# Activity management with tasks, events, and calendars

*Platform Administrator Study Guide · Productivity and Collaboration · Last updated September 26, 2026 · https://certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-administrator/productivity-and-collaboration/activity-management-tasks-and-events*

How tasks, events, and calendars work in Lightning Experience, and which Activity Settings, queues, and calendar types an admin uses to relate, assign, roll up, and schedule activities.

- Certification: Salesforce Platform Administrator
- Exam section: Productivity and Collaboration
- Study guide: https://certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-administrator

**Official exam objective:**

> Describe the capabilities of activity management (tasks, events).

## What the exam expects

- Explain tasks and events, where users work them, and how the Name and Related To fields connect them to records.
- Decide when to enable Shared Activities and state its consequences: up to 50 contacts, one primary contact, one lead only, and no way to turn it off.
- Choose between assigning a task to many users (independent copies), assigning it to a queue (one shared record), and making it recurring or repeating.
- Configure activity behaviour that admins control: closed Task Status values, rolling contact activities up to the primary account.
- Pick the right calendar: an object calendar, a public calendar or a resource calendar.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Activities limit | Up to 50 contacts but only 1 lead per task or event | [Enable Shared Activities](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.activities_enable_shared_activities.htm&type=5) |
| Shared Activities setting | Activity Settings: Allow users to relate multiple contacts to events and tasks | [Enable Shared Activities](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.activities_enable_shared_activities.htm&type=5) |
| Turning Shared Activities off | Not possible once enabled | [Shared Activities Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.activities_shared_considerations.htm&type=5) |
| Primary contact | Required; if deleted, the next related contact becomes primary | [Shared Activities Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.activities_shared_considerations.htm&type=5) |
| Roll up to primary account | Requires Shared Activities; needs Customize Application and Modify All Data | [Activity Rollup](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.activities_enable_activity_rollup.htm&type=5) |
| Rollup setting change | Affects new activities only, plus existing ones when recalculated | [Activity Rollup](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.activities_enable_activity_rollup.htm&type=5) |
| Task to people or groups (Lightning) | Up to 200 people, each gets an independent copy | [Task Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.task_considerations.htm&type=5) |
| Enable Group Tasks setting | Salesforce Classic only; group tasks are on by default in Lightning | [Enable Group Tasks](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.tasks_enable_group_tasks.htm&type=5) |
| Task queues | Set up only by admins; members see the queue list view | [Task Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.task_considerations.htm&type=5) |
| Queue task notifications | Sent only after reassignment from the queue to a user | [Task Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.task_considerations.htm&type=5), [Create Queues](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.setting_up_queues.htm&type=5) |
| Task Status closed flag | Each value is open or closed; several values can be closed | [TaskStatus](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_taskstatus.htm) |
| Public and resource calendars | Setup, Public Calendars and Resources; Customize Application | [Public and Resource Calendars](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.customize_groupcal.htm&type=5) |
| Object calendar | Built on the Calendar tab from any date field on a standard or custom object | [Manage Events](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=sales.viewing_events_lex.htm&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- What are the contact and lead limits on one activity when Shared Activities is enabled? → Up to 50 contacts, one of them primary, but only one lead ([Enable Shared Activities](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.activities_enable_shared_activities.htm&type=5))
- Why does an admin need stakeholder sign-off before enabling Shared Activities? → Once enabled it can't be disabled ([Considerations for Enabling Shared Activities](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.activities_shared_considerations.htm&type=5))
- When should a task go to a public group rather than a queue? → When each person must complete their own copy: a group assignment creates one task per member, while a queue owns one shared task ([Considerations for Using Tasks](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.task_considerations.htm&type=5))
- What must an admin change so that a new Task Status value counts as finished? → Edit the picklist value and mark it closed; the label alone does nothing ([TaskStatus (Object Reference)](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_taskstatus.htm))
- Which Setup page creates a calendar for booking a training room, and how does it expose double-booking? → Public Calendars and Resources; users invite the resource to events and its calendar shows existing bookings ([Create and Manage a Public Calendar or a Resource Calendar](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.customize_groupcal.htm&type=5))

## Sources

- [Activities: Tasks, Events, and Calendars](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.activities.htm&language=en_US)
- [Enable Shared Activities](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.activities_enable_shared_activities.htm&type=5)
- [Considerations for Enabling Shared Activities](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.activities_shared_considerations.htm&type=5)
- [Considerations for Using Tasks](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.task_considerations.htm&type=5)
- [Create and Manage a Public Calendar or a Resource Calendar](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.customize_groupcal.htm&type=5)
- [Manage Events in Lightning Experience](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=sales.viewing_events_lex.htm&type=5)
- [Enable Roll Up of Activities to a Contact's Primary Account](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.activities_enable_activity_rollup.htm&type=5)
- [Create Queues](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.setting_up_queues.htm&type=5)
- [TaskStatus (Object Reference)](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_taskstatus.htm)
- [Enable Group Tasks in Salesforce Classic](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.tasks_enable_group_tasks.htm&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 8 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Platform Administrator pack (USD $19): https://certifyforce.com/practice-exams