FileMaker releases Bento 3 with iPhoto integration

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Bento, the database application for Mac OS X, was updated to version 3 Tuesday, bringing new features, security options, integration with iPhoto, and more.



The latest version from FileMaker, which is a subsidiary of Apple, is now available for purchase, with the company calling the product a "breakthrough." For the first time, Bento integrates with iPhoto, allowing users to store information about photos and link them with contacts, projects, events, and other information within the software.



"Think of Bento 3 as a powerful, easy way to bring together all of your key Mac information and photos," said Ryan Rosenberg, vice president, marketing and services, FileMaker, Inc. "With Bento 3, we?re providing new ways for you to view and interact with your information so you can organize contacts, projects, events and even more details of your life."



Bento 3 costs $49 for a single license, or $99 for a five-license family pack. Users of Bento 1 or 2 can receive a $20 rebate for the upgrade. In addition, those who bought Bento 2 after Aug. 30 are qualified for a free upgrade. However, Apple authorized reseller MacMall is offering the single license version for $43.99 and the family pack for $89.99. The $20 rebate also applies.



Bento was released by the Apple software subsidiary FileMaker, Inc., in 2007. It is a multipurpose application designed for organizing information from a variety of sources. Version 2 debuted in late 2008.



According to FileMaker, new features in Bento 3 include:



Photo integration



See all your albums listed in the Bento Libraries pane automatically - no importing required.

View your iPhoto information inside Bento in the new Grid view, Table view, Form view or Split view.

Add additional fields and forms to store more information about your photos beyond what iPhoto stores.

Link photos to contacts, projects, events or other data stored in Bento.





Grid view



View any library in the new Grid view to show a grid of images or thumbnail views of your forms.

Customize the Grid view to display additional information under each thumbnail that is most relevant to you, like phone numbers or email addresses for all your contacts.

Create and view your own customized thumbnail forms. For example, say you have 40 products that you're selling. You could create a form where you have an image of the product next to the part number and price to see multiple product ?cards? together on one screen.





Related data field - now with image thumbnails



See thumbnail images of a media in your Related data fields (formerly called the Related records list).

For example, you can link a list of guests to an event - and see a picture of each person.

Additional features are detailed at the official Web site. A free 30-day trial is also available.







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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 59
    The filemaker brand needs to go away and Bento needs to become part of iWork.
  • Reply 2 of 59
    Does anyone have any experience with moving Filemaker databases to Bento? Can it even be done?
  • Reply 3 of 59
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Version 3 of Bento and still no integration with iWeb. Unbelievable.

    I think Filemaker is starting to make the mistake of thinking its a 'media company'.

    Bad move guys.... Bento is a database... start making it function like one instead of thinking its iTunes or iPhoto.
  • Reply 4 of 59
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    Does anyone have any experience with moving Filemaker databases to Bento? Can it even be done?



    You can move your data over fairly easily, but reports etc have to be created from scatch using Bento's own tools.

    Its a nice little product, but don't expect it to be Filemaker.
  • Reply 5 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    You can move your data over fairly easily, but reports etc have to be created from scatch using Bento's own tools.

    Its a nice little product, but don't expect it to be Filemaker.



    Yeah, the trouble with Bento has always been that it's a database for "the average person," but that the average person doesn't really think they need a database, and wouldn't know how to make one work even if they did. So the kind of people smart enough to do interesting tricky things with it would rather just use FileMaker, and the kind of people who are targeted by Bento, end up using dedicated programs instead.



    Bento would be excellent for that custom address book you always wanted, but the average user hasn't the skill to make it and the kind of person who does have that skill would not bother. Bento would be great for Mum's recipes, but she probably already uses "recipe keeping software" from some minor software company that produces only that product.



    I think it will take a long time for Bento to catch on but it's still a good product. A lot could be gained on both sides by integrating it into iWork as others have mentioned. It would drive sales of FileMaker as well as iWork.



    Getting rid of FileMaker as a brand would be a big mistake though. After all the years of work they put into it, FileMaker is finally a brand that people can take seriously in databases and they should ditch all that effort to re-represent the company through a silly "consumer oriented "product? That would be a really dumb move.
  • Reply 6 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    You can move your data over fairly easily, but reports etc have to be created from scatch using Bento's own tools.

