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Enable Lookup Fields

Overview

Lookup field population links a record to the AddressTools reference data. Instead of the country on an Account being only text, the record also points at the Country record for that country, and the same for state and ZIP code.

The relationship makes the reference data usable. Once a record is linked you can:

  • Pull the ISO 2-letter and ISO 3-letter codes for a country, which most integrations expect.
  • Pull the standardised full country name alongside whatever your users typed.
  • Pull the primary county for a US ZIP code, which is useful for territory and tax work.
  • Store your own data on the Country, State and ZIP Code records and reach it from any address that resolves to them.

Lookup fields are populated whenever an address is edited, not only when it is verified, so they are worth using whether or not you have address verification.

Before You Start

Each address block needs three lookup fields on the object: a country lookup, a state lookup and a ZIP code lookup. AddressTools can generate them for you, or you can create them by hand. See Create Lookup Fields, which also covers mapping them on the block.

The reference data has to be installed, since the lookups point at those records. See Install Country Data.

Step 1: Confirm the Fields Are Mapped

  1. Click the App Launcher to search for and select AddressTools Administration.
  2. Select Address Blocks from the left menu.
  3. Open the block for this address by using the dropdown to select Edit.
  4. In the Lookup Fields section, confirm Country Lookup Field, State Lookup Field and ZIP Code Lookup Field point at the fields on your object.
  5. Click Save.

Repeat for each address block you want populated. You do not have to map all three: mapping only the country lookup is fine if that is all you need.

Note: The lookups depend on each other. The country lookup is required before a state lookup is set, and before a ZIP code lookup is set. A state lookup is also required for a ZIP code lookup outside the United States; for US addresses the ZIP code lookup is set from the country lookup alone.

Step 2: Turn Lookup Field Population On for Your Org

  1. In AddressTools Administration, select Settings from the left menu.
  2. In the Feature Enablement section, click the pencil icon beside Enable Lookup Field Population.
  3. Select the checkbox, then click Save.

With this on, any lookup field mapped on an address block is related to the record matching the value in the postal address fields. This is the master switch, so nothing populates until it is set.

When Lookups Populate

Population happens through the object's trigger, so it runs on save however the record was created, including through the API and data loads. See Activate Triggers.

A lookup is only set when the value on the record resolves to an installed record. If a user types a country AddressTools does not recognise, the lookup is left empty rather than pointing at the wrong thing. Standardisation makes matches more likely, since it resolves alternative names and misspellings before the lookup runs. See Standardisation.