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Why a Record Will Not Save or Delete ​

"Why can't I delete this?" is the most-asked question in any ERP, and Nama answers it with a short message that names the rule but not the way out. This page takes the refusals one by one — what the system was protecting, and what a support agent actually does about it.

The checks run in a fixed order, and they are cumulative: a record can fail one, be fixed, and then fail the next. It helps to know the order, because it tells you which answer to give first.

Deleting: the checks, in the order they run ​

1. The record has been used somewhere, so it was locked ​

This is the one that surprises people, and the message is the least helpful in the product:

Can not Delete this record because it used in another record

It is raised for a small family of master files that the rest of the system depends on. The moment any saved record points at one of them, Nama marks it as used — permanently, even if the record that pointed at it is later deleted — and from then on it refuses to delete it.

Fifteen types behave this way:

Users and securityUser · Security Capability
DimensionsLegal Entity · Sector · Branch · Department · Analysis Set
Books and termsDocument Book · Document Term · Doc Category
PeriodsFiscal Year · Fiscal Period
FilesMaster Group · Customer · Supplier

The mark is one-way on its own

Nothing clears the mark when the last user of the record goes away. A document book used once by a document that was later deleted is still marked as used, and still refuses to be deleted.

The way out is a hidden action that exists exactly for this. On the record's screen — or with the rows selected in its list view — press Ctrl + Alt + X to bring out the advanced items, then open the More menu and choose cancelActivated. The item carries no translated title, so it reads as that word in both languages. It clears the used-mark and nothing else; the delete is then an ordinary delete, subject to every other check on this page.

Clear the mark only when you know the record is genuinely unused

The mark is not a lie — something did point at this record once. Clearing it and deleting a book, term or dimension that is still referenced leaves rows pointing at a record that no longer exists, and those screens will fail to open. Check first: search the documents for the book, the term or the dimension you are about to delete. The action needs the Delete permission on the type, so it is not something an ordinary user stumbles into.

2. The system generated this record, and generated it as final ​

Record {0} can not be deleted, because it is generated final

The record was produced by another record — an entity flow, a document generated from a document — and was marked final at the moment it was generated. Deleting it would break the chain that produced it. Delete or cancel the record that generated it instead, and let the generator take its own output back.

3. Something is built on this document ​

Two different messages, two different mechanisms:

Cannot delete because there are transactions by the document

The document has processed effects — ledger lines, stock movements, debt lines. It cannot simply vanish; use a Document Cancel Document, which reverses the effects and leaves a trace.

Record {0} can not be deleted because it is used in

An installment document whose installments have already been paid, or a record used by a specific named record that the message points at. Open the record named in {1} first; if it is a payment, undo the payment before the plan.

4. The user is not allowed to delete this kind of record, in this state ​

Four separate permissions decide a delete, and which one applies depends on the record's state:

The record isThe permission checkedRefusal
A draftDraft Deletion Capability on the security profile{0} can not be deleted because current user dos not have the authority for deleting drafts
A draft, with Delete Only Created Drafts onthe same, plus authorship{0} can not be deleted because current user is not the creator of this draft
CommittedCan DeleteYou do not have the authority {1} on entity {0} (with {1} = Delete)
ApprovedPrevent Edit/Delete After ApprovalCurrent user can not delete {0} after approval
Printed at least oncePrevent Edit/Delete After PrintCurrent user can not delete {0} after being printed

The last two are worth reading carefully, because they are prevention flags on the profile rather than grants: ticking them takes the ability away from that profile, and a document that has been printed once is then frozen for everybody who carries that profile.

Authorship for the draft rule is worked out from the action history if the record does not carry a first author, so a draft whose history was purged behaves as though it has no owner and passes the check.

5. The period is closed ​

Can not delete transactions on closed periods

Nothing dated inside a closed fiscal period may be added, changed or deleted, whoever you are. The three layers that can close a date — the period itself, the fiscal-year status, and the Ignore Closed Periods permission — are explained in Fiscal Period Control.

6. The record is revised, prevented from usage, or in an approval cycle ​

These three freeze a record for deleting exactly as they freeze it for editing, and they are covered in Revise and Unrevise, Prevent Usage and Approvals.

