Deleting records

Deleting records

You can delete single records, a group of records, all the records in a table, or all the records in a database. When you delete a record, you permanently discard the data you entered in all the fields in that record.

Important You can't undo the action of deleting records. Before you delete anything, consider making a backup copy of your database.

If you’re working in a relational database and the option to delete related records is selected in the Define Relationship dialog box, FileMaker Pro also deletes related records when you delete a record.

To delete

Do this

One record

In Browse mode, select the record you want to delete. (If your layout displays related records in a portal, select anything other than a portal row.) In the status toolbar, click Delete Record, then click Delete.

A related record

In Browse mode, select a portal row in the current table by clicking inside the row but outside any fields in the row. Click Delete Record, then click Delete.

A group of records

Make sure the found set contains only the records you want to delete. (For more information, see Finding records.) Choose Records menu > Delete Found Records, then click Delete.

All records in a table

In Browse mode, Click Show All, then choose Records menu > Delete All Records.

All records in a database

Create a clone of the database with no records. For more information, see Saving and copying files.

Notes

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You can temporarily omit records from the found set without deleting them from the database. For more information, see Hiding records from a found set and viewing hidden records.

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You can permanently delete a field definition and all the data in the field in all records. For more information, see Deleting table definitions, field definitions, and data.

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To use one of the procedures in this topic to delete related records in a portal, Allow deletion of portal records must be selected in the Portal Setup dialog box. For more information, see Creating portals to display related records. The Allow deletion of portal records option does not need to be selected when you use the Delete Portal Row script step to delete related records. See Delete Record/Request.

Related topics

Adding and duplicating records

Adding and duplicating related records

To delete	Do this
One record	In Browse mode, select the record you want to delete. (If your layout displays related records in a portal, select anything other than a portal row.) In the status toolbar, click Delete Record, then click Delete.
A related record	In Browse mode, select a portal row in the current table by clicking inside the row but outside any fields in the row. Click Delete Record, then click Delete.
A group of records	Make sure the found set contains only the records you want to delete. (For more information, see Finding records.) Choose Records menu > Delete Found Records, then click Delete.
All records in a table	In Browse mode, Click Show All, then choose Records menu > Delete All Records.
All records in a database	Create a clone of the database with no records. For more information, see Saving and copying files.

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