FileMaker Bento 4 User’s Guide

Bento® 4

User’s Guide

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Edition: 03

Contents

Preface 7Welcome to Bento

8 Managing Data in Libraries 14 About This Document 14 Resources for Learning More

Chapter 1 17 Overview of Bento

17 Home Dialog 18 Bento Window

Chapter 2 29 Using Libraries

29 About Libraries 30 Creating a Library Using the Bento Templates 32 Creating a New Blank Library 32 Changing the Icon for a Library 33 Sharing Your Bento Database 35 Grouping Libraries 35 Deleting Records from a Library 36 Deleting a Library

Chapter 3 37 Using the Address Book Library

37 About the Address Book Library 38 Displaying Data from the Address Book Application 39 Bento Address Book Fields That Update the Address Book Application 39 Troubleshooting Address Book Updates 40 Address Book Data and Backups

Chapter 4 41 Migrating the iCal, iPhoto, and Address Book Libraries

41 Migrating the iCal Libraries 42 Migrating the iPhoto Library 42 Migrating the Address Book Library

Chapter 5 43 Using Collections

43 About Collections 44 Creating Collections 45 Removing Records from a Collection 45 Deleting a Collection 45 About Smart Collections 45 Creating Smart Collections 46 Changing a Smart Collection

Chapter 6 47 Using Form View

47 About Forms 48 Creating Records in Form View 48 Editing Records in Form View 49 Duplicating Records in Form View 49 Deleting Records in Form View 50 Creating Forms 50 Deleting Forms 51 Showing and Hiding Forms 51 Duplicating Forms 51 Copying Forms 51 Renaming Forms 52 Locking and Unlocking Forms 52 Adding Fields to a Form 53 Tabbing Between Fields 53 Moving Fields and Objects on Forms 53 Resizing Fields and Objects 54 Removing Fields from a Form 54 Customizing Form Layouts

Chapter 7 59 Using Table View

59 About Table View 60 Selecting Records in Table View 60 Creating Records in Table View 61 Editing Records in Table View 62 Duplicating Records in Table View 62 Deleting Records in Table View 63 Sorting Records 63 Working with Fields and Columns in Table View 67 Summarizing Column Data

4 Contents

Chapter 8 69 Using Grid View

69 About Grid View 70 Viewing the Grid and a Form at the Same Time 70 Displaying Grid View Items 70 Setting Grid View Options 70 Changing the Display Size of Grid View Items 71 Working with Library Folders in Grid View

Chapter 9 73 Using Fields

73 About Fields 76 Creating Fields 84 Navigating to Related Records 84 Using the Fields Pane 86 Working with List Fields 92 Working with Related Data Fields 95 Working with Media Fields 97 Working with Encrypted Fields

100 Working with Location Fields

Chapter 10 103 Importing, Exporting, and Printing

103 About Comma-Separated and Tab-Separated Files 106 Importing Information into Bento 112 Exporting Information from Bento 117 Printing Information

Chapter 11 123 Backing Up and Restoring Information

124 About Bento Backup Files 125 Using the Back Up Reminder 125 Changing the Back Up Reminder 126 Creating a Backup File 126 Restoring from a Backup File 127 Using Time Machine with Bento

Chapter 12 129 Syncing

129 Syncing Information Between Your Mac and Devices

Appendix A 135 Keyboard Shortcuts

Appendix B 139 Reverting to a Previous Version of Bento

139 Reverting to a Previous Version from Bento 4

Index 143

Contents 5

6 Contents

Welcome to Bento

Bento® helps you organize your information, providing the power of a database without complexity.

Bento is an easy-to-use database that manages contacts, tasks, and other information that is important to you. Because Bento is a database, you can create data relationships and view your data in more ways than you can in a spreadsheet.

Bento brings your important information together in one place to help you get organized. You’ll be able to manage your contacts, coordinate events, track projects, prioritize tasks, and more.

Managing Data in Libraries

Bento comes with more than 30 library templates to help you create libraries easily. You can create an Expenses library to track information about expenses, and an Event Planning library to track information about your travel club events.

8Preface

Libraries Fields

Bento provides a Projects library, so you’re ready to start managing projects for your travel club.

Importing Data from Other Applications

How do you add your spreadsheet of expenses to Bento? Create a library by importing data from another application, or import data into a library you’ve already created.

Save your spreadsheet as a comma-separated values (.csv), tab-separated values (.tab), Numbers, or Excel file, and then import the file into Bento. Bento creates the fields needed to hold your data and creates records for each row of data in the file.

Preface 9

Importing

spreadsheet

data into a

Bento library.

Creating Collections

You have a team of people who are working with you on your next travel club event. All of your team members are in the Bento Address Book library, but you’d like to create a smaller group that includes only your team members, not everyone in the Address Book library. You want to create a collection.

