Product Description

Meet Bento® 2, the new version of the wildly popular personal database from FileMaker® that's as easy to use as your Mac. Now you can organize everything - from contacts and calendars, to emails and events, to files and photos ¿ all in one place. For Mac OS X Leopard only. Highlights ¿ Organizes contacts, calendars, emails, events, files and photos - all in one place ¿ Super-easy to learn and use ¿ Links directly to Mac OS X Address Book, iCal, and Apple Mail ¿ Works with iPhone, iPod Touch and Mobile Me through Address Book and iCal ¿ Works seamlessly with Excel and Numbers ¿ Comes with more than 20 ready-to-use templates and themes Bring together Address Book, iCal, Apple Mail, and more! From contacts and calendars, to emails and events, to files and photos, you can organize just about every type of information you have ¿ all in one place. The perfect complement to Excel and Numbers. If you¿re managing lists in Microsoft Excel or iWork Numbers, you can easily bring them into Bento to view your information in beautiful Bento forms, get easy iTunes-style searching, instant sorting, quick summary stats, and much more! Get organized with style. Even if you're brand new to the Mac community or to databases, it's never been easier to get organized thanks to ready-to-use templates and elegant themes designed by Mac artists.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2711 in Software
• Brand: Filemaker Inc.
• Model: TS971LL/A
• Released on: 2008-11-14
• Platform: Mac OS X
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: .15 pounds

Features

• Bento 2 organizes contacts, calendars, emails, events, files and photos--all in one place
• Super-easy to learn and use; comes with more than 20 ready-to-use templates and themes
• Links directly to Mac OS X Address Book, iCal, and Apple Mail
• Works with iPhone, iPod Touch and Mobile Me through Address Book and iCal
• Works seamlessly with Excel and Numbers

Amazon.com
Meet Bento 2, the new version of the wildly popular personal database from FileMaker that's as easy to use as your Mac. Now you can organize everything--from contacts and calendars, to emails and events, to files and photos--all in one place. For Mac OS X Leopard only.

Now you can organize everything--from contacts and calendars, to emails and events, to files and photos--all in one place. Click to enlarge.

It's never been easier to get organized thanks to ready-touse templates and elegant themes designed by Mac artists. Click to enlarge.

Easily bring lists from Microsoft Excel or iWork Numbers into Bento Click to enlarge.

Use Bento to organize all the details of your busy life. Click to enlarge.

Organize it all with Bento! Click to enlarge.

Bring together Address Book, iCal, Apple Mail, and more!
From contacts and calendars, to emails and events, to files and photos, you can organize just about every type of information you have--all in one place.

The perfect complement to Excel and Numbers.
If you're managing lists in Microsoft Excel or iWork Numbers, you can easily bring them into Bento to view your information in beautiful Bento forms, get easy iTunes-style searching, instant sorting, quick summary stats, and much more!

Get organized with style.
Even if you're brand new to the Mac community or to databases, it's never been easier to get organized thanks to ready-to-use templates and elegant themes designed by Mac artists.

What's New in Bento 2

Meet Bento 2, the new version of the wildly popular personal database from FileMaker that's as easy to use as your Mac. Bento brings your important information together in one place to help you get organized. Here's what's new in Bento 2.

Apple Mail Integration--Get instant access to related mail messages

• Link Apple Mail email messages, notes, and RSS articles directly to information stored in Bento with a simple drag and drop.
• View messages instantly from within Bento using Quick Look.
• Open selected messages in Apple Mail with a single click to easily reply or forward.

More Spreadsheet-like Behavior--Includes familiar spreadsheet features

• Use the new fill down feature or copy and paste to enter information faster and easier than ever before.
• Click, type, and tab to enter data just like you do in Microsoft Excel or iWork Numbers.
• Add new fields and change field types right from the Table View.

Direct Numbers and Excel Support--Work with Numbers and Excel seamlessly

• Directly import iWork Numbers or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. You no longer need to save spreadsheets as CSV files first.
• Directly export Bento libraries to iWork Numbers or Microsoft Excel format. You no longer need to export libraries as CSV files first.
• Copy and paste selected blocks of spreadsheet data into Bento to view information in beautiful Bento forms, get easy iTunes-style searching, quick sorting and instant summary stats.
• Copy and paste Bento data back into your spreadsheet for further analysis and charting.

Import and Export Tab-Delimited Files--Great news for AppleWorks users

• Bring your AppleWorks databases and spreadsheets into Bento with a few clicks.
• Export your AppleWorks data to a text file and then import into Bento.
• Export data from Bento just as easily to send it back to AppleWorks or any program that supports tab-delimited files.

Template Import and Export--Exchange Bento templates with ease

• Exchange your favorite Bento library templates with other Bento users by simply exporting individual templates.
• Get templates from other Bento users by importing them with a simple drag and drop.

Split View--See summaries and details together

• The new hybrid Split View shows summaries and details together on one screen to make viewing and editing information easier than ever.
• See a list of information in Table View on top and details in Form View below--all on the same screen.

Use Bento to organize all the details of your busy life! Manage unlimited contact details Link important emails to people, projects and events Coordinate events, parties and fundraisers Track projects, assignments, and deadlines Prioritize to-do lists and action items Catalog inventory, donations and items for sales Record hours worked and payments due Assign ratings to service providers and sellers Create libraries for music, movies, and media Organize files and photos with related contacts, projects and events

Faster Form Customization--Say "goodbye" to customize mode

• Change a form layout instantly without having to enter Customize Mode.
• Click on a field's label to select it--then move it, resize it, change the font size, shading and more.
• Click inside the field to edit data.

Built-In Links to Maps and Chat--Get maps and start chats from Bento

• Click the new button near an address to automatically display maps or driving directions from the Web.
• Start a chat session with your IM buddies right from within Bento. (Requires an Internet connection and instant messaging account.)

