Extract text from 4DB files
To convert your 4DB file to another format, you need 4D or other Database software.
To convert other file formats to the "Relational Database Structure" file type, you need software like 4D or a similar tool.
The .4DB file is the binary structure definition file for databases created with 4D (4th Dimension), a powerful relational database management system and IDE. This file acts as the "skeleton" of a 4D application, containing the schema - table definitions, field names, data types, forms, and compiled methods - rather than the raw record data itself (which is typically stored in a paired 4DD file).
Because .4DB files are proprietary and binary, they cannot be opened in standard text editors or generic database viewers like DBeaver or Excel. A common source of friction is version dependency: opening a legacy .4DB file often requires the exact version of the 4D environment that created it (e.g., v15, v17), or the file must be processed through a conversion sequence. Without the original software license, accessing the schema or preparing for a data migration is difficult.
For users looking to migrate away from legacy 4D systems, the best approach is converting the schema structure to SQL (DDL scripts) for import into modern systems like MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server. For documentation and archiving purposes, converting the table structure and relationships to PDF is highly recommended. While the .4DB itself doesn't contain the rows of data, it is the mandatory key required to unlock and interpret the associated 4DD data file for export to CSV or Excel.
Convert.Guru analyzes your 4DB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted 4QR, 4ST and 4DF files.
If you want to convert 4DB file to JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, RB, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use 4D or similar software from the "Database Structure Definition" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to 4DB, try 4D or another comparable tool in the "Database Structure Definition" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our 4DB converter.