URGENT: If user clicks 'refresh' in validation error state, the page refreshes without warning leading to data loss.

[JayBox325]

Describe the Bug

I'm marking this as urgent, as this is a very poor AX and will lead to accidental data loss.

If an author populates fields and refreshes their browser, they correctly get this browser warning:

However, if an author tries to save a page and receives validation errors to get the following, then they refresh the browser, the browser warning modal no longer pops up.

Proposed solution:

Instead of using browser-level modals, there should be a built in modal (much like the logged out one) that really gets the attention of the author to notify them that refreshing or leaving the current state will end in data loss.

Link to the code that reproduces this issue

Don't need one. This is platform-wide on all builds.

Reproduction Steps

1. Create a new post
2. Populate content
3. Make sure to leave validation errors
4. Save, to trigger validation warnings
5. Refresh to see the lack of data-loss warning

Which area(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)

area: core

Environment Info

Node: 22.12.0
payload: 3.9.0
next: 15.1.0

[github-actions]

Please add a reproduction in order for us to be able to investigate.

Depending on the quality of reproduction steps, this issue may be closed if no reproduction is provided.

Why was this issue marked with the invalid-reproduction label?

To be able to investigate, we need access to a reproduction to identify what triggered the issue. We prefer a link to a public GitHub repository created with create-payload-app@beta -t blank or a forked/branched version of this repository with tests added (more info in the reproduction-guide).

To make sure the issue is resolved as quickly as possible, please make sure that the reproduction is as minimal as possible. This means that you should remove unnecessary code, files, and dependencies that do not contribute to the issue. Ensure your reproduction does not depend on secrets, 3rd party registries, private dependencies, or any other data that cannot be made public. Avoid a reproduction including a whole monorepo (unless relevant to the issue). The easier it is to reproduce the issue, the quicker we can help.

Please test your reproduction against the latest version of Payload to make sure your issue has not already been fixed.

I added a link, why was it still marked?

Ensure the link is pointing to a codebase that is accessible (e.g. not a private repository). "example.com", "n/a", "will add later", etc. are not acceptable links -- we need to see a public codebase. See the above section for accepted links.

Useful Resources

• Reproduction Guide
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