4th Dimension v6 saw the introduction of a new data type--Binary Large Objects (BLOBs). This data type allows 4D to store any type of data in a BLOB field, up to a maximum of 2 GB. This technical note demonstrates how to use 4D BLOBs to store files such as documents, pictures or applications within a 4D database.

This technical note describes a method to import single or multiple files into a 4D database, and then extract them when required. These files could be documents, such as a Microsoft Word file, or an application file such as the Microsoft Word application itself, or even 4D or a 4D database.

To use 4D BLOBs to import and store document and application files, we need to understand both how BLOBs work and how document and applications are stored on disk.

Tech Note