    Its a nice little product, but don't expect it to be Filemaker.



    I know, but it does have relational capabilities so it's apparently not very different from earlier versions of Filemaker in terms of database management abilities. We use a fairly simple database for our invoicing (on FMP 5.5, which fortunately still works in Snow Leopard). I'd like to move this database to something more current that isn't overkill for the purpose. Bento seems like a good choice, but not if I have to recreate the entire thing from scratch.
  • Reply 7 of 59
    I can't even think of a use for Bento. Is it for businesses?
  • Reply 8 of 59
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    Version 3 of Bento and still no integration with iWeb. Unbelievable.

    I think Filemaker is starting to make the mistake of thinking its a 'media company'.

    Bad move guys.... Bento is a database... start making it function like one instead of thinking its iTunes or iPhoto.



    Yeah, I Apple would fold them back in and bundle Bento with iWork. iWork would be functionally complete then.
  • Reply 9 of 59
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    I know, but it does have relational capabilities so it's apparently not very different from earlier versions of Filemaker in terms of database management abilities. We use a fairly simple database for our invoicing (on FMP 5.5, which fortunately still works in Snow Leopard). I'd like to move this database to something more current that isn't overkill for the purpose. Bento seems like a good choice, but not if I have to recreate the entire thing from scratch.



    Right... its a flat database.

    But don't get me wrong. Bento is an excellent little tool, and relational databases are massive overkill for most home use. Even a lot of light business tools can be made with a flat database. Essentially, Bento can give you a lot of flexibility and formatting capabilities that all of those spreadsheets laying around could use.



    But dammit, just make it talk to iWeb!
  • Reply 10 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BenRoethig View Post


    The filemaker brand needs to go away and Bento needs to become part of iWork.



    I'm not sure that Filemaker itself needs to go away (although it's hard to imagine there's much acceptance against its target market), but I definitely agree that iWork is missing a database component and would love to see iWork rounded out with something like Bento.



    That said, I've had a hard time accepting Bento. As a former DBA and a still heavy database user, I am one of those who knows why I need a database. Unfortunately, while Bento makes it very easy to create simple databases with elegant forms, I find it very lacking in functionality. I'm afraid I'm just still to used to getting at my data via queries; even access supports SQL!



    So on my Macs, I have installed MySQL. It's free and far more powerful than Bento. Not nearly as user-friendly however, although there are front-end tools available...
  • Reply 11 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Strawberry View Post


    I can't even think of a use for Bento. Is it for businesses?



    You can't think of a use for a simple database application?



    Joking aside, I bought it to replace the multiplying number of 3rd party apps that I had got or were considering for single uses - password apps, home inventory, book/cd/dvd cataloguing, recording serial number and software registration details - just really basic stuff that needed something better than a spreadsheet, but wasn't worth maintaining a collection of cheap shareware to do the job in a thousand different ways. Now I just use Bento, and as a bonus can sync to the iPhone also. It's basic, but it's flexible, and it has a consistent user interface for a myriad of tasks.
  • Reply 12 of 59
    It's the end of the day and my brain is fried. I think I could apply it to our gym users.
  • Reply 13 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by djames42 View Post


    I'm not sure that Filemaker itself needs to go away (although it's hard to imagine there's much acceptance against its target market), but I definitely agree that iWork is missing a database component and would love to see iWork rounded out with something like Bento.



    Jobs should have slapped Filemaker into submission years ago.



    The Mac database company has failed to extend its business offerings, leaving the Mac platform without a proper CRM tool like ACT or Goldmine. Given that it wouldn't take Filemaker more than 10 minutes to write an ACT clone, this is inexcusable.



    Why aren't more mobile salespeople buying the MacBook Air? Go ask Filemaker, Mr. Jobs.



    Aside from the CRM debacle, Filemaker hasn't found a way to bring their database tech to the web in any meaningful way. Filemaker doesn't integrate easily with any Web Design tools, whether one uses Dreamweaver, Freeway or iWeb.



