AL methods limited during write transactions (RunModal, Codeunit.Run) - #161
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… page" from the prompts article A modal page does not behave like Confirm/StrMenu inside a write transaction: the platform refuses Page.RunModal (and Report/XmlPort .RunModal with a request page, and Codeunit.Run with its return value used) with a runtime error instead of holding the lock. The new article documents that guard - verified against Microsoft Learn (Codeunit.Run transaction semantics), microsoft/AL#5452, Microsoft's own Base Application (Commit(); Page.RunModal pattern), and a live reproduction on Business Central 26 quoted verbatim. avoid-user-prompts-inside- transactions.md keeps its scope to the prompts the platform does allow; "modal page" is removed from its list because that case is refused, not stalled. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Message runs asynchronously - it is queued and shown when the calling method ends or another method requests input - so it never pauses the transaction and holds no lock. Only Confirm and StrMenu wait for the user. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
…method Mirrors the structure of the platform's own error message so the Report.RunModal and XmlPort.RunModal request-page exceptions are visible at a glance instead of buried in prose. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
"AL methods limited during write transactions: commit before RunModal and Codeunit.Run" - so a developer or agent searching for the runtime error text lands on the one article that covers all four restricted methods. Slug and sample stems renamed to match; keywords gain the error's own phrase and the legacy Form.RunModal name it still uses. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adds Page.RunModal / Report.RunModal / XmlPort.RunModal / UseRequestPage to the extracted-token list and one deterministic worklist cue with exclusions, so the article is selected from the RunModal call itself rather than only via a co-located Commit/Modify token. Codeunit.Run in that position is routed to its existing owner article. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Summary
One new
performancearticle,al-methods-limited-during-write-transactions.md, documenting the platform restriction behind the runtime error "The following AL methods are limited during write transactions because one or more tables will be locked: Form.RunModal, Codeunit.Run, Report.RunModal, XmlPort.RunModal." — one explicit line per method with its exact condition (Page.RunModal never; Report/XmlPort.RunModal only with the request page suppressed; Codeunit.Run only when the return value is unused), why the guard exists, and how to structure code so it never triggers.Why the Microsoft layer: this is platform-enforced behavior, not a team convention. Verified against: Microsoft Learn (
Codeunit.Runtransaction semantics — "you must commit first"); a live reproduction on Business Central 26 (2026-09-07,Item.Insert()thenPage.RunModal(Page::"Customer Card")— unrelated table — fails on the RunModal line; message quoted verbatim); Microsoft's own Base Application, which follows theCommit(); Page.RunModal(...)pattern inActivityLog.Table.al,DocumentSendingProfile.Table.al,PaymentServiceSetup.Table.aland others; and microsoft/AL#5452 for the pre-2019 wording. Only the Codeunit.Run leg is documented on Learn; the RunModal legs exist only as the runtime error text — which is exactly why an agent gets this wrong without the file.Relationship to existing articles:
codeunit-run-requires-prior-commit-inside-transaction.mdkeeps ownership of the Codeunit.Run leg (cross-referenced, not duplicated).avoid-user-prompts-inside-transactions.mdkeeps the prompts the platform allows inside a write transaction (Confirm/StrMenu — which therefore silently hold locks); the two words "modal page" are removed from its list, because that case is refused with a runtime error, not stalled.Wiring:
al-performance-review.mdgainsPage.RunModal/Report.RunModal/XmlPort.RunModal/UseRequestPagetokens and one deterministic worklist cue with exclusions (RunModal before every write; request page suppressed), routing Codeunit.Run in that position to its existing owner — per #155's coverage contract.Samples reference real objects only: page 428 "Shipping Agents", table 291 "Shipping Agent" (
Code[10]), Sales Header fields 21 "Shipment Date" and 105 "Shipping Agent Code".Test plan
validate_frontmatter.py --root .— 0 errors, 0 warningsBuild-KnowledgeIndex.ps1— 301 articles, deterministicTest-ReviewFixtures.ps1— 34 cases / 17 leaf domainscompany="CURABIS ApS")microsoft/knowledge/performance/)