Creating a collection is as easy as creating a group in Address Book or a playlist in iTunes. Open the Bento Address Book library in table view. Select the records for the

10 Preface

Drag the selected

records to the

Libraries pane.

team members and choose the New Collection from Selection menu item, or drag the selected records to the Libraries pane.

Give the collection the name “Team Members” and Bento creates the Team Members collection.

Preface 11

Creating Relationships

Bento makes it easy to connect your libraries of information using related data fields.

For example, say you want to track expenses by team member. To create a related data field, drag “Team Members” to the “Expenses” form.

12 Preface

You can also create a related data field that shows expenses for each team member. Drag “Expenses” to the “Team Members” form.

Preface 13

About This Document

The following table tells you where to find information in this documentation.

For information about See

The features of Bento Chapter 1, “Overview of Bento” on page 17

Using libraries to manage your information Chapter 2, “Using Libraries” on page 29

Using the Address Book library to display data from the Mac OS Address Book application

Migrating existing iCal, iPhoto, and Address Book libraries

Creating a subset of records from a library Chapter 5, “Using Collections” on page 43

Viewing your data one record at a time, creating forms, changing the appearance of forms, and adding new fields to forms

Viewing all the records in a library or collection in a table

Using media fields and library folders in grid view Chapter 8, “Using Grid View” on page 69

All the field types that Bento provides, and using the Fields pane

Sharing data by importing, exporting, and printing Chapter 10, “Importing, Exporting, and Printing”

Creating a backup of your Bento data Chapter 11, “Backing Up and Restoring

Syncing information between Bento for Mac and your device

Using keyboard shortcuts Appendix A, “Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 135

Reverting to a previous version of Bento Appendix B, “Reverting to a Previous Version of

Chapter 3, “Using the Address Book Library” on page 37

Chapter 4, “Migrating the iCal, iPhoto, and Address Book Libraries” on page 41

Chapter 6, “Using Form View” on page 47

Chapter 7, “Using Table View” on page 59

Chapter 9, “Using Fields” on page 73

on page 103

Information” on page 123

Chapter 12, “Syncing” on page 129

Bento” on page 139

Resources for Learning More

To get the most from Bento, consult the resources listed below.

User’s Guide

Bento User’s Guide is a PDF document that provides detailed information on using Bento.

To open the User’s Guide:

Choose Help > Bento User’s Guide.

Onscreen Help

To access help from within Bento, choose Help > Bento Help. You can browse through the table of contents to find a specific topic, or enter a question in the search field.

14 Preface

Tut oria l

For a demonstration of what you can do with Bento, view the tutorials.

To access the tutorials:

Choose Help > Video Tutorial, and then follow the instructions.

Bento Forum

Visit the Bento forum to get technical support, tips, report problems, and share with others how you use Bento.

To access the Bento forum:

Choose Help > Bento Forum.

Bento Template Exchange

Visit the Bento Template Exchange website to submit your own templates and download templates created by other Bento users.

To access the Bento Template Exchange:

Choose Help > Bento Template Exchange.

Note You can also submit your templates directly from within Bento. See ”Submitting

Templates to the Bento Template Exchange” on page 114.

Bento for iPhone and Bento for iPad

Visit the Bento products web page to get information about the features of Bento for iPhone and Bento for iPad.

To view information about Bento for iPhone and Bento for iPad:

Choose Help > Bento for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Technical Support

To learn more about the support options that are available to Bento users, view the service and support information.

To view the service and support information:

Choose Help > Service and Support.

Preface 15

16 Preface

Overview of Bento

Bento uses libraries to store

information. One way to start using

Bento is by creating a library.

When you’re done with the Home

dialog, click this button to start

using Bento.

If you decide that you don’t need the Home

dialog, deselect the “Show this dialog on startup” checkbox.

To see how easy it is to use,

take a video tour of Bento.

This chapter provides an overview of Bento features.

This chapter is a description of what you see when you start using Bento. It introduces the Home dialog and describes the sections of the Bento window, including the Libraries pane, the Fields pane, and the records area where you can display your information in table view, form view, grid view, or split view.

Home Dialog

When you first open Bento, you use the Home dialog to learn about Bento and to create your first library.

Libraries pane Records area

Fields pane

Bento Window

The Bento window contains two main sections:

• The left side of the window contains the Libraries pane (which may display the

Devices section and the Shared section), and the Fields pane.

• The right side of the window displays the records in Bento. You can display

record data in table view, form view, grid view, or split view.

By default, both sections of the Bento window are displayed. To hide the Libraries pane and Fields pane, choose View

18 Chapter 1 Overview of Bento

> Hide Libraries & Fields Pane.

