isNew()

Signature

isNew() — returns boolean

Available in: model Category: Miscellaneous Functions

Description

Returns true if this object hasn’t been saved yet (in other words, no matching record exists in the database yet). Returns false if a record exists.

Examples

// 1. Check if a newly instantiated object has been saved to the database
employee = model("Employee").new(firstName="Jane", lastName="Doe");
if (employee.isNew()) {
    // employee.save() has not been called yet, so no DB record exists
    employee.save();
}

// 2. Check after loading from the database (isNew() returns false for persisted records)
employee = model("Employee").findOne(where="firstName='Jane'");
if (!employee.isNew()) {
    // record already exists in the database
    employee.firstName = "Janet";
    employee.save();
}

// 3. Useful inside a before/after callback to branch logic for new vs. existing records
// In Employee.cfc:
component extends="Model" {
    function config() {
        beforeSave("stampAuditFields");
    }
    private function stampAuditFields() {
        if (isNew()) {
            this.createdBy = request.currentUserId;
        }
        this.updatedBy = request.currentUserId;
    }
}