Name a few global variables that are used in formulas and validation rules

Overview

Salesforce global variables let you reference metadata and context (current user, org, profile, labels, permissions) directly in formulas and validation rules. Knowing the most common global variables speeds up building dynamic business logic and reduces hard-coded values.

Common Global Variables

$User

Represents the current user and exposes fields such as Id, Email, Username, FirstName, LastName, and ProfileId. Useful for rule checks tied to the running user.

$User.Id

$Profile

Provides information about the current user’s profile. Commonly used to allow or block actions based on profile name or Id.

$Profile.Name

$Organization

Contains organization-level details such as name, default locale, country, or instance information. Good for org-wide conditional logic in formulas.

$Organization.Id

$Label

Reference custom labels stored in Salesforce. Use this to keep messages and text translatable and maintainable.

$Label.My_Custom_Label

$Resource

Access static resources from formulas (for example, image URLs or hosted assets used in Visualforce or other contexts).

$Resource.Image_Asset_Name

$Permission

Evaluate whether the running user has a specific custom permission. Useful in validation rules to bypass or apply rules depending on permissions.

$Permission.My_Custom_Permission

Global Constants

Salesforce also exposes boolean/null constants usable in formulas:

TRUE, FALSE, NULL

Practical Examples

1. Prevent edit unless owner or admin

AND(ISCHANGED(OwnerId), OwnerId <> $User.Id, $Profile.Name <> "System Administrator")

This rule blocks changing the owner unless the current user is the owner or is a System Administrator.

2. Show a translated error message using a custom label

ISBLANK(Phone) ? $Label.Phone_Required_Error : NULL

Use $Label to keep messages translatable and easy to update without changing formulas.

3. Skip validation for users with a custom permission

AND(ISPICKVAL(Status, "Closed"), NOT($Permission.Skip_Close_Validation))

Users granted the custom permission Skip_Close_Validation will bypass the validation rule.

Best Practices

• Prefer $Label and $Permission for maintainability and internationalization.
• Avoid hard-coding profile names or IDs where possible—use custom permissions when you can.
• Test validation rules thoroughly with users having different profiles and permissions.

Keywords: Salesforce global variables, formulas, validation rules, $User, $Profile, $Organization, $Label, $Permission