Developing Concurrently on 4D Server in Project Mode

Since its release in 4D v18, Projects drastically expanded 4D’s capabilities by bringing compatibility with version control systems —among other things.

With excellent feedback, we couldn’t be prouder to see significant adoption of this feature among the 4D community. This pushed us to improve it to make it even better. 

Your feedback included a request for the possibility to work simultaneously on a single development server as a team. Again, 4D listened, and we are thrilled to announce that with 4D v19 R6, you can work on a development server in project mode!

Say hello to a NEW development mode

Due to the differences between binary databases and projects, we had to rethink the architecture. We created a new mode to connect to a 4D Server: Development mode.

The developer can modify the database structure, methods, forms, and settings in development mode. The lock system has been transposed for you to have the same functionalities as in binary databases, but it’s essential to keep in mind that the locks only work when you use 4D to edit your files and not an external editor.

An overview of the architecture

There’s one change to consider if you want to activate development mode: because project mode architecture relies on the file system, clients must have access to the project’s root folder. The easiest way to do it is to share the project’s root folder on your network, for example, by hosting it on a NAS, so both server and clients can access it directly.
And that’s it! Once done, you can connect to your server in development mode and work remotely.

The new “Custom” tab from the Connection to 4D Server dialog
when selecting “Activate development mode”, you’ll be able to choose the project file.

Working as a team on a development server is a really unique work organization, one nearly exclusive to 4D. We are pleased to bring it to project mode.

For those who still work with binary mode, you can now adopt project mode without impacting your organization and benefit from its exclusive features: Silicon compilation, CSS forms, classes, computed attributes and, when you are ready, source control systems.

Feel free to share any comments with us on the official 4D forum.