Welcome to the "Conversion to 4D v18" manual, which describes various points to be checked before, during, and after conversion of a 4D v17 database to 4D v18.x. Conversion of 4D v17 databases should go smoothly in 4D v18, and we provide a few recommendations to make sure everything goes well in the "Principles for conversion" chapter. 

When converting earlier or even much older databases, it is often necessary to use intermediate versions. And for the various points to check, refer to the conversion documents for previous versions:

• 4D v17: "Conversion to 4D v17" and "Deprecated features in 4D v17 and higher".
• 4D v16: "Conversion to 4D v16" and "Deprecated features in 4D v16 and higher".
• 4D v15: "Conversion to 4D v15" and "Deprecated features in 4D v15 and higher".
• 4D v14: "Conversion to 4D v14" and "Deprecated features 4D v14 and higher".
• 4D v13: "Conversion to 4D v13" and "Deprecated features 4D v13 and higher".
• 4D v12: "Deprecated features 4D v12 and higher" (there was no "Conversion" document for this version).
• 4D v11: "Conversion to 4D v11 SQL".

Important: It is recommended to consult the Changes and updates and Deprecated or removed features sections in the "4D v18 Release Notes" manual before converting your database, to make the best use of new features in 4D v18 and to assess the time needed to set up new functions.

Project databases: If you consider converting your binary database to a project database, please refer to the Converting databases to projects section in the 4D Design Reference.