FileMaker script error handling with Set Error Capture

Beginner

Learn the mandatory error handling pattern for FileMaker scripts: suppress dialogs, check Get(LastError) after every risky step, and exit cleanly with diagnostic information.

What you'll learn

What Set Error Capture does and why it must be the first step in every script
How to check Get(LastError) and exit with diagnostic information
Which script steps can fail and need error checks

Without error handling, FileMaker shows a dialog to the user whenever a script step fails — and then the script continues as if nothing happened. Proper error handling suppresses those dialogs and gives you full control over what happens when something goes wrong.

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Start every script with Set Error Capture

Set Error Capture [ On ] suppresses FileMaker's built-in error dialogs. From this point on, your script is responsible for checking whether steps succeeded.

FileMaker Script

Set Error Capture [ On ]
Allow User Abort [ Off ]

# ——————————————————————————————
# Purpose:          <what this script does>
# Parameters (In):  <inputs>
# Parameters (Out): True on success, error code on failure
# ——————————————————————————————

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