# Automatic file and folder metadata updates for Salesforce | CloudFiles

> CloudFiles renames a record's connected folder and updates its metadata automatically when a Salesforce field changes, so search and reporting never run on stale tags. See how it works.

*Metadata automation use cases*

## Automatic metadata updates for Salesforce files and folders

CloudFiles renames a record's connected folder and updates its metadata the moment a Salesforce field changes, no one editing tags by hand. Search and reporting always run on values that are current.

[Talk to a document expert](https://meet.cloudfiles.io/salesforce?utm_content=sf-use-cases-metadata-updates-hero)

*Loved and trusted*
Logos: General Mills, Dun & Bradstreet, Wingstop, PenFed, Aviva, Ohio University, CA Conservation Corps, NC State Auditor, Arthrex, Commvault, Computacenter, Aggreko, ITW, Lummus, Northumbrian Water, Hamptons, Anteriad, BrightNight

*The gap in manual file tagging*

## Salesforce was *never* built to keep an external folder's metadata current

An account gets renamed, a deal changes stage, a customer moves tiers, and none of that reaches the SharePoint folder sitting outside Salesforce until someone remembers to update it by hand.

### Without CloudFiles

- A folder's name in SharePoint or Google Drive drifts from the Salesforce record the moment someone renames the record, and nobody catches it until a search comes up empty
- Metadata columns like industry, region or customer tier get set once at folder creation and never touched again
- Finding a file means opening folders one by one, because the tags that would make search fast were never kept current

### With CloudFiles

- A record-triggered flow renames the connected external folder automatically the instant the record's own name changes
- The same automation sets or updates metadata columns on a folder, or on individual files inside it, whenever a tracked Salesforce field changes
- Search and reporting run on metadata tags that are never more than one flow run behind Salesforce

*How it's built*

## What CloudFiles metadata automation actually does

- **Renames on a record-name change** — A record-triggered flow renames the connected SharePoint folder the instant the record's own name changes.
- **Updates on any tracked field** — The same flow-based mechanism sets or updates metadata columns, like industry, region or customer tier, whenever a tracked Salesforce field changes.
- **Mandatory columns block the upload** — An admin can require a metadata value before a file will even finish uploading.
- **Configured per page** — The Opportunity page, the Account page and an Experience Cloud site can each enforce a different set of mandatory columns.

*Where teams use it*

## How teams already keep external metadata in sync from Salesforce

Real scenarios CloudFiles' metadata automation is built to run, sourced from the Salesforce help center.

- **Keeping a folder name in step with the record** — Rename a record's connected SharePoint folder automatically the moment the record's own name changes, with nobody editing the folder by hand.
- **Tagging files by industry or tier at upload** — Require a metadata column, like industry or customer tier, to be set before a file upload will even complete.
- **Finding a file by its metadata, not its filename** — Search and filter files in the Content Library by the same metadata columns kept current on external storage.
- **Updating metadata automatically on a field change** — Set or update a folder's metadata columns automatically whenever a tracked Salesforce field, like stage or region, changes.
- **Correcting a value after the file has landed** — Edit a metadata column on an already-uploaded file directly inside the CloudFiles widget, without leaving the Salesforce record.
- **Enforcing different rules on different pages** — Configure a different set of mandatory metadata columns for the Opportunity page, the Account page or an Experience Cloud site, each independently.

*How this fits with the rest of document sharing*

## Metadata is one piece of a bigger sharing model

- **[Secure datarooms and sharing](/salesforce/use-cases/secure-datarooms-sharing)** — A folder shared through a dataroom link carries the same metadata tags kept current by this automation, so a recipient sees a correctly labeled folder, not a stale one.
- **[Permission handling](/salesforce/use-cases/permission-handling)** — Updating a folder's metadata is itself a permission-gated action; the same permission sets that govern sharing and deleting also govern who can trigger a metadata update.
- **[Document management for Salesforce](/salesforce/use-cases/document-management)** — Metadata updates are one piece of CloudFiles Document Management: the same connected folders, kept in sync with Salesforce automatically.

## Make a metadata field mandatory before a file can even upload

An admin can require a value in a specific SharePoint column, like document type or region, before the upload widget will let a file go through, and a teammate can still correct that value afterward without leaving the record.

[Read the help doc](https://help.cloudfiles.io/salesforce/cloudfiles-widget-configurations-test-drive)

## Stay compliant and secure.

CloudFiles is independently audited for SOC 2 Type II, certified to ISO 27001, and compliant with HIPAA and GDPR. Data residency is supported in the US, EU, UK, and AU. Your files stay in your own storage, CloudFiles never re-hosts them, and they are not used to train our AI models.

Certifications: SOC 2 (Type II), HIPAA (Compliant), ISO 27001 (Certified), GDPR (Compliant)

[Security overview](/security)

## Metadata updates, answered directly

**Q: Does a folder's name update automatically when I rename the Salesforce record?**
Yes. A record-triggered flow renames the connected SharePoint folder the moment the record's own name field changes.

**Q: Can I require a metadata value before a file finishes uploading?**
Yes. An admin can make a SharePoint column mandatory in the CloudFiles upload widget, and the upload won't complete until every mandatory column has a value.

**Q: Can metadata update automatically when a Salesforce field changes, not just the record name?**
Yes. The same flow-based automation can set or update a folder or file's metadata columns whenever a tracked field, like industry or customer tier, changes.

**Q: Which storage platform is folder-renaming documented for?**
SharePoint is the platform the published Salesforce tutorial and Test Drive both cover.

**Q: Can I edit a file's metadata after it's already been uploaded?**
Yes. A value can be corrected from an edit icon inside the CloudFiles widget, without leaving Salesforce.

**Q: Can different Salesforce pages enforce different mandatory metadata fields?**
Yes. A widget configuration is set per page, so the Opportunity page, the Account page and an Experience Cloud site can each require different columns.

## Book a demo

See how CloudFiles keeps a folder's name and metadata in sync with your own Salesforce records, automatically.

[Book a demo](https://meet.cloudfiles.io/salesforce?utm_content=sf-use-cases-metadata-updates-footer)