More Printing Options--Print forms and lists easier

• In Form View, you can now print more than one record per page.
• In Table View, you can use the new "Fit to Width" option to make your columns automatically fit the width of the page.

Ten More Themes--Make your forms look even better

• Dress your data in designer style, bring excitement to your day with new colors, or add a refreshing splash to your forms with the new swimming pool and sandy beach themes.
• Preview themes before applying them to quickly find just the look you want.

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Customer Reviews

Improved but still flawed
IMprovement over v1, but still has some bugs and issues. Many were present in v1. Filemaker has said they do not fix such bugs, only data loss. v1 has proven this to be correct as it has many bugs, some which prevent its use.

Other issues are you can only use Bento on one machine. Ever. If you move the database file to a new computer your address book and iCal data in Bento is lost. Any custom fields or smart collections are gone. NO syncing between multiple macs either. These were well documented flaws and yet Filemaker chose not to fix them.

Bento 2 AddsImprovements
Earlier this year I reviewed the new Bento personal database software from FileMaker. Though it has limitations and lacks many desirable features of a database system, I found it to be impressive as a way to store personal information and a low-cost solution for easily tracking your data and keeping organized.

FileMaker recently released an updated version, Bento 2, which adds several improvements and makes the program even easier to use. In this review I will basically concentrate on the new features, particularly those I found most valuable. .

Upon installing Bento 2 I immediately received an update message and proceeded to download Bento 2.0v3, which mainly fixed several bugs in the program. If you are updating from the original version, Bento 2 will update each of your existing libraries. During this process a backup version of all your database information in the original Bento format will be created which will allow you to downgrade to the original Bento if ever needed.

If you are familiar with the Mac programs iTunes and Address Book you will readily understand Bento 2's cataloguing system. Each individual database that you create is called a Library. You can make subdivisions of that library into categories that are called Collections. Each Library is designed for a specific task, i.e. inventory, expenses, contacts, sales and event planning. There are 23 ready-to-use Library templates included in the program which can be easily modified to meet your individual needs. You can create your own custom template from scratch and now download templates that have been created by other users.

Bento 2 offers two views of the data stored in your Libraries, table view and form view. The table view is like a spreadsheet and the new table view is much more flexible and useable. You can now add new fields, change the field type and basically create or edit your form from the table view.

Bento 2 introduces a new split view. The split view allows you to see both the table view and the form view at the same time.

The form layout can now be changed without having to enter a Customize Mode. Simply click near a field's edge to select it, you then can move or resize it, change the font size, etc, Just click inside the field to edit the data.

One feature I was glad to see improved was the import and export options. You no longer need to import and export data only as CSV files. It is now possible to import and export data from and to Numbers, Excel or a text file. In fact, you can simply copy and paste the data from Numbers and Excel into Bento 2 and vise versa. With the original version of Bento I was unable to import my old Apple Works databases, but with Bento 2 the files transferred quickly with no problem. This function will now work with any database that supports tab-delimited files.

Individual library templates can now be exported allowing you to share your favorite templates with other Bento Users. You can also import templates from others with a simple drag and drop. Individual Bento library templates contain the fields and forms from a library, but not the data. Nor can you copy a form from one library to another library. If you want to use the same form, you must recreate the form directly in the desired library.

Never get lost again, just click the new button near any address in a library to automatically display maps and driving directions from the Web.

The printing options in Bento 2 have been improved. Now you can print more than one record per page in Form View and the Fit to Width option makes columns automatically fit the width of the page. However, you still are not provided a lot of tools to create nice printed reports, which could be a disadvantage if you want to use Bento for your small business.

Bento 2 allows you to link Apple Mail messages to a Bento library. Just drag and drop the message into the new Message List Field. You can then view the message from within Bento using Quick Look or use the View in Mail capabilities to open the message and reply.

One definite disadvantage with Bento is its lack of networking ability. You are unable to share the databases with others or to sync information between computers. Bento 2 is available in a Family Pack, which is a good buy, but it just gives you five single computer user licenses.

I was disappointed that the new Bento version still did not provide any security. You are unable to password protect a library that may contain sensitive information. This is a big problem if you want to keep track of financial information, account codes or other information to which you wish to restrict access.

Included on my wish list of features I would like to see in Bento is integration between Bento and iPhoto so you can more easily add photos to your Bento libraries.

The cost of Bento 2 remains at $49 for a single user license. There is no price break for updating from the original version, you still pay $49. A Family Pack is $99. Bento is a real bargain for those of us who want to keep organized but don't need a full-blown database program such as FileMaker Pro. I found the upgrade added enough solid features and improvements to justify upgrading.

Bento may not meet the needs of all businesses or organizations due to its deficiencies such as the lack of scripting and mutli-user access. But, for those of us that need a simpler solution Bento is a great way to easily organize information without having to invest hours in database instructions.

Not sure Bento 2 is for you? Download the free 30 day trial version and check it out.
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Bento 2 Requirements:
A Macintosh computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or G4 (867 Mhz or faster) processor
Mac OSX 10.5.4
512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended)

I'm blown away by this product
I've been working with Bento for a couple of days now. I've used it for some databases for personal use. The integration with Address Book, iCal and Mail are just amazing, and turns out to be essential for my use. I was prepared to spend hours or even days to create these databases in some other database or spreadsheet, but was able to do so in just a few hours and get the exact functionality I wanted.

Granted, there are some limitations, but understand this product is a low cost, 'consumer' database tool. For me, there is huge value being able to tie into my address book and calendar.

Try the 30 day trial. Very easy to use, and you can read the entire user's manual in a few minutes.

Highly recommended.