Program to create dbf file. How to open DBF? Data search and filtering tools

A free universal DBF editor that allows you to open existing and create new databases. It is very small in size, can be launched from a flash drive and at the same time has many advanced tools for working with DBF files, including even support for SQL queries!

Screenshot gallery

Usually on the site we cover programs that will be of interest to a wide range of readers, but today the case is not entirely ordinary :). I once worked as a kind of “computer specialist” in several government offices and there I often had to deal with various programs running on the FoxPro basis...

The main problem with all these applications was that a simple user could easily screw up the database so that it could not be opened later regular means, so it was necessary to pervert it in order to bring it back to life (which did not always work, given the “abilities” of “wild users” :)).

And now, several years later, since I no longer work there, we received a request by email to add a new free program for editing DBF databases, which has a simple name - Sdbf. Let's talk about it :)

Comparison with a paid analogue

Sdbf, despite its portability (can work from a flash drive!) and small size, is a fairly advanced database editor that allows you to create, edit and export any DBF format database, from the xBaseIII specification to the modern xVisualFoxPro! Let's compare the functionality of Sdbf with the capabilities of one of the most advanced editors of this kind, DBF Commander Professional:

From the table above we see that the programs differ slightly in functionality, but Sdbf, firstly, is portable (which is usually important, since every computer technician prefers to carry a set necessary programs on a flash drive), and secondly, it is completely free!

First launch of Sdbf

To run the program, simply unpack it from the downloaded archive to any location and open the resulting EXE file. An empty window like this will appear in front of us:

Drag&Drop, alas, is not supported, so to get started we will need to call the “File” menu and select one of the two available actions: “Create” a new database or “Open” an existing one. Let's open an existing database:

The contents of the selected database will open in front of us in the form of a table. The “zero” line displays the names of the fields, and starting from the first line - the contents themselves. Below the content there is a toolbar and a status bar.

The latter displays quite a lot of useful service information, including the number of records in the database, encoding, creation date and automatically determined format. Of the formats, Sdbf does not support only earlier versions of xBase (I and II) and allows you to open and create DBF files of the following types:

  • xBase III - VII;
  • xClipper;
  • xFoxPro;
  • xVisualFoxPro.

Data search and filtering tools

The Sdbf program allows you to directly edit any cell open base data, however, the necessary cells still need to be found... If the database is small and simple, then this can be done quite quickly and manually. However, if there are several dozen or even hundreds of records, then searching can be quite difficult.

But this is not such a problem, since Sdbf has several tools at once that allow you to filter out unnecessary data and display only what you need!

These tools are located on the bottom toolbar. Here, first there are 8 navigation buttons that allow you to navigate through the database (arrows), add/delete entries, and also confirm or cancel changes. The functions we need begin with the ninth button - “Search”:

When the button is activated, a small window with a search form appears in front of us. We need to specify the text to be found and select the field to be searched from the drop-down list. Now click the “Find Next” button and the program will automatically select the line following the current selection that contains the text you are looking for. Pressing the button again will highlight the line below the current one, which contains the same required data, etc.

Sometimes in databases you encounter non-standard cell formatting: extra spaces, tabs and other characters that are not visually displayed, but affect the search result. If you encounter such a case, then normal operation functions You will only need to uncheck the “Based on format” checkbox in the lower central part of the search window and the search strings will begin to be displayed.

The search function is convenient when we need to quickly find single occurrences of specific data. But there are times when it would be more convenient to display several rows at once that contain only certain information. In this case, the second function will help us (the button of which is located immediately after the search button) - “Filter”:

To enable filtering, we first need to correctly compose a query and enter it in a specially designated field (immediately behind the button in the central part of the toolbar). The principle of making a request is simple, but not entirely obvious. We need to first enter the name of the field by which we need to filter the database table, and then equate the filter value to the specific text by which we need to find all rows.

