Inactive Picklist Usage

The Inactive Picklist Usage analysis scans picklist fields for values that were deactivated in the picklist's settings but are still present on existing records.

Use this analysis to assess the impact of a value deactivation you performed, before you plan cleanup, remapping, or a full deletion of the value.

Configuration

Set a threshold for what constitutes a good, warning level, or critical inactive picklist value usage. Good means the value is only used on a few records, and critical it's used on a large number of records. To flag any use of an inactive value as critical, set Good to 0% and Warning to 1%.

Detailed Job Results

For each analyzed picklist field an Inactive Values by Field doughnut chart shows the inactive values that still have usage by their usage rate.

Below, in the Field Summary table, each picklist field with used inactive values displays the total number of records with an active or inactive value for that field (Records with Value), the number of records using an inactive value ( # Records with Inactive Value), and the records with an inactive value as a percentage of the total number of records with a value ( % Records with Inactive Value).

Fold open a field to see which values are inactive yet still in use on one or more records. The number of records concerned for each value ( # Records with Inactive Value), and the percentage of the total number of records with an inactive value this represents ( % Records with Inactive Value), are shown as well.

Key Insights

• Legacy or unmigrated data: Records still carry values that are no longer selectable, meaning they predate the deactivation or were never remapped.
• Field-level severity: Comparing counts across fields shows which picklists carry the heaviest legacy burden and should be prioritized for cleanup.
• Reporting inconsistencies: Dashboards and reports may silently mix active and inactive categories, skewing results without anyone noticing.
• Cleanup readiness: Zero usage on an inactive value means it's safe to delete; nonzero usage means deletion would break historical data.

Recommended Actions

Scenario	Actions
Many inactive values still in use on a field	- Determine the correct active replacement value for each inactive value in use. - Decide whether affected records should be updated, archived, or left as-is. - Update records from the inactive value to the correct active value.
Reports or dashboards mixing active and inactive categories	- Confirm with stakeholders whether inactive categories should be included intentionally or excluded. - Update report and dashboard filters once a value update is complete. - Document the deprecation mapping for future reference.
Preparing to delete a deactivated picklist value	- Run Inactive Picklist Usage again after cleanup to confirm usage has dropped to zero - Do not delete a value while records still reference it unless you have accepted how that data will display historically.- Before deleting an inactive value, check for any process (flows, validation rules, Apex, reports) that reads or checks against it, as these can fail after deletion.