Written by Philip Roy | 10 February 2008
Posted in Office

There are many misconceptions about Bento and what it is and isn't. Bento can best be summed up in one word...and that word isn't "database". In fact, a more appropriate word is "organiser". Bento has been (incorrectly) described as the application that is missing from iLife; that it's the database system we all feel we're lacking...when in fact, if this were to be part of iLife, you'd probably feel a little bit confused.

This isn't because the program is at odds with the Mac (it's beautifully in harmony with OS X Leopard and requires Leopard), but because Bento takes many activities and applications we have on our Mac (iCal, Contacts etc) and makes them better. It shows the way in which (for those wanting to be better organised) we might wish our Mac should have been from the outset.

I'm a huge fan and long time user of FileMaker Pro (review of version 9 coming soon), so I was keen to get my hands on a copy (thanks FileMaker) of Bento. FileMaker has always been an application whose simplicity has masked the power that it contains and the things you can achieve with it. In some respects, Bento is also a little like that...but intentionally less so, and designed more for those that want adaptability in an organiser application as opposed to power.

Bento starts (after a very easy drag and drop install off the CD) with a nice options window, reminiscent of iLife and iWork applications. I'm trying to avoid these comparisons, but I think the fact that there is a familiar feeling is good for the end user. In fact, many applications use this approach as you can see in the image below...

Bento, Cha-Ching and Numbers - Just three of many applications with a standard "Make a choice" approach at startup

One of the nice options to choose on startup is to watch an introductory movie about Bento. A comment in the movie caught my ear....it described Bento as a personal database. They're not wrong...but again, this could be misinterpreted. You might interpret that comment as "it's a database and it's just mine"...when in fact, you should think of it as "this is my personal stuff and it's stored in a database". This is reinforced with the product whose by-line is..."Bringing it all together to get you organized", and with an application icon that even emphasises it.

Everything is connected
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Bento is how easily it integrates with the Mac's Address Book and iCal information. This information is not imported into the application, but instead bridged. It means that any change you make in the address details (providing they are fields in the Address Book application), are reflected in your own Address Book next time you launch it. But it also allows for far more fields and manipulation than the Address Book doesn't allow.

It also allows for the easy import of files such as comma-separated values (CSV) data from programs such as Excel or Numbers. I've started using Numbers for my expense records and it easily imported a CSV version of this data, although it's clear that there is some adjusting I would have to do to get this perfect.

The importing feature is an interesting one. I created a Media Library within Bento as a way of trialing how it would handle my media. I assumed that because the "import" options was available at the bottom of the screen, that it meant a quick way to link to a number of media items on my Mac. It didn't...no matter how much I tried. It also didn't link in any way to iPhoto or my "movies" folder. So it seems that to use Bento as a way of managing digital assets, you have some manual work to do. Bento won't import what were effectively references to content, but instead, imports mostly a number of text related materials.

The issue is here that I'm saying to myself..."OK, so Bento links into my calendar and my address book...so why then won't it do the same for my images and movies?" This is where using Bento and understanding where it starts and stops will take some time.

Once address book entries are connected into Bento, there's so much more you can do with the data

If the ability to reorganise a huge wealth of data, with the flexibility of customising fields and layout, whilst storing far more than any iCal or Address Book entry can hold...and making it look amazingly good and easy to manipulate...then Bento is for you. But...

There are many aspects to Bento's interface and usage that makes it seem more like "iTunes for data" than anything. It even lets you create "Smart Collections", reminiscent of iTune's smart playlists, that allow you to customise the data that is displayed within a project or collection.

A smart collection allows for filtering of data, like iTune's smart playlists

The PDF manual that comes with Bento is very well written and detailed...however what caught my eye was that there were entire chapters devoted to a layout...one chapter on table views and form view. Whilst it's great that there is so much advice on these layouts, I can't quite decide if that amount of detail needs to be discussed or if it is focusing too much attention on something we might expect to be possible already.

Built for OS X Leopard and Mac users
A lot of work has been put into Bento, and whilst some might think limiting it to Mac OS X 10.5 users is...well...limiting...there seems to be many aspects of the software that take full advantage of the new operating system.

