How to Access OWD in Salesforce

Updated on:

April 6, 2026

By:

Madhav Bhandari

Use this interactive demo to learn how to access and navigate the Out-of-the-Box Work Dashboard (OWD) in Salesforce.

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Here’s a quick tutorial on how to access organization-wide defaults on Salesforce:

Click on the Gear icon on the top right and select Setup.
Search for Sharing Settings in the Quick Find and select it.
You will find the organization-wide defaults (OWD) page. Click on Edit to make changes as per your requirements.
Set the ‘defaults’ definitions for Internal and External Access.‍
Hit Save.

📌 Why this matters

Configuring organization-wide defaults lets you establish baseline data visibility across your entire organization, controlling whether users can see records they don't own by default. This becomes your security foundation that determines access levels before any sharing rules, role hierarchies, or manual sharing kicks in.

When you set these defaults restrictively, you can then strategically open access where needed rather than trying to lock down an overly permissive system. This approach prevents data leaks while ensuring legitimate collaboration flows smoothly through your intentionally designed sharing architecture.

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