User Guide Cancel

cfcatch

Last updated on May 30, 2024 | Also applies to ColdFusion

CFML Reference User Guide
ColdFusion functions
ColdFusion Tags
1. ColdFusion tag summary
2. ColdFusion tags by category
  1. Application framework tags
    1. cfapplication
    2. cfassociate
    3. cferror
    4. cfimport
    5. cfinterface
    6. cflock
    7. cfscript
    8. cfthread
  2. Communications tags
  3. Database manipulation tags
  4. Data output tags
    1. cfchart
    2. cfchartdata
    3. cfchartseries
    4. cfcol
    5. cfcontent
    6. cfdocument
    7. cfdocumentitem
    8. cfdocumentsection
    9. cfflush
    10. cfheader
    11. cflog
    12. cfoutput
    13. cfpresentation
    14. cfpresentationslide
    15. cfpresenter
    16. cfprocessingdirective
    17. cfprint
    18. cfreport
    19. cfreportparam
    20. cfsilent
    21. cftable
  5. Debugging tags
    1. cfdump
    2. cftimer
    3. cftrace
  6. Exception handling tags
    1. cfcatch
    2. cferror
    3. cffinally
    4. cfrethrow
    5. cfthrow
    6. cftry
  7. Extensibility tags
    1. cfchart
    2. cfchartdata
    3. cfchartseries
    4. cfcollection
    5. cfcomponent
    6. cfexecute
    7. cfftp
    8. function
    9. cfindex
    10. cfinterface
    11. cfinvoke
    12. cfinvokeargument
    13. cfobject
    14. cfproperty
    15. cfreport
    16. cfreportparam
    17. cfreturn
    18. cfsearch
    19. cfsharepoint
    20. cfspreadsheet
    21. cfwddx
    22. cfxml
  8. File management tags
    1. cfdirectory
    2. cffile
    3. cffileupload
    4. cfftp
    5. cfzip
    6. cfzipparam
  9. Flow-control tags
    1. cfabort
    2. cfbreak
    3. cfcase
    4. cfcontinue
    5. cfdefaultcase
    6. cfelse
    7. cfelseif
    8. cfexecute
    9. cfexit
    10. cfif
    11. cfinclude
    12. cflocation
    13. cfloop
    14. cfrethrow
    15. cfswitch
    16. cfthrow
    17. cftry
  10. Forms tags
    1. cfapplet
    2. cfcalendar
    3. cffileupload
    4. cfform
    5. cfformgroup
    6. cfformitem
    7. cfgrid
    8. cfgridcolumn
    9. cfgridrow
    10. cfgridupdate
    11. cfinput
    12. cfpdf
    13. cfpdfform
    14. cfpdfformparam
    15. cfpdfparam
    16. cfpdfsubform
    17. cfselect
    18. cfslider
    19. cftextarea
    20. cftree
    21. cftreeitem
  11. Internet Protocol tags
    1. cfajaximport
    2. cfajaxproxy
    3. cfftp
    4. cffeed
    5. cfimap
    6. cfhttp
    7. cfhttpparam
    8. cfldap
    9. cfmail
    10. cfmailparam
    11. cfmailpart
    12. cfpop
    13. cfsprydataset
  12. Page processing tags
    1. cfcache
    2. cfcontent
    3. cfflush
    4. cfheader
    5. cfhtmlhead
    6. cfinclude
    7. cfprocessingdirective
    8. cfsetting
    9. cfsilent
  13. Security tags
  14. Variable manipulation tags
    1. cfcookie
    2. cfdump
    3. cfparam
    4. cfregistry
    5. cfsavecontent
    6. cfschedule
    7. cfset
    8. cfsetting
  15. Other tags
    1. cfimage
    2. cflog
    3. cfregistry
3. Tags a-b
4. Tags c
  1. cfcache
  2. cfcalendar
  3. cfcase
  4. cfcatch
  5. cfchart
  6. cfchartdata
  7. cfchartseries
  8. cfclient
  9. cfclientsettings
  10. cfcol
  11. cfcollection
  12. cfcomponent
  13. cfcontent
  14. cfcontinue
  15. cfcookie
  16. Tags d-e
5. Tags f
6. Tags g-h
  1. cfgraph
  2. cfgraphdata
  3. cfgrid
  4. cfgridcolumn
  5. cfgridrow
  6. cfgridupdate
  7. cfheader
  8. cfhtmlhead
  9. cfhtmltopdf
  10. cfhtmltopdfitem
  11. cfhttp
  12. cfhttpparam
7. Tags i
  1. cfif
  2. cfimage
  3. cfimap
  4. cfimapfilter
  5. cfimpersonate
  6. cfimport
  7. cfinclude
  8. cfindex
  9. cfinput
  10. cfinsert
  11. cfinterface
  12. cfinvoke
  13. cfinvokeargument
8. Tags j-l
9. Tags m-o
10. Tags p-q
  1. cfparam
  2. cfpdf
  3. cfpdfform
  4. cfpdfformparam
  5. cfpdfparam
  6. cfpdfsubform
  7. cfpod
  8. cfpop
  9. cfpresentation
  10. cfpresentationslide
  11. cfpresenter
  12. cfprint
  13. cfprocessingdirective
  14. cfprocparam
  15. cfprocresult
  16. cfprogressbar
  17. cfproperty
  18. cfquery
  19. cfqueryparam
11. Tags r-s
  1. cfregistry
  2. cfreport
  3. cfreportparam
  4. cfrethrow
  5. cfreturn
  6. cfsavecontent
  7. cfschedule
  8. cfscript
  9. cfsearch
  10. cfselect
  11. cfservlet
  12. cfservletparam
  13. cfset
  14. cfsetting
  15. cfsharepoint
  16. cfsilent
  17. cfslider
  18. cfspreadsheet
  19. cfsprydataset
  20. cfstoredproc
  21. cfswitch
12. Tags t
  1. cftable
  2. cftextarea
  3. cftextinput
  4. cfthread
  5. cfthrow
  6. cftimer
  7. cftooltip
  8. cftrace
  9. cftransaction
  10. cftree
  11. cftreeitem
  12. cftry
13. Tags u-z
  1. cfupdate
  2. cfwddx
  3. cfwebsocket
  4. cfwindow
  5. cfxml
  6. cfzip
  7. cfzipparam
CFML Reference
1. Reserved words and variables
2. Ajax JavaScript functions
3. ColdFusion ActionScript functions
4. ColdFusion mobile functions
5. Application.cfc reference
6. Script functions implemented as CFCs
7. ColdFusion Flash Form style reference
8. ColdFusion event gateway reference
9. ColdFusion C++ CFX Reference
10. ColdFusion Java CFX reference
11. WDDX JavaScript Objects
Cloud services