Address Book

Library

iCal Events

Library

Collection of iCal Events

Collection of records from Projects

New Library

New Collection

iCal Tasks

Library

Projects Library

Libraries Pane

The Libraries pane displays the libraries and collections that are in Bento.

• A library categorizes data by content. Bento provides several libraries by

default. The Projects library, which stores data about projects, is an example library with sample data. You can create libraries to store other categories of data. You can organize a group of libraries within a folder.

To add a library to the Libraries pane, click the New Library button. See ”Using Libraries” on page 29.

• A collection is set of records from a library. A collection is similar to an Address

Book group or to a playlist in iTunes. A collection contains records from its parent library. A record from the library can be in more than one collection. For example, one person might be both a friend and a co-worker. If you had one collection named “Friends” and another named “Co-workers” you could add this person’s contact record to both collections in the Address Book library.

To add a collection to the Libraries pane, click the New Collection button. See ”Using Collections” on page 43.

Tip If you want to change the size of the icons and text in the Libraries pane, choose

Bento > Preferences. For “Libraries Pane Text,” select Small or Large.

Chapter 1 Overview of Bento 19

Collections

Create a collection when you want a subset of the records from a library. There are two kinds of collections:

• Collections are created by adding records from the library to a new collection.

Creating a collection is as easy as creating a playlist in iTunes. Select the records in the library and use the New Collection from Selection menu item, or drag the selected records to the Libraries pane.

• Smart Collections are created based on criteria you set up. Records that meet

the defined criteria appear in the Smart Collection. You use Advanced Find to create a Smart Collection.

See ”Using Collections” on page 43.

Creating Libraries

Bento comes with more than 30 library templates that make it easy for you to create new libraries of information. A template defines the fields of information used in each record of a library, which you can change based on your needs. Select the library template that most closely matches the category of data you want to store.

See ”Creating a Library Using the Bento Templates” on page 30.

20 Chapter 1 Overview of Bento

Devices Section

The Devices section of the Libraries pane keeps track of how many devices (up to two) are currently connected to Bento. The Devices section is hidden when no devices are connected.

See ”Syncing” on page 129.

Shared Section

The Shared section of the Libraries pane lists libraries that are being shared over a local network (in the same subnet). To hide the Shared section, deselect the option “Look for shared databases” in Bento Preferences.

See ”Sharing Your Bento Database” on page 33.

Records Area

On the right side of the Bento window, you can display information stored in Bento in either table view, a form view, grid view, or split view.

• Table view shows information in an entire library or collection in a

spreadsheet-like table, where each row in the table is a record in the library.

• Form view shows fields from one record at a time, in arrangements that you

can customize, using beautiful themes.

• Grid view shows the media fields and form thumbnails of a selected library or

collection in a grid layout.

• Split view shows the selected record in either form view and table view, or

form view and grid view at the same time.

Chapter 1 Overview of Bento 21

Table view shows each record as a row in a table.

Form view shows fields from a single record.

Split table and form view lets you view a record as a row in a table and in a page-like format at the same time.

Grid view shows media fields or form thumbnails in the selected library.

Table View

To view the information in an entire library or collection in a spreadsheet-like table, use table view.

In table view, you can work with your records in many ways, including:

• Selecting the columns (fields) that you want to show.

• Arranging the columns in any order.

• Sorting records by selecting a specific column.

• Analyzing data using a summary row.

See ”Using Table View” on page 59.

22 Chapter 1 Overview of Bento

Form View

To view your information one record at a time, use form view. In form view, you can create multiple forms for each collection or library, giving each form a different name. For example, you could create a form in the Projects library to show a schedule, and track milestones.

You can customize forms in many ways, including:

• Selecting the fields that you want to show.

• Arranging the fields on the form.

• Changing the size of fields.

• Changing the appearance of the form using themes.

• Adding a header and a logo.

See ”Using Form View” on page 47.

Grid View

To view the media fields and form thumbnails in a selected library or collection, use grid view.

In grid view, you can work with thumbnails of media fields and forms, called grid view items, in many ways, including:

• Filtering grid view items.

• Setting and changing labels of grid view items.

• Changing the display size of grid view items.

See ”Using Grid View” on page 69.

Split View

To view the selected record in form view and table view at the same time, or in form view and grid view at the same time, use split view.

Chapter 1 Overview of Bento 23

Form Themes

Bento provides an assortment of beautiful themes that you can apply to your forms. Every theme includes coordinated colors, layout, fonts, and text attributes. You can easily change a form’s theme at any time.

See ”Customizing Form Layouts” on page 54.

24 Chapter 1 Overview of Bento

Form view buttons

New form Delete form

record

Show or hide split view

Next record

Search field

Grid view

Table

view

Click here for Advanced Find

Navigation Bar

The navigation bar contains several controls that help you display information in Bento.

• Click to see records in table view.

• Click to see records in grid view.

