Post Templates
A Post Template is a Salesforce Setup record that controls which fields appear in an approval request post inside a Chatter feed.
Definition
A Post Template is a Salesforce Setup record that controls which fields appear in an approval request post inside a Chatter feed. It applies to Classic Approval Processes when both Approvals and Chatter are enabled, so approvers see the record details that matter without opening the record.
Each template is tied to one object, such as Account or Opportunity. You pick the fields to display, and the approval process references that template when it posts the request to the approver's feed.
How Post Templates shape an approval request in Chatter
What the feature actually controls
Post Templates live under Setup in the Post Templates page. They exist for one job: deciding which record fields show up when a Classic Approval Process sends its request as a Chatter post. The feature only matters when an org has both Approvals and Chatter turned on. With that combination, an approver can see the request in their feed and click Approve or Reject right there, without opening the record. The post itself is generated by the approval process, not by the template. The template just supplies the field list. So if you build a template for the Opportunity object and select Amount, Close Date, and Stage, the approval post for an Opportunity shows those three values in a tidy block. Pick the wrong fields and the approver has to leave the feed to get context, which defeats the point of approving from Chatter. That is why the field selection is the whole game here. A good template answers the approver's question (should I approve this?) using fields already on the post.
One template per object, one default
A Post Template is bound to a single object type when you create it. You cannot build one template that serves Accounts and Cases at the same time. If three different objects route through approval processes, you typically build at least one template for each. You can mark a template as the Default for its object using the Default checkbox. The default template is the one Salesforce reaches for automatically when an approval process for that object does not name a specific template. Only one template per object can hold the default flag. This matters in larger orgs where several approval processes touch the same object. You might want a lean default that covers most cases, plus a richer template that a high-value discount approval points to directly. The approval process wins when it names a template explicitly, so the default is really a fallback for processes that leave the Approval Post Template field empty.
Choosing fields that read well in a feed
Field order on the template becomes field order in the post, so the arrangement is part of the design. Salesforce's own guidance is to put text-heavy fields, like Comments or Description, near the bottom. Short fields up top give the approver a quick scan, and the long paragraph sits below where it will not push everything else off screen. Keep the list short. A Chatter post is not a record detail page, and stuffing twenty fields into it makes the post hard to read on a phone, which is where a lot of approvals happen. Pick the three to six fields that drive the decision. For an expense, that might be Amount, Submitted By, and Description. For a contract, it might be Account Name, Contract Term, and Status. Anything the approver rarely needs can stay off the template, because they can always open the record if they want the full picture.
Wiring a template to an approval process
Building the template is only half the work. The approval process has to point at it. When you configure or edit a Classic Approval Process, there is an Approval Post Template lookup. You search for the template you built and select it, and from then on that process uses your field list for its Chatter approval posts. If you skip that lookup, Salesforce falls back to the default template for the object, and if no default exists you get the standard system post. So the cleanest setup is to create the template first, confirm the field list, then go into the approval process and attach it. Editing the template later updates every post going forward, with no need to touch the approval process again. That separation is handy: a small team can own approval templates and tune the fields without anyone reopening the approval logic itself.
Behind the scenes: the PostTemplate metadata type
Every Post Template you create is backed by the PostTemplate metadata type, which Salesforce describes as the metadata associated with an approval post template for Approvals in Chatter. That means templates are not trapped in one org. You can retrieve them with the Metadata API, store them in version control, and deploy them to other environments through a change set or a package. For teams that manage Salesforce as code, this is the practical takeaway. A Post Template configured carefully in a sandbox can move to production the same way a custom field or page layout does. It also means a template is auditable: the field list lives in source, so a reviewer can see exactly what an approval post will expose. If your org runs deployments through CI, treat Post Templates like any other declarative metadata and let them ride along with the approval processes that depend on them.
Limits, deletion rules, and gotchas
The biggest rule to remember is deletion. You cannot delete a Post Template while any approval process still uses it. Salesforce blocks the delete to avoid breaking those posts. To remove a template, first edit each approval process that references it and clear or swap the Approval Post Template lookup, then delete. A second gotcha is scope. Post Templates only affect Classic Approval Processes. They do not style ordinary Chatter posts that people type by hand, and they are unrelated to email templates or to the look of the Chatter digest email. If someone asks you to standardize free-form team updates, Post Templates are not the tool. Finally, remember the feature is invisible until Approvals in Chatter is actually enabled and an approval process is configured to post to feeds. A perfectly built template does nothing on its own; it only shows up the moment a matching approval request is submitted.
Create a Chatter Post Template for approvals
Create a Post Template so approval requests for a given object show the right fields in a Chatter feed. You need a Classic Approval Process on that object and Approvals in Chatter enabled for the templates to have any effect.
- Open the Post Templates page
In Setup, use Quick Find to search for Post Templates and open it. This page lists existing approval post templates and is where you start a new one.
- Start a new template and pick the object
Click New Template, then choose the object the approval process runs on, such as Account or Opportunity. A template serves one object only.
- Name it and set the default
Enter a clear name and an optional description. Select the Default checkbox if you want this template used automatically for approval posts on this object when a process names no specific template.
- Select and order the fields
Under Post Template Fields, move the fields the approver needs into the Selected column. Put short fields first and text-heavy fields like Description near the bottom, then Save.
- Attach it to the approval process
Edit the Classic Approval Process and set the Approval Post Template lookup to your new template, so its field list drives the Chatter approval post.
The standard or custom object the template applies to; it must match the object the approval process runs on.
A clear, unique label so admins can find the template in the Approval Post Template lookup later.
The fields, in order, that appear in the approval request post; choose the few that drive the approve-or-reject decision.
- You cannot delete a template while an approval process still references it; clear the lookup on every process first.
- Only one template per object can be the Default; setting a new default does not delete the old templates, it just moves the flag.
- Templates do nothing unless Approvals in Chatter is enabled and a process is set to post requests to feeds.
- Put long text fields at the bottom so a single Description does not crowd out the quick-scan fields on mobile.
Prefer this walkthrough as its own page? How to Post Templates in Salesforce, step by step
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Post Templates.
Hands-on resources to go deeper on Post Templates.
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What does the Post Templates Setup page let administrators create?
Q2. What kind of merge field can a Post Template pull in automatically?
Q3. Why standardize recurring Chatter updates with Post Templates?
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