Description

Used inside a cftry tag. Together, they catch and process exceptions in ColdFusion pages. Exceptions are events that disrupt the normal flow of instructions in a ColdFusion page, such as failed database operations, missing include files, and developer-specified events.

Syntax

<cfcatch type = "exception type"> 
Exception processing code here </cfcatch>

History

ColdFusion 10: Added the sessionCookie and authCookie attributes.ColdFusion MX:

Changed SQLSTATE value behavior: the SQLSTATE return value in a cfcatchtag depends on the database driver type:
- Type 1 (JDBC-ODBC bridge): the value is the same as in ColdFusion 5.
- Type 4 (100% Java, no native methods): the value might be different.
  If your application depends on SQLSTATE values for flow control, the application might produce unexpected behavior with ColdFusion MX.
Changed the behavior of this tag when type="any": it is not necessary, when you include a cfcatch tag with type="any", to do so in the last cfcatch tag in the block, to ensure that all other tests are executed before it. ColdFusion finds the best-match cfcatch block.
Changed the behavior of the cfscript tag: it includes try and catch statements that are equivalent to the cftry and cfcatch tags.
Changed object modification: you cannot modify the object returned by cfcatch.
Changed thrown exceptions: the cfcollection, cfindex, and cfsearch tags can throw the SEARCHENGINE exception. In earlier releases, an error in processing these tags threw only an UNKNOWN exception.

Attributes

Attribute	Req/Opt	Default	Description
name	Optional		Variable name for cfcatch expression.
type	Optional	Any	application: catches application exceptions database: catches database exceptions template: catches ColdFusion page exceptions security: catches security exceptions object: catches object exceptions missingInclude: catches missing include file exceptions expression: catches expression exceptions lock: catches lock exceptions custom_type: catches the specified custom exception type that is defined in a cfthrow tag searchengine: catches Solr search engine exceptions any: catches all exception types

Usage

You must code at least one cfcatch tag within a cftry block. Put cfcatch tags at the end of a cftry block. ColdFusion tests cfcatch tags in the order in which they appear. This tag requires an end tag.
If type="any", ColdFusion catches exceptions from any CFML tag, data source, or external object. To get the exception type use code such as the following:

#cfcatch.type#

Applications can use the cfthrow tag to throw developer-defined exceptions. Catch these exceptions with any of these type options:

"custom_type"
"Application"
"Any"
The custom_type type is a developer-defined type specified in a cfthrow tag. If you define a custom type as a series of strings concatenated by periods (for example, "MyApp.BusinessRuleException.InvalidAccount"), ColdFusion can catch the custom type by its character pattern. ColdFusion searches for a cfcatch tag in the cftryblock with a matching exception type, starting with the most specific (the entire string), and ending with the least specific. For example, you could define a type as follows:

<cfthrow type = "MyApp.BusinessRuleException.InvalidAccount">

If you have the following cfcatchtag, it handles the exception:

<cfcatch type = "MyApp.BusinessRuleException.InvalidAccount">

Finally, if you have the following cfcatchtag, it handles the exception:

