bcquality/community/knowledge/performance/deleteall-skips-ondelete-unless-runtrigger.md

bc-version	domain	keywords	technologies	countries	application-area
all	performance	deleteall ondelete run-trigger set-based-delete bulk-delete triggers validation	al	w1	all

DeleteAll skips OnDelete unless you pass RunTrigger

Contributions welcome — open a PR to refine or extend this article.

Description

Record.DeleteAll() — equivalently DeleteAll(false) — translates to a single set-based SQL DELETE and does not run AL OnDelete triggers or field/table validations. Only database-level referential constraints still apply. To run OnDelete logic you must call DeleteAll(true), which then deletes record-by-record and forfeits the set-based performance, making it equivalent to a FindSet loop calling Delete(true). The common misconception, which training data reproduces, is that DeleteAll iterates and fires OnDelete per record; it does not. (Parameterless Delete() likewise defaults to Delete(false) and skips OnDelete.)

Best Practice

Use DeleteAll() / DeleteAll(false) for bulk deletion only when no AL OnDelete cleanup is required — it is the fast, set-based form. When OnDelete logic must run (cascading deletes, ledger cleanup, integration events), pass DeleteAll(true) and accept the row-by-row cost, or refactor the cleanup to run explicitly before the bulk delete.

Anti Pattern

Calling DeleteAll() and assuming dependent records, integration events, or validation side effects are handled by OnDelete. The deletion succeeds but the AL-side cleanup never runs, leaving orphaned data — and adding a manual FindSet/Delete loop "for safety" reintroduces the per-record cost the set-based form was chosen to avoid.