We put the value in single quotes, after which we press the “Filter” button itself (it becomes pressed) and we get a table containing data only with the values ​​​​defined to us in the specified fields (in the example, we filtered out all rows with the value “U.S.A” in the “Country” field (the case of the name does not matter)). You can return the table to its original form simply by pressing the “Filter” button again (it becomes released again).

The filtering field can contain the simplest conditions “and” (to refine the query by several fields) and “or” (for an alternative selection of data from different fields). Unfortunately, Sdbf does not support exclusion queries (such as “not”), but we can get around this limitation in another way, which will be discussed below.

By the way, in order not to manually enter a filtering request, you can use the following trick: select any entry in the field by which you will filter and press the key combination “Alt+F” (not F4 :))). The request will be automatically generated, and the value will contain the “*” sign, which is a search mask and matches any number of any characters.

Alas, this is the only type of masks that can be used in Sdbf and, what is even sadder, one request can contain only one mask :(. Therefore, if you need to filter the same field by several parameters, you will have to use the “and” operator (quick generation of a request by pressing “CTRL+ALT+F”) or “or” (“SHIFT+ALT+F”).

Executing SQL queries against database tables

Searching and filtering are undoubtedly good, but not always convenient. When the number of records is large, we can easily lose sight of the data we need when parsing tables. However, for this case, Sdbf has an excellent feature - support for SQL queries!

Using such queries in Sdbf we can:

  1. Dynamically format our table, creating a selection only for certain required fields (SELECT and SELECT TOP statements);
  2. Copy data from one database to another (INSERT FROM and INSERT INTO);
  3. Modify and delete the contents of certain lines (UPDATE and DELETE, respectively);
  4. Group parallel queries (UNION);
  5. Generate pivot tables (PIVOT).

To start working with queries, we need to click the “SQL Query” button at the right end of the toolbar. However, the result of such an action will be somewhat discouraging: the contents of the just edited database will disappear, and another empty window with two fields will appear on top of the working window (at the top is the data output field, and at the bottom is the input field).

Don't be afraid :). You just need to immediately enter the desired SQL query in the lower field indicating the name of the desired database. If you don’t remember this name, you can activate the Sdbf sidebar (by clicking on the gray vertical bar on the right), which displays all the databases that you have opened before in a list:

Also, to speed up your work, it is advisable to remember the hot keys, which can be viewed by calling up help by pressing the F1 key. There are only three of them, but they can significantly speed up the process of creating the right queries.

So, the combination “CTRL+Space” will display a pop-up window with a list of available database names (so as not to look in the sidebar), “CTRL+F” will display a list of functions for the current operator, and “CTRL+Enter” will start the query execution process . In addition, if you click on the input field right click mouse (call the context menu), then we will get a list of operators supported by Sdbf.

Let's return to our previous screenshot and look at the simplest request that was compiled there. It is based on the “SELECT” statement, which means it returns a selection to us. The selection parameter is “*”, which means displaying any data, but we could indicate there, separated by commas, the names of any fields in the database table.

The selection we looked at above is the simplest, but Sdbf allows you to perform more complex queries. In the next screenshot we will see a selection, a dynamically generated table consisting of fields that contain the names of clients, the city in which they live and the country. Moreover, clients are filtered by country of residence (U.S.A) and the results are displayed in alphabetical order:

If you take it apart this request, then we will see the already mentioned method of selecting by fields specified separated by commas after the SELECT statement. Next, the same indication of the database name, but now the request does not end there.

The next step is to list the main operator functions that will need to be performed as a result of processing the request. There are two of them here.

The first - “where” is similar to the filter we discussed earlier, and performs a similar action - it allows you to select only those records that match the condition.

The second function, “order by,” is responsible for sorting the results obtained by one of the fields (in this case, by the field with the client’s name - “NAME”) in alphabetical (“asc” parameter) or inverted (“desc”) order.

