Script continuation and halt: Halt Script, Exit Script, and Allow User Abort

Beginner

Control script termination precisely using Halt Script, Exit Script, and Allow User Abort Off to build safe, uninterruptible workflows.

What you'll learn

The difference between Exit Script and Halt Script and when to use each
How Allow User Abort [ Off ] prevents user-driven cancellation
When it is appropriate to allow vs deny user abort
How to build a safe cancellation checkpoint inside a long loop
How to ensure cleanup runs even when a script is halted

Three mechanisms control how a FileMaker script stops: Exit Script (returns to the caller), Halt Script (stops everything), and Allow User Abort [ Off ] (prevents the user from pressing Escape to cancel). Choosing the wrong one at the wrong time causes data corruption, locked records, or silently aborted batch operations.

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Exit Script vs Halt Script

Exit Script terminates only the current script and returns control to the parent script (if any). Halt Script terminates every script in the call stack immediately -- no parent receives control and no further steps run anywhere. Use Exit Script for normal completion and error returns; reserve Halt Script for user-initiated cancel-everything actions.

FileMaker Script

# Sub-script: Validate Record
If [ IsEmpty ( Contacts::Email ) ]
  # Exit back to caller with an error signal
  Exit Script [ Text Result: "error: email required" ]
End If
Exit Script [ Text Result: "ok" ]

# NOTE: If Halt Script were used here instead, the parent
# script would never receive the result and could not clean up.

Recursive scripts with a counter guard Perform Script with parameter: JSON encoding and decoding