Bento comes with 20+ templates (it's not clear if there will be the ability to add in more later) and allows for the synching of data to the iPhone and to .Mac accounts. This is impressive.

One of the challenges for me in writing this review was to describe what Bento is. When I got past the terms "organiser" and "data", I found myself a little short for descriptions and details. This is not to put the program down, but simply say that it has a focused audience and an intended market. There is a trial download for Bento, so if you are interested, you might like to consider trying it out.

The power of database systems
The big difference with Bento in comparison to the applications it links into is that it has fields-a-plenty. And even when it doesn't link to data stored elsewhere, the information that you can store is just superb.

The power really comes to play with the use of relationships (used in the context of Bento).

By simply drag and drop, data from one project can be embedded within another project. A group in your address book can easily be linked to your expenses library. Entering information in the expenses table in a user's entry in the address area sees the same information available in the expenses pages. However, despite this incredibly powerful facility, I found myself quickly wanting it to do more....wanting it to pick up the name of the address book recipient and linking that a field in the expenses table (so that it would be reflected when I went to the expense area) failed. One moment things seem incredibly powerful and the next I found myself a little perplexed. Inter-related information seemed very possible, but on terms that Bento set...making my desire for interrelated fields more challenging, whilst knowing that a more powerful (and scriptable) database would do that.

Which brings in a nice story at this point. Listening to a podcast whilst writing this review, one of the commentators mentioned how many people were showing an interest in Bento at Macworld. What surprised him and amused him though, was that he was told that many people watching the demo were turning to FileMaker staff and saying..."actually, I think I need something with a bit more power...do you make any other database products?"...which of course, they do.

Limitations
The difficulty in reviewing something like Bento is that it does so much...and it does it so beautifully. I have no doubt that for many, many people, it will fulfil many of their needs. But like freely available FileMaker templates, I find myself at a point where I think "Wow....that's superb...but maybe not for me". I think Bento is clearly not marketed at a group wanting such control.

What I mean by this is that FileMaker has allowed me the ability to have templates that not only look the way I want, but that they perform the way I want...and they do all the little tricks I want them to, all taught to it by me. I'm not saying "I'm a power user", but I'm saying "I like a bit more than customising and a lot more flexibility". In Bento's case, customising seems (at this stage of my use with it) to be related to fields and its look and feel....but what worries me is that you might get to the point that you wish it might do one more thing....and that in its nature, it doesn't allow you to make, build or enhance it with that one new piece of functionality. I guess that could be said of any applications out there though...we always wish our applications would behave more like what we have in our head than how they behave on the computer screen in front of us?

Is it FileMaker templates, but not as we know it?
So is Bento best summed up as "FileMaker Lite"? I'd say absolutely not....but I also feel that FileMaker would be happy I'm saying that, as the target audience is completely different for Bento.

I started off by saying that I felt Bento wasn't the missing database system from iLife. But for many, it could be. I say that whilst thinking of (and not fondly) something like Appleworks attempt at databases. If the ability to reorganise a huge wealth of data, with the flexibility of customising fields and layout, whilst storing far more than any iCal or Address Book entry can hold...and making it look amazingly good and easy to manipulate...then Bento is for you. But if you then want to be able to do things with such data, such as a mailout out or mail merge, it appears you're going to be let down.

I say this as I have a client wanting to do exactly just that, whilst I also had to do the same for my folks 50th wedding anniversary a while back. My solution was not FileMaker, but the Address Book and Pages applications. I was amazed at how easy it was and how beautifully the two applications integrated. Taking the data beyond Bento and doing something that powerful with it, appears to be a challenge that Bento is currently missing. My client is comfortable and familiar with Excel and Word mail merges, so I will probably suggest she stays with that for the time being.

So, Bento's database strength is on data...not on scripting or manipulating data. It is on storage of a wealth of information in an incredible easy to use, yet powerful piece of software. I have absolutely no doubt that it will be a useful package for many people in that respect.