# Multipicklists and when to use them

![https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/246568944213819393/610943206590251008/rant_on_multi_select_picklist_multipicklist.png](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/246568944213819393/610943206590251008/rant_on_multi_select_picklist_multipicklist.png)

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sorry  
if I don't get pinged I tend to go off do something else  
short version is multipicklists suck  
they suck hard enough to use them to clean my flat when my hoover's on the fritz.  
longer version is that a multipicklist in SF is literally just concatenation values together as text  
so if you try to use this later you'll get values concatenated together with ;, not a list  
which means it sucks for reporting  
it sucks for apex code  
it sucks when you want to do a list view filter  
etc.  
a junction object in the end is pretty much the same thing: you get multiple stuff on one single record  
except it can store more info  
you can report on it  
you can list and sort it  
and, if the user REALLY wants that on an object  
you can even roll it up to concatenate as string in a field  
thereby giving the user what they wanted.  
the only reasons to ever use multipicklist for me are if  
\- you don't intent to report on that field  
\- it's literally just there to highlight stuff that's useful to the user but nothing else  
\- using a junction object would put undue stress on the user.