By Monte Ferguson Our October meeting focused on Bento 3. Bento is a consumer focused database program. It is put out by the same firm, FileMaker, that produces FileMaker Pro. Bento is NOT a watered down version of FileMaker Pro. That can be both good and bad.
The program is extremely easy to use. It is based on theme/template metaphor, much like Pages or Keynote. By using that approach the program avoids the dreaded “blank white page” effect. There’s nothing worse than having a program that _can_ do a lot of stuff but you have no clue how to make it happen.
The program has built in templates that fill in with data you already have handy in Address Book, iCal, and Mail. There is also iPhoto Integration. (Basically you can reference any of your iPhoto libraries and add extra info, as well as link images to contacts or projects. Not only is this convenient, it also gives a new user an idea of how the program works. (The other upside is that the fields in these initial templates are relational. That means any changes you make in Bento are reflected in iCal, Mail, or Address Book but not iPhoto. )
Bento 3 is lightweight but has some surprisingly powerful features. It has some basic relational abilities. It can also share a database with up to 5 users on the same branch of the network, providing everyone is using Bento 3. There is now an option to create encrypted data fields, great for passwords or credit card information. If you’ve used spreadsheets to create lists you’ll be pleased to know that Bento can import the spreadsheet directly. (It can also import ClarisWorks / AppleWorks databases. The only catch is you have to save out your old database as a tab delimited file. ) There is a table view so you can see all of your data in one screen. You can also use Bento to send out group emails.
There is surprising depth to the program thanks to the templates and themes. If the built-in themes are not for you, you can go to a free theme exchange and download one. If you use an iPhone or an iPod Touch you can download Bento for them. This allows you to sync your databases between your Mac and your portable.
We had a fun time running the program through it’s paces. (You can too. There is a free trial version of the program: ). Bento is not going to be a replacement for FileMaker Pro. It simply lacks the features that power users would expect, for instance the ability to run scripts or to publish stand alone solutions. But it’s not made for those folks. It’s made for those who don’t want to learn the intricacies of database design and management. The trade off is you aren’t paying for features that you don’t need or use. Posted: Sunday, December 20th, 2009 | 
