4D Doc Center : Overview

4D v13.4

Overview

Database settings configure how the current database functions. These parameters may be different for each database. They include the listening ports, access rights to the Design environment, SQL configurations, etc.

4D provides two modes of operation for these settings:

Standard mode, where all settings are stored in the database structure file and are applied in all cases (default mode).
"User settings" mode, where part of the custom settings are stored in an external file that is used instead of the structure settings. You enable this mode using an option located on the Security page of the Database settings.
This chapter describes each page of the settings as displayed in standard mode. The "user settings" mode is detailed in Using user settings.

Most of the settings are applied immediately. However, a few of them (such as the Start-up environment setting) only take effect when the database is restarted. In this case, a dialog box appears to inform you that the change will take effect at the next startup.

4D Server: Object locking occurs when two or more users try to modify the settings in the Database Settings dialog box at the same time. Only one user can use the Database Settings dialog box at a time.

Note: 4D provides another set of parameters that are applied to the 4D application: the user preferences. For more information, refer to the Preferences chapter.

Access

You can access the Database Settings dialog box as follows:

Using the Design > Database Settings... menu option,
Using the corresponding button on the 4D toolbar ,
On 4D Server, using the Edit > Database Settings... menu option.

Note: In "user settings" mode, two menu commands are available at each location:
- Structure Settings... which is the same as the Database Settings... command in standard mode
- User Settings... which gives you access to settings that can be stored externally in a user file and that are used instead of structure settings if they are modified.
For more information, refer to Using user settings.

Customizing parameters and "Factory settings"

In the Preferences and Settings dialog boxes, parameters whose values have been modified appear in bold:

Preferences indicated as customized may have been modified directly in the dialog box, or may have been modified previously in the case of a converted database.

A parameter still appears in bold even when its value is replaced manually with its default values. This way it is always possible to visually identify any parameters that have been customized.

To reset the parameters to their default values and remove the bold style indicating that they have been customized, click on the Factory settings button:

This button resets all the parameters of the current page. It becomes active when at least one parameter has been modified on the current page.