Naturally, the example given is also quite primitive, but it reflects the general essence of creating and processing SQL queries. If you want to learn more about them, I advise you to read the manuals here: http://dimonchik.com/insert.html or https://www.sql.ru/articles/articles.aspx?g=SQL&s=0.

By the way, the advantage of Sdbf is the ability to export the table obtained as a result of a query as a new database or as an HTML, RTF, or CSV file! To do this, just call the context menu of the table display field and select the appropriate item.

Additional functions from the menu bar

We have figured out the basic capabilities of Sdbf, but it doesn’t end there. A number of useful and even unique functions are hidden in the menu bar, the same one that we used to open the database :) Thus, many useful features (which sometimes allow you to do without SQL queries) can be found in the “Table” menu:

Among other “useful things” such as changing the encoding and merging databases, at the very bottom we can find the “Change structure” item. This item opens an additional window in which we can completely change all the fields of the open table, add new ones, or delete any more unnecessary sections (the same window opens when creating a database from scratch).

Specifically, we can change the order of fields, their names, types, sizes (number of characters in a cell) and precision (bit depth - usually set automatically and depending on the type of field).

The only thing you need to remember when editing (and especially creating) databases is that each type of database has its own sets of field types and they are often (if you do not take into account the main N, C, D) different. For example, xClipper databases do not support fields with pictures (P, B), and xBase up to the seventh version does not support auto-incrementing fields (+). That is, you must always remember about compatibility :).

While we're looking at the menu bar, don't forget to look at the "Field" menu:

There are only two functions here, but they can be very useful! Especially the first one - “Replace”. It allows you to quickly automatic mode replace values ​​in the entire column of the specified field, or specific words and symbols throughout the database!

The “Calculate” function is an analogue of Excel’s auto-calculation formulas and gives us the opportunity to perform such mathematical and statistical operations as finding the autosum of a field, calculating the arithmetic mean, as well as maximum and minimum values. Naturally, to perform calculations, field types must be numeric (N, F, I, O, B).

The last feature that is not so obvious, but can be useful is the built-in HEX editor:

It allows you to edit the data of any cell. To do this, just select the content that needs to be changed and context menu select the last item - “Open in hex”. That's it - you can edit and save or immediately print the result!

Advantages and disadvantages of the program

  • portability and small size;
  • support for almost all types of DBF files;
  • the ability to create databases from scratch;
  • support for SQL queries;
  • built-in system for searching, filtering and editing data.
  • does not allow you to specify more than one mask in the filter;
  • There is no undo function.

conclusions

The Sdbf program, despite its modest size and system requirements allows you to do, if not everything, then very, very much with DBF databases... And the implementation of support for SQL queries in general allows you to take the work of editing the database to a new level! With their help, you can easily compensate for many shortcomings in work through the graphical interface.

The biggest disappointment, in my opinion, was the absence of the most trivial function “Undo last action" in the world "CTRL+Z": (The most annoying thing is that due to oversight or ignorance, the user can, for example, accidentally apply autocorrect throughout the entire field, and it will be impossible to return the data :(

For this, we can state that the program is more than successful in functional terms, but before working with it, always follow the ancient admin rule - CREATE BACKUPS! And you will be happy :)

P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.

The most common problem that prevents users from opening this file is an incorrectly assigned program. To fix this in Windows OS, you need to right-click on the file, in the context menu, hover the mouse over the “Open with” item, and select “Select a program...” from the drop-down menu. As a result you will see a list installed programs on your computer, and you can choose the appropriate one. We also recommend checking the box next to "Use this application for all DBF files."

