Delete All Records safely with confirmation and privilege guards

Beginner

Use confirmation dialogs, RunWithFullAccess, and pre-delete checks to prevent accidental data loss when scripting bulk deletes.

What you'll learn

How to require explicit user confirmation before any bulk delete
How to use RunWithFullAccess to perform the delete under elevated privileges
How to check found-set size before deleting to prevent accidental full-table wipes
How to log the delete operation for audit purposes

The Delete All Records script step is one of the most dangerous in FileMaker -- it permanently removes every record in the current found set with no undo. A production-safe implementation requires a confirmation dialog, a found-set size check, and proper privilege handling so that only authorized users can proceed.

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Confirm the operation with a count-aware dialog

Show the user exactly how many records will be deleted. If they have not deliberately filtered to the intended set, they should cancel. Use Show Custom Dialog with a custom message; check the dialog result before proceeding.

FileMaker Script

Set Variable [ $count ; Value: Get ( FoundCount ) ]

# Safety rail: refuse to delete the entire table without a filtered found set
If [ $count = Get ( TotalRecordCount ) ]
  Show Custom Dialog [ "You cannot delete all records -- please filter to the specific records you want to remove first." ]
  Exit Script [ Text Result: "cancelled" ]
End If

Show Custom Dialog [
  Title: "Confirm Delete" ;
  Message: "You are about to permanently delete " & $count & " record(s). This cannot be undone. Continue?" ;
  Button 1: "Delete" ; Button 2: "Cancel"
]

If [ Get ( LastMessageChoice ) != 1 ]
  Exit Script [ Text Result: "cancelled" ]
End If

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