce
• Quip anchor links do not work on load
• No Salesforce Global Federated Search for content in Quip (Titles only)

 

Part seven - FAQ

How do permissions for the Quip documents created from Salesforce work?
Admins can set the default permissions three different ways:

1. View and edit: Anyone in your company will be able to view and edit created documents, both within the Quip component and directly through the document URL.
2. View only: Anyone in your company will be able to view created documents, both within the Quip component and directly though the document URL. In order to edit the document, they'll need to request access.
3. Must request access: People will need to request permission to view and edit the document.

Can multiple components appear on the same page?
Yes, by adding multiple components.

Can the same document be shown in multiple components?
Yes.

Is the component available in Communities (Community Builder) or Console (Sales and Service)?
No, with the Spring '19 Salesforce release the component is only available in Lightning App Builder.

Are Force.com Apps Supported?
Lightning app pages (via Lightning App Builder) are supported. Legacy/Classic/Visualforce-based Force.com apps are not supported.

How do I run reports on documents created from the Quip Document component?
When a document is created from the Quip Document component it auto-attaches as a File to the Record it was created from. Hence, you can run a Files Report to determine how many documents have been created by a user, on an Account page, for example. Users can filter their reports based on FileType to get only Quip Files.

Quip Notifications and Tasks vs Salesforce Notifications and Tasks - how should I think about these?

With the Summer '19 release you can add the Quip Notifications component which brings Quip Notifications into Salesforce. Best practice it to place the Quip Notifications component in your utility bar.

With the Spring '19 Release, Quip notifications and tasks do not integrate with Salesforce notifications and tasks. Quip notifications and tasks do not show up as Salesforce notifications and tasks - they show up in the Quip Application window outside of your standard Salesforce view. We think of Salesforce notifications and tasks as the highest level rollup for notifications and tasks you need to be able to report on. They are likely the first place any Salesforce user goes to stay on top of what's most relevant to them at the highest level. However, we know that there are likely to-do lists and tasks that live outside of Salesforce, and so for those non-reportable notifications and tasks, use Quip. We are investigating more closely integrating these in the future, but for now we think of Quip as a more unstructured breakout room where more in-the-weeds tasks are crossed off quickly so that work moves forward fast.

How do Third-Party Quip Live Apps show up in the Native Quip Document component?
Currently supported third-party Quip Live Apps:

• Salesforce Record
• Box.net File Viewer
• Dropbox for Quip
• Altify
• Lucidchart
• draw.io

What is an example of messaging to use with my end users?
For new end user communication, check out the messaging found in this resource.

What are ideas I can build off of to create more automation with the Quip Document Lightning Component?
Salesforce Summer '19 Release Quip Updates: Salesforce Admin Guide

I used to be on Classic and used the Quip Connect AppExchange package. How do I migrate to the Quip Lightning Experience?
Quip Admin How-to Guide: Migrating data from the Quip Connect package to the Quip & Salesforce Lightning experience