Another problem that our users also encounter quite often is that the DBF file is corrupted. This situation can arise in many cases. For example: the file was downloaded incompletely as a result server errors, the file was damaged initially, etc. To fix this problem, use one of the recommendations:

  • Try to find required file in another source on the Internet. You may have luck finding a more suitable version. Example Google search: "File filetype:DBF" . Just replace the word "file" with the name you want;
  • Ask them to send you the original file again, it may have been damaged during transmission;

Dbf format tables have been known since the distant 1980s. Since then, the dBase format has evolved, developed, dBase II, dBase III and dBase IV appeared, to date, many popular programs have been developed that work with databases that use dbf format tables to this day. The dbf table format is quite old, but it continues to be used to create both large and ambitious and small projects; dbf tables are used for educational purposes, to introduce and study basic knowledge and present the organization of databases. DBFNavigator is free program for viewing and editing dbf format tables, a simple and convenient utility.

WITH DBFNavigator program You can open and view dbf tables, edit tables - change, add and delete records. Using DBFNavigator you can change the structure of tables, add, change and delete table fields, compress dbf tables to clear them of deleted records (garbage collection), change the encoding of Windows->DOS tables and vice versa. In the program, you can sort table records, copy records and individual fields, print table rows, perform searches and apply filters to viewing table records, change the parameters for opening dbf files.

Screenshots of the DBFNavigator program


DBF Viewer 2000®- application for viewing and editing DBF of all types - Clipper, dBase, FoxPro, Visual FoxPro, Visual dBase.

The program performs various actions: queries, removing duplicates or exporting to various formats - faster than you expect!

DBF editor dynamically creates visual forms based on the structure of DBF files for editing and queries. The program also allows you to view and edit memo fields of the following formats: dBase III, dBase IV, FoxPro, VFP and dBase Level 7.

The program fully supports the use of the command line for the following actions: import, export, removal of duplicate records or replacement of data in DBF files. works independently of various DBMS - all you need to view and edit a DBF file is to install the application!

Why DBF Viewer 2000
unique?

Simple and intuitive interface

The application interface is quite simple and convenient, allowing you to save a lot of time during everyday work.

Convenient modification of the structure of DBF files in DBF Viewer 2000

You can add, delete, rename, change the order of fields and optimize the structure of DBF files.

Importing data from various formats using DBF Viewer 2000

DBF Viewer 2000 allows you to import data from the following formats: TXT,CSV, Excel (XLS,XLSX), DBF and Paradox. Data import can be done with preview or from the command line.

DBF Viewer 2000 offers advanced export capabilities

The application allows you to export DBF files to Excel (XLS, XLSX), CSV, TXT, SQL, SDF, XML, HTML, PRG, and MS SQL, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL scripts.

DBF Viewer 2000 helps remove duplicates

Removing duplicate entries is as easy as 1-2-3.

Works on all platforms

DBF Viewer 2000 runs on everyone Windows versions from 95 to XP, Vista, 7/8/10 and Server Editions (32/64-bit)

DBF file format, designed to work with databases, reports and spreadsheets. Its structure consists of a header, which describes the content, and a body, which contains all the content in tabular form. A distinctive feature of this extension is the ability to interact with most database management systems.

Let's consider software that supports viewing this format.

Method 1: DBF Commander

DBF Commander is a multifunctional application for processing DBF files of various encodings, allowing you to perform basic manipulations with documents. It is distributed for a fee, but has a trial period.

To open:


Method 2: DBF Viewer Plus

DBF Viewer Plus is a free tool for viewing and editing DBF, a simple and user-friendly interface is presented at English language. It has the function of creating your own tables and does not require installation.

To view:


Method 3: DBF Viewer 2000

DBF Viewer 2000 is a program with a rather simplified interface that allows you to work with files larger than 2 GB. It has Russian language and a trial period of use.

To open:


Method 4: CDBF

CDBF is a powerful way to edit and view databases and also allows you to create reports. You can expand the functionality using additional plugins. There is a Russian language, it is distributed for a fee, but it has a trial version.

To view:


Method 5: Microsoft Excel

Excel is one of the package components Microsoft programs Office, which is well known to most users.

To open:


Conclusion

We looked at the main ways to open DBF documents. Of the selection, only DBF Viewer Plus stands out - completely free software, unlike the others, which are distributed to on a paid basis and only have a trial period.