Since the establishment of wood laboratories at Cirad-Foret about 50 years ago, specialized studies on tropical timbers have determined the technological characteristics of more than one thousand timber species. Up to now, all the results of these 'studies were organized into a computerized database only usable by Chad researchers to meet their own needs and to answer all technical questions from operators of the tropical forestry/wood chain. A new version of this database, Tropix 4.0, has been designed to be disseminated and commercialized to the operators of the wood sector, wood manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and also as an educational tool at universities and R&D centres. This software is structured around three main functions: direct consultation of technological data, multi-criteria queries aiming to identify species according to selected technological characteristics, and printing of technical sheets or results of the multi-criteria queries. Updating can be made using a user-friendly unit similar to the consultation one. The data on 250 commercial timber species are organized into nine groups easily accessible by the user: names and origins, appearance, physical and mechanical properties, durability and preservation, drying, processing and machining, and uses. The most essential characteristics are synthesized through two generic charts which allow a general survey of the technological potentialities of each described species. This software is regularly updated and subsequent versions may include new categories of data and a larger number of tropical species. A special version dedicated only to South American tropical woods is also available. (Texte intégral)