Searching Across Host Projects and Components in 4D
When working on a large 4D application, it is common to split functionality across a host project and several components. This modular architecture keeps things clean, easy to organize, and maintainable, but it can also create a challenge: figuring out where a method is used.
Since 4D 21, a major improvement has made this workflow even smoother: you can now edit a component’s source code directly from the host project, without switching contexts. And with 4D 21 R2, the Find in Design dialog has been enhanced to search not only within the host project, but also across all accessible components created in project mode with their source code available.
Give Your Components a Visual Identity with Custom Icons
When working on a project with multiple components, quickly identifying the one you need can save valuable time. The simplest and most effective way to make your components stand out in the Project Dependencies is to give each one a custom icon. 4D 21 R2 lets you visually distinguish your components at a glance, simply by placing a logo.png or logo.svg file in its Resources folder.
Edit and Manage Component Code Directly in the host project from the 4D Explorer
In 4D 20 R9, we introduced the ability to edit and debug component methods and classes directly from a host project. Start with 4D 21, we’re now going further by making 4D Explorer the central hub for editing both project and component code. What’s for you: work better, work faster, with your components.
SHOWCASE: SMART EXPENSE REPORTING WITH AI
You know the pain of expense reporting — not for you, for your users. The receipts piling up, the manual entry, the typos that slip through. With 4D AIKit, that grind is gone. A simple upload turns a paper receipt or invoice into clean, structured JSON, ready for your database.
No more wasted time on totals, dates, or vendor names. Vision AI reads it, language models structure it, and 4D ties it straight into your app. From paper to database in seconds — and your users never feel the friction.
SHOWCASE: SMART COMMENT MODERATION WITH AI
Continuing our journey into intelligent features with 4D AIKit, let’s explore a highly relevant use case for any modern application: automated comment moderation. In a world where online conversations can happen in real-time, keeping your platform safe, respectful, and compliant is no longer optional, it’s essential. With AIKit, you can build powerful moderation tools directly into your application logic, without relying on external moderation services or human reviewers.
Unlock the Power of AI with 4D AI Kit: Automate, Create, and Innovate
We’re excited to introduce 4D AI Kit, the first in a series of AI-powered features designed to bring intelligent capabilities directly into your 4D projects. As a built-in component, AI Kit enables seamless integration of OpenAI’s state-of-the-art models into your development environment reinforcing our commitment to putting AI at the heart of innovation in 4D.
With just a few lines of code, you can enrich your applications with intelligent features like image generation, content moderation, advanced visual analysis, and conversational chatbots. This is just the beginning! The possibilities are wide open, enabling you to create smarter, more dynamic, and more responsive solutions than ever before.
Edit and Debug Component Methods and Classes in 4D from the host project
When working with your own component, switching between the host and component environments just to debug or enhance your component code can be inconvenient. With 4D 20 R9, you can now edit and debug component shared methods and classes directly within the host project, as long as the components are included with their source code.
Extend your Qodly application with custom components
4D Qodly Pro already offers a wide range of native components to help you design your applications. But did you know you can take it even further? Thanks to Custom Components developed by the community, you can enhance your projects with tailor-made features!
These custom components allow you to extend 4D Qodly Pro’s capabilities by adding personalized functionalities, much like plugins and components in 4D.
In this article, we’ll explore how to use and integrate these components, along with several real-world use cases from our Performance Review application.
Integrate 4D Components Directly from GitHub
Many 4D developers leverage the power of third-party components found on GitHub, particularly those listed in the 4d-component topic. 4D 20 R6 introduces a fantastic new feature: directly integrating these components within the Component Manager.
This blog post dives into the details, making your development process easier and more efficient.
Using Classes Across Components
Component developers frequently require the utilization of a class from another existing component.
With 4D 20 R6, when a component has a declared namespace, its classes are now accessible to all components loaded in the host project via cs.namespace.
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