Relating activities to people and records
Key Takeaway
The Name field holds the contact or lead who was involved. The Related To field holds the record the activity was about, such as an account or opportunity. Related To is available only when the activity is related to a contact, not a lead.
Every task and event can be linked to people and to a business record. These links decide which account an activity rolls up to, what last activity date a record shows, and who can view or edit the activity.
The Name and Related To fields
Each activity (a task or an event) has two relationship fields:
| Field | What it holds | Think of it as |
|---|---|---|
| Name (Who) | A contact or lead | Who was involved |
| Related To (What) | A record such as an account, opportunity, contract, or custom object | What the activity was about |
For example, imagine you have a phone call with a contact about a contract, and you log a task for it. The contact goes in the Name field, because the contact was involved in the call. The contract goes in the Related To field, because the call was about the contract.
The Related To field is available only when the activity is related to a contact, not a lead. So if you log a task against a lead, you can't also link that task to an account or opportunity.