Add, modify, or delete data with AL

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Frequently, developers are asked to modify data in the database by using AL code.

The following statements allow modification of data:

• Insert

• Modify and ModifyAll

• Delete and DeleteAll

Insert statement

The Insert statement is used to add new records to the database. Before you can insert data, you need to set the values for each field that you want to store. The Insert command, in addition to the modify and delete commands, accept the RunTrigger Boolean parameter. By default, the parameter value is false.

If the parameter is false, the Insert command doesn't run the OnInsert trigger on the table level. You need to set the value to true if you want the OnInsert trigger to be run. This action is included for performance reasons.

This process is consistent with the assignment of a value to a field because it likewise doesn't run the OnValidate trigger of the field.

var
    customer: Record Customer;
begin
    customer.Init();
    customer."No." := '4711';
    customer.Name := 'John Doe';
    customer.Insert(true);

Though the OnInsert trigger isn't run by default, the OnBeforeInsert or OnAfterInsert events are always run.

Modify and ModifyAll statements

To change values of an existing record, you first need to retrieve the record. Then, you can update the values and use the Modify function to store the changes in the database.

customer.Get('4711');
customer.Name := 'Richard Roe';
customer.Modify();

Similar to the Insert function, you need to provide a true value to the Modify function to run the OnModify trigger on table level.

If you want to update multiple records simultaneously, you can use the ModifyAll function. The ModifyAll function accepts the RunTrigger parameter as the third parameter of the function.

ModifyAll(Field, NewValue, [RunTrigger]

In the following example, all records where the Salesperson Code field equals (PS) are retrieved first, and then all the retrieved records are updated with the value (JR).

customer.SetRange("Salesperson Code", 'PS');
customer.ModifyAll("Salesperson Code", 'JR');

The Modify and ModifyAll functions don't ask you for confirmation; the modification is run without warning.

Delete and DeleteAll statements

As with the Modify function, you need to retrieve a record from the database before you can delete a record. The Delete and DeleteAll functions accept the RunTrigger parameter.

customer.Get('4711');
customer.Delete(true);

The DeleteAll function removes multiple records concurrently.

customer.SetRange("Salesperson Code", 'PS');
customer.DeleteAll();

The Delete and DeleteAll functions don't ask you for confirmation; the deletion is completed without warning.