    Lastly, the hottest thing out there right now is the iPhone, and Filemaker doesn't even have their own iApp solution. It seems to have left that market entirely to FM Touch, an outside vendor.



    So a business or community organization wanting to arm salespeople or even door-to-door people with iPod Touch machines to gather information has to rely on third party solutions to get data from the Mac to the Touch and then back to the master database? Seriously?



    Folding Filemaker into the iWork group could hardly make things worse.
  • Reply 14 of 59
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BenRoethig View Post


    The filemaker brand needs to go away and Bento needs to become part of iWork.



    It would be unlike the other apps that replace MS Office applications because it cannot open and save MS Access files.



    Pages = Word

    Keynote = PowerPoint

    Numbers = Excel

    Bento != Access
  • Reply 15 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    Right... its a flat database.

    But don't get me wrong. Bento is an excellent little tool, and relational databases are massive overkill for most home use. Even a lot of light business tools can be made with a flat database. Essentially, Bento can give you a lot of flexibility and formatting capabilities that all of those spreadsheets laying around could use.



    Now maybe I read the description wrong, but it sounds like Bento is at least quasi-relational in the way it handles data libraries. Not that relational is a make-or-break for me. I'd simply like to have some way of moving databases I designed for FMP to Bento without a lot of heavily lifting. I also have a potential application for the mobile version that I'd like to try out. But no migration path is a pretty big bump in the road.
  • Reply 16 of 59
    pxtpxt Posts: 683member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by djames42 View Post


    I'm not sure that Filemaker itself needs to go away (although it's hard to imagine there's much acceptance against its target market), but I definitely agree that iWork is missing a database component and would love to see iWork rounded out with something like Bento.



    That said, I've had a hard time accepting Bento. As a former DBA and a still heavy database user, I am one of those who knows why I need a database. Unfortunately, while Bento makes it very easy to create simple databases with elegant forms, I find it very lacking in functionality. I'm afraid I'm just still to used to getting at my data via queries; even access supports SQL!



    So on my Macs, I have installed MySQL. It's free and far more powerful than Bento. Not nearly as user-friendly however, although there are front-end tools available...



    It's a shame Bento does not use an open SQL framework underneath. The average user need not know anything about it.



    One great thing about using SQL is that you own the data, regardless of whether you continue using the software. I'm always wary of putting my precious info into a proprietary format.
  • Reply 17 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PXT View Post


    It's a shame Bento does not use an open SQL framework underneath. The average user need not know anything about it.



    One great thing about using SQL is that you own the data, regardless of whether you continue using the saftware.



    I think you just answered your own question.
  • Reply 18 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    It would be unlike the other apps that replace MS Office applications because it cannot open and save MS Access files.



    Pages = Word

    Keynote = PowerPoint

    Numbers = Excel

    Bento != Access



    I think you are doing a disservice to iWork, by assuming that it's just there to mimic the functionality of Office.



    It's not a direct comparison, frankly a better comparison might be with MS Works in a way. iWork != MS Office. If it did, you wouldn't get mail/calendar with the OS, and anyway Access was only ever available in the pro versions which were never really aimed at home users. I'd like to see Bento cuddle up with iWork, I think a lot of users would find it a good fit, especially as it is becoming so entwined with basic OS X apps and iLife.
  • Reply 19 of 59
    mr omr o Posts: 1,046member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    Yeah, I Apple would fold them back in and bundle Bento with iWork. iWork would be functionally complete then.



    Amen to that! ? and Apple should get rid of all the fancy template clutter in Bento. No eye candy, just make it plain & easy on the eyes like all the other apps in Mac OSX.



    Really, who needs lots of typefaces and colour backdrops? I got rid of Bento because of that.
  • Reply 20 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    It would be unlike the other apps that replace MS Office applications because it cannot open and save MS Access files.



    Pages = Word

    Keynote = PowerPoint

    Numbers = Excel

    Bento != Access



    But its fine for iWork which is more a consumer suite (Works competitor) with better functionality than a Office suite. iWork's import export functionality is better for importing your personal files into iWork formats and exporting if need be. Working with office files on a daily basis is problematic.
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