Salesforce Profile / Permission Set FLS Updater

A VS Code extension to bulk update Salesforce Profile and Permission Set Field Level Security (FLS) XML files using an Excel spreadsheet.

The extension updates:

• <fieldPermissions> in Profile XML
• <fieldPermissions> in Permission Set XML

The tool supports:

• Updating existing field permissions
• Inserting new field permissions
• Alphabetical insertion logic
• Minimal XML formatting changes
• Preservation of existing XML structure and namespaces

---

Features

Supported Metadata

• Profiles (*.profile-meta.xml)
• Permission Sets (*.permissionset-meta.xml)

---

Supported Operations

Update Existing Field Permissions

Example:

<fieldPermissions>
    <editable>true</editable>
    <field>Account.Description</field>
    <readable>true</readable>
</fieldPermissions>

Can be updated to:

<fieldPermissions>
    <editable>false</editable>
    <field>Account.Description</field>
    <readable>true</readable>
</fieldPermissions>

---

Insert Missing Field Permissions

New permissions are inserted alphabetically relative to existing permissions.

Example:

Existing permissions:

A
B
G
E

New permissions:

C
D
Z

Result:

A
B
C
D
G
E
Z

---

Excel File Format

The Excel file must contain the following columns EXACTLY:

Filename	Object API Name	Field API Name	Read	Edit

---

Sample Excel Format

Filename	Object API Name	Field API Name	Read	Edit
Admin.profile-meta.xml	Account	BillingCity	TRUE	TRUE
Admin.profile-meta.xml	Account	Description	TRUE	FALSE
Sales.profile-meta.xml	Lead	Status	TRUE	TRUE
MyPermission.permissionset-meta.xml	Account	AnnualRevenue	TRUE	FALSE

---

Important Notes

Excel File Must Be Closed

The Excel workbook MUST be closed before running the extension.

If the file is open in Excel, the extension may fail to access the file.

---

How To Use

Step 1 — Open VS Code

Open the Salesforce metadata project in VS Code.

---

Step 2 — Launch Extension

Open the Command Palette:

Ctrl + Shift + P

Run:

Salesforce XML: Upsert

---

Step 3 — Enter Inputs

Provide:

Profiles / Permission Sets Folder

Example:

D:\SalesforceProject\force-app\main\default\profiles

OR

D:\SalesforceProject\force-app\main\default\permissionsets

---

Excel File Path

Example:

D:\Updates\FLS_Update.xlsx

---

Step 4 — Run Update

Click:

Run Update

---

Step 5 — Review Results

The extension will:

• Parse the Excel file
• Group updates by file
• Update existing permissions
• Insert missing permissions
• Save modified XML files
• Display summary logs

---

Limitations

Supported XML Sections

Currently supported:

• <fieldPermissions>

NOT supported:

• <objectPermissions>
• <classAccesses>
• <tabVisibilities>
• <applicationVisibilities>
• <recordTypeVisibilities>
• <layoutAssignments>

---

XML Formatting Assumptions

The extension assumes:

• Standard Salesforce XML formatting
• Properly closed XML tags
• Valid metadata XML

Malformed XML may cause failures.

---

Large Files

Very large metadata files may take longer to process.

---

Duplicate Excel Rows

If duplicate field entries exist in Excel for the same file:

Same File + Same Object + Same Field

the latest processed row wins.

---

Possible Errors

---

Excel Parse Error

Example:

Excel Parse Error: Cannot access file

Possible causes:

• File path incorrect
• Excel file open in another application
• File locked
• Insufficient permissions

---

Profile Not Found

Example:

Profile not found: Admin.profile-meta.xml

Possible causes:

• Wrong metadata folder path
• Filename mismatch in Excel
• File does not exist

---

Invalid XML

Example:

Failed to parse fieldPermissions

Possible causes:

• Corrupted XML
• Invalid Salesforce metadata format

---

Permission Not Inserted Correctly

Possible causes:

• Duplicate XML blocks
• Manually corrupted metadata
• Non-standard formatting

---

Test On Small Dataset First

Validate output before large-scale updates.

---

Use Source Control

Always review generated Git diffs before deployment.

---

Supported Values

Read

Accepted values:

TRUE
FALSE
true
false

---

Edit

Accepted values:

TRUE
FALSE
true
false

---

Example XML Output

<fieldPermissions>
    <editable>true</editable>
    <field>Account.BillingCity</field>
    <readable>true</readable>
</fieldPermissions>

---

Known Constraints

The extension intentionally DOES NOT:

• Globally sort permissions
• Rebuild entire XML documents
• Modify unrelated metadata sections

This minimizes Git diff noise and preserves metadata readability.

---