You want more functionality than your Excel spreadsheets offer, but you don't want to manually re-input all that data into your brand new 4D database. You don't have to. 4D has created a powerful import dialog allowing a multitude of file formats to easily and seamlessly convert into your database. Still, to a new user, this process can be a little overwhelming. You soon find out that 4D can do a lot, and it may be difficult to know where to begin. Well, we hope to resolve this.

The following tech note will outline the manual and programmatic options you have when importing. The database has been built to streamline this whole process. As a result, the process requires even less effort. The tech note and database will highlight two methods of importing. The first focuses on the Import Dialog built into 4D and all of the corresponding language commands that can be used to automate this process.
The second method focuses on the popular subject of ODBC. ODBC is a connectivity protocol developed by Microsoft to help integrate various data sources. Using this technology, 4D can pull data from ODBC compliant data sources seamlessly, at the touch of a button. You can use this database as a foundation to build upon, or take the technology learned and apply it to an existing database. The choice is yours.

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