Editing: the same idea, different rules ​

An edit is refused by the life-cycle state of the record — the lifecycle page owns that list — plus three rules that belong here:

Another document was built on this one. With Prevent Editing Documents After Using In From Doc ticked on the document term, a document becomes read-only as soon as anything is built on it, and the refusal names the culprit: Record cannot be edited, because {0}-{1} use this record in from doc. The message is a clickable route to the term that imposed the rule. To edit the document anyway, delete the document built on it first — or turn the term option off if the rule was never wanted.

The record is public and you are not. You can not change public records means the record has no legal entity (it is shared by all of them) while your user is tied to one. Public records are edited by a user whose own legal entity is public. See Dimensions for what a public record is.

Someone else saved first. The record was modified by someone else, please refresh and re-enter your changes is Nama refusing to let your save quietly overwrite a colleague's. Reload, look at what changed, redo your change on top. It is not a defect and it is not a lock — nothing needs clearing, the save simply has to be repeated against the current version.

Messages you may see ​

MessageWhyWhat to do
Can not Delete this record because it used in another recordOne of the fifteen types above was pointed at by a saved record and is marked as used. The message has no Arabic translation, so it appears in English on Arabic screens.Confirm nothing really uses it, then Ctrl + Alt + X → More → cancelActivated, and delete.
Record {0} can not be deleted, because it is generated final — «لا يمكن حذف السجل {0} لأنه خاص بالنظام»The record was generated by another record as final output.Delete or cancel the record that generated it.
Record {0} can not be deleted because it is used in {1} — «لا يمكن حذف السجل {0} حيث انه مستخدم في {1}»A named record — typically a payment against an installment plan — depends on this one.Open the record named in the message and undo it first.
Cannot delete because there are transactions by the document {0} — «لا يمكن الحذف لوجود حركات بواسطة المستند {0}»The document has processed effects in the ledger or the warehouse.Cancel it with a Document Cancel Document instead of deleting.
Cannot delete as {0} value is paidA point-of-sale payment has been taken against this document.Reverse the payment first.
{0} can not be deleted because current user dos not have the authority for deleting drafts — «لا يمكن حذف {0} لأن المستخدم الحالى لا يملك صلاحية حذف المسودات»Draft Deletion Capability is not granted on the profile.Grant it on the security profile, or have someone who has it delete the draft.
{0} can not be deleted because current user is not the creator of this draft — «لا يمكن حذف {0} لأن المستخدم الحالى ليس هو منشئ المستند»Delete Only Created Drafts is on, and this draft was entered by somebody else.Its author deletes it, or the option is relaxed for that profile.
You do not have the authority {1} on entity {0} — «لا توجد لديك الصلاحية {1} على النوع {0}»The profile's line for this type does not grant the named permission.See security profiles — the row that decides is chosen by type, then type list, then wildcard.
Current user can not delete {0} after approval — «لا يمكن للمستخدم الحالي حذف {0} بعد الموافقة»The document completed its approval cycle and the profile has Prevent Edit/Delete After Approval.Untick it for that profile, or cancel the document instead.
Current user can not delete {0} after being printed — «لا يمكن للمستخدم الحالى حذف {0} بعد طباعته»The document has been printed and the profile has Prevent Edit/Delete After Print.Untick it for that profile, or cancel the document instead.
Can not delete transactions on closed periods — «لا يمكن حذف مستندات في فترة مغلقة»The document's date falls in a closed period.Reopen the period, or use the Ignore Closed Periods permission where policy allows.
Record cannot be edited, because {0}-{1} use this record in from doc — «لا يمكن تعديل السجل لأن {0} - {1} يستخدم هذا السجل في بناءا على»The term option Prevent Editing Documents After Using In From Doc is on, and the named document was built on this one.Delete the dependent document first, or turn the term option off.
You can not change public records — «لا يمكنك تعديل السجلات العامة»The record belongs to no legal entity; your user belongs to one.Edit it with a user whose legal entity is public.
Can not use record {0}-{1}, usage is prevented — «لا يمكن استعمال السجلات التي تم منع استعمالها {0}-{1}»A field points at a record that has been retired with Prevent Usage.Pick a live record, or relax the rule — see Prevent Usage.

See also ​