<cfcatch type = "MyApp.BusinessRuleException">

Otherwise, if you have the following cfcatchtag, it handles the exception:

<cfcatch type = "MyApp">

You can code cfcatch tags in any order to catch a custom exception type.
If you specify type = "Application", the cfcatch tag catches only custom exceptions that have the Application type in the cfthrow tag that defines them.
The cfinclude, cfmodule, and cferror tags throw an exception of type = "template".
An exception that is thrown within a cfcatch block cannot be handled by the cftry block that immediately encloses the cfcatch tag. However, you can rethrow the currently active exception with the cfrethrow tag.
The cfcatch variables provide the following exception information:

cfcatch variable	Content
cfcatch.type	Type: Exception type, as specified in cfcatch.
cfcatch.message	Message: Exception's diagnostic message, if provided; otherwise, an empty string; in the cfcatch.message variable.
cfcatch.detail	Detailed message from the CFML interpreter or specified in a cfthrow tag. When the exception is generated by ColdFusion (and not cfthrow), the message can contain HTML formatting and can help determine which tag threw the exception.
cfcatch.tagcontext	An array of tag context structures, each representing one level of the active tag context at the time of the exception.
cfcatch.NativeErrorCode	Applies to type = "database". Native error code associated with exception. Database drivers typically provide error codes to diagnose failing database operations. Default value is -1.
cfcatch.SQLState	Applies to type = "database". SQLState associated with exception. Database drivers typically provide error codes to help diagnose failing database operations. Default value is 1.
cfcatch.Sql	Applies to type = "database". The SQL statement sent to the data source.
cfcatch.queryError	Applies to type ="database". The error message as reported by the database driver.
cfcatch.where	Applies to type= "database". If the query uses the cfqueryparam tag, query parameter name-value pairs.
cfcatch.ErrNumber	Applies to type = "expression". Internal expression error number.
cfcatch.MissingFileName	Applies to type = "missingInclude". Name of file that could not be included.
cfcatch.LockName	Applies to type = "lock". Name of affected lock (if the lock is unnamed, the value is "anonymous").
cfcatch.LockOperation	Applies to type = "lock". Operation that failed (Timeout, Create Mutex, or Unknown).
cfcatch.ErrorCode	Applies to type = "custom". String error code.
cfcatch.ExtendedInfo	Applies to type = "application" and "custom". Custom error message; information that the default exception handler does not display.

Advanced exception types

You can specify the following advanced exception types in the type attribute:

ColdFusion advanced exception type
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.CFEXECUTE.OutputError
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.CFEXECUTE.Timeout
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.FileException
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPAccepted
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPAuthFailure
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPBadGateway
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPBadRequest
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPCFHTTPRequestEntityTooLarge
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPCGIValueNotPassed
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPConflict
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPContentLengthRequired
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPContinue
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPCookieValueNotPassed
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPCreated
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPFailure
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPFileInvalidPath
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPFileNotFound
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPFileNotPassed
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPFileNotRenderable
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPForbidden
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPGatewayTimeout
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPGone
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPMethodNotAllowed
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPMovedPermanently
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPMovedTemporarily
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPMultipleChoices
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPNoContent
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPNonAuthoritativeInfo
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPNotAcceptable
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPNotFound
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPNotImplemented
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPNotModified
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPPartialContent
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPPaymentRequired
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPPreconditionFailed
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPProxyAuthenticationRequired
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPRequestURITooLarge
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPResetContent
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPSeeOther
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPServerError
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPServiceUnavailable
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPSwitchingProtocols
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPUnsupportedMediaType
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPUrlValueNotPassed
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPUseProxy
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPVersionNotSupported
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.POPAuthFailure
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.POPConnectionFailure
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.POPDeleteError
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.Request.Timeout
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.SERVLETJRunError
COM.Allaire.ColdFusion.HTTPConnectionTimeout

Example

<!--- The cfcatch example that uses TagContext to display the tag stack. ---> 
<h3>cftry Example</h3> 
<!--- Open a cftry block. ---> 
<cftry> 
<!--- Notice misspelled tablename "employees" as "employeeas". --->
<cfquery name = "TestQuery" dataSource = "cfdocexamples"> 
SELECT * 
FROM employees 
</cfquery> 
<!--- Other processing goes here. ---> 
<!--- Specify the type of error for which we search. ---> 
<cfcatch type = "Database"> 
<!--- The message to display. ---> 
<h3>You've Thrown a Database <b>Error</b></h3> 
<cfoutput> 
<!--- The diagnostic message from ColdFusion. ---> 
<p>#cfcatch.message#</p> 
<p>Caught an exception, type = #CFCATCH.TYPE#</p> 
<p>The contents of the tag stack are:</p> 
<cfdump var="#cfcatch.tagcontext#"> 
</cfoutput> 
</cfcatch> 
</cftry>

Adobe

Get help faster and easier

New user?