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| Bento [OLD VERSION] | ![Bento [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419K3McH%2B9L._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | From: FileMaker
Category: Software
List Price: $49.00
Buy New: $44.49
You Save: $4.51 (9%)
New (15) Used (3) from $33.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 779
Format: Cd-rom
Platform: Macintosh
Media: CD-ROM
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 1.1
MPN: TP934LL/A
Model: TP934LLA
UPC: 044866034724
EAN: 0044866034724
ASIN: B00123WD40
Release Date: January 8, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Super easy July 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Bento
I wanted a database that was easy to use and Bento fit the bill. I have used Access (UGH) and Filemaker in the past and at times found them daunting. Bento was so simple to set up a club database it made me want to do more. It is surprisingly comprehensive for such an inexpensive database. Now it won't do it all but it does enough for most users.
 At least it is a start July 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really like the concept of Bento, a simpler personal database. However, the execution is lacking. Most frustrating is that it does not integrate completely with Address Book. For example, the Spouse field in AB does not get populated in Bento. Forget integrating custom fields. Another annoyance is the Themes are ugly and not customizable.
This product is ok (not great) if you want to store recipes or a To Do list. Otherwise, find another solution. Maybe Bento 2.0 will be better.
 Limited July 18, 2008
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
DO NOT plan on entering a database of substance. Bento has its limits and when you hit it, in my situation is was 1280 entries you are dead in the water. Bento is for light and very basic use. It is not for those that need more than entering a few household items. I am very disappointed with the software and their support.
 Far from perfect, but it's pretty darn good July 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Let's start with what Bento is not. Bento is not the end all be all database program. I deal with and have dealt with some of the biggest and baddest at the enterprise level such as: Oracle, SQL Server, Teradata, and Informix to name a few. So, I really understand what a database should be.
Face it, Bento was made to make databases easy for most users. And on that front, I think it succeeds, and that is why I wanted to get a copy. I wanted a very basic and user friendly database program. And, I thought, if it was easy enough, I would get around to doing some projects that I had put off because I didn't want to devote a huge amount of time completing.
Project 1: I track my work time on a daily basis. For years, I have been doing this in Excel. I knew that moving to a database program would be better but just didn't have the time. After Bento arrived, I jumped in and was able to convert my time tracking to Bento. Now for the downside, there is no reporting capabilities which is a problem when you are wanting to analyze your time. So, I did have to create an export from Bento to load into Excel so that I could do pivot tables. Once I got this set-up, the ongoing updates are easy, breezy. I just export from Bento, go to Excel, refresh the data and then refresh the pivot table. Really, it is just a matter of a few seconds to see the latest and greatest.
Project 2: I had done a bad job of maintaining a home inventory. Bento has a standard template for a home inventory that I just made some minor tweaks to and off I went. I am doing a much better job of keeping track of things and knowing what we have.
Project 3: Expense tracking was also in Excel. I converted it over to Bento and it is in a much more user friendly format now.
Project 4: I wanted to create a project tracking database. So, if I got a call from someone wanting to know the latest and greatest, I could open the page for the project and give a quick run down.
On the downside, I wish there was a better library of templates available. I had to build some things from scratch because there was simply nothing that was even close to what I was seeking. But, since Bento is new, it will take some time for those to appear.
Bottomline - I use Bento just about every day. I have integrated it into my tracking really pretty easily. I use several software packages, and I didn't think that Bento was very hard to pick-up. It seemed pretty intuitive. If you have been through the Office 2007 switch on PCs, I can promise that event was more painful that picking up a copy of Bento. If you don't think in terms of how to organize using a database structure, the built-in templates should be a big help. Once you look at those, it is pretty easy to make some changes if you want just another field to drop one that you will not use.
Bento, very useful and easy to use June 20, 2008
Bento is of course, Filemaker light. It automatically picks up and creates a bidirectional data base with the information in your Mac address book program. Bidirectional because changes in either one automatically updates the other. I imported information from an Excel sheet with little effort. The excel sheet had to be saved as .csv. That's what I've done with it. The program places the information in a default template and has a variety of other templates that gives the information a professional look. It also allows table view with a single button click.
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