managed package install

5 easy steps to install custom components in Salesforce Trailhead playground orgs

Scott S NelsonLeave a comment

Salesforce Trailhead trainings are a great way to learn Salesforce. Some of the Hands-on Challenges require installing components. If you are using a Developer org to run these, the instructions are easy to follow. However, if you are using Trailhead Playground org, it is kind of a pain to install some components. There is a link thoughtfully provided by Salesforce for how to do this with eleven steps that I find a bit too time-consuming and confusing. I have found a slightly different approach that seems (at least to me) simpler. I will leave it to you decide which you prefer.

The instructions for installing the component (as in the screenshot below)will often be provided well before the challenge and the hint to avoid the frustration of trying to log into a Playground org when prompted by the standard component installation URL.

Example Trailehead Package Insturction
Example Trailhead Package Instruction

Step 1: Decide for yourself whether you will read through the full lesson or skip right to the challenge and when you get to the challenge, open your Trailhead Playground org in a new window by right-clicking on the Launch button (as pictured below).

Open your Trailhead Playground org in a new window by right-clicking on the Launch button
Open your Trailhead Playground org in a new window by right-clicking on the Launch button

Step 2: Log in to your Trailhead Playground org.

Step 3: Go back to the lesson screen and copy the component installation URL without the domain, i.e., “packaging/installPackage.apexp?p0=04tj0000001mMYP”

Copy the component installation URL without the domain
Copy the component installation URL without the domain

In some cases the installation instructions will have a link without the URL on the page. In this case, right-click on the link and copy the target to get the path, pasting it into a text editor to extract the portion following the domain.

Right-click on the link and copy the target to get the path
Right-click on the link and copy the target to get the path

Step 4: With the package path in your clipboard, paste it after the domain name of your Playground in the window you have already logged into and press enter.

With the package path in your clipboard, paste it after the domain name of your Playground in the window you have already logged into and press enter.
With the package path in your clipboard, paste it after the domain name of your Playground in the window you have already logged into and press enter.

Step 5: Once the installation screen will come up, and you can continue as instructed in the Trailhead lesson.

Once the installation screen will come up, and you can continue as instructed in the Trailhead lesson.
Once the installation screen will come up, and you can continue as instructed in the Trailhead lesson.

I have tested this on both Chrome and Firefox running in Windows 7. Your results may vary with a different combination of browsers and O/S.

Originally published at InfoWorld

01/27/2018 Update: The new Salesforce Trailhead UI may take you to the log in page. No worries. Copy the login URL and strip the characters before and including “startURL=”, past into https://www.urldecoder.org/, and strip all of the characters including and following the first “&”. to get the package URL.

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© Scott S. Nelson