• Click one of the form view buttons to see records one at a time in a page-like

view. In the example below, there are two form view buttons: “Overview” and “Details.” You can have as many form views as you want.

• Click to switch to split view from table view or form view.

• Click to switch to split view from grid view.

• To move through the records in a library or collection, click the Previous

record and Next record buttons (the arrow buttons).

To go to the first record, Option-click the Previous record button. To go to the last record, Option-click the Next record button.

Search Field and Advanced Find

• Use the Search field to do a simple search for text in all field types except

media, related data, file list, message list, simple list, and encrypted.

Note You can search encrypted fields if they are unlocked.

• Use Advanced Find to find a set of matching records by defining search

values and criteria for specific fields.

Chapter 1 Overview of Bento 25

1. Type “M”and the result is 30 records.

2. Type “Ma” and the result is 15 records.

3. Type “Mar” and the result is 9 records. 4. Type “Mary” and the result is 3 records.

To use the Search field:

1 Select the library or collection.

2 Enter a text string into the Search field.

Bento searches across all the applicable fields of the selected library or collection. Bento lets you know how many records match the search string, and updates the current view to display the matching records for those fields that are selected in table view or have been added to a form in form view.

26 Chapter 1 Overview of Bento

To use Advanced Find:

1 Select the library or collection.

2 In the search field, click and select Advanced Find, or press Command-F.

3 Specify what you want to find. Add or remove criteria as needed.

When searching on a location field, make sure you enter the direction (North, South, East, or West. Otherwise, Bento assumes North for the latitude and East for the longitude).

4 Click Find.

Bento performs the search, and displays the matching records.

• To save the matching records as a Smart Collection, click Save. See ”Ab o ut

Smart Collections” on page 45.

• To close Advanced Find, click the X next to “Advanced Find” or press

Command-F. When you close Advanced Find, Bento shows all records.

Chapter 1 Overview of Bento 27

Drag to add field to the current form.

Field is already on the current form.

Fields with

selected

checkboxes are

already shown as

columns in table

view.

In form view

In table view

Select an

unchecked field to

show it as a

column in table

view.

Address subfields can’t be added to the form individually.

Fields Pane

The Fields pane on the left side of the Bento window displays the fields that are defined for the selected library or collection.

• In table view, use the Fields pane to select which columns are shown.

• In a form view, use the Fields pane to add fields to the current form by

dragging a field name with

• In split view, the Fields pane indicates the fields that can be added to the

current form or can be displayed in table view.

to the form.

28 Chapter 1 Overview of Bento

See ”Using the Fields Pane” on page 84.

Using Libraries

In Bento, you use libraries to organize your information. You can use the libraries that Bento provides, and create your own libraries using templates. You can share your entire database or selected libraries with up to five users on a local network.

You can create libraries to hold your information:

• By using the New Library dialog

• By importing existing information from a comma-separated (.csv), tab-

separated (.tab), Numbers, Excel, or library template file

This chapter describes how to use libraries to organize, manage, and share your information.

About Libraries

Bento stores information in libraries. Libraries are composed of records, and libraries are defined by the fields in the records.

For example, the default Projects library records are composed of fields that are useful for managing projects, such as fields for the project status, start and end dates, and team member information.

Bento provides several ways for you to view the records of a library:

• Form view shows fields from a single record. Each page shows one record at a

time, for example, a single contact record in the Address Book library. You can have more than one form view for the library. See page 47.

• Tab le view shows the records in a table, for example, a list of the contacts in

the Address Book library. Each row in the table represents a single record in the library. See

”Using Table View” on page 59.

”Using Form View” on

• Grid view displays at a glance the media fields and form thumbnails of a

selected library or collection. See

• Split view shows a record in form view and table view or grid view at the same

time.

The remainder of this chapter describes how to create, use, and share libraries:

• You can create your own libraries by using library templates. See the

following section,

• You can create a library by importing your own data. See ”Importing

Information into Bento” on page 106.

• You can share your libraries with up to five other Bento users on your local

network. See

”Creating a Library Using the Bento Templates” on page 30.

”Sharing Your Bento Database” on page 33.

”Using Grid View” on page 69.

Creating a Library Using the Bento Templates

Before you create a library, think about the type of information you want to manage with the library. Do you want to manage schedules and dates? Do you want to manage contact information? Are you looking for a way to bring tasks and assignments together in an event planner? Or do you want to manage a list of things, such as inventory or equipment lists?

Bento provides library templates that create the fields to manage specific kinds of information. These templates also apply pre-designed themes to the form views.

By selecting the library template that most closely fits the type of information you want to manage, you create the library you need more quickly. If you can't find a template for the kind of information you want to store, you can use the “Blank” template and create a library of your own. After you create a library from a template, you can customize the form view by adding or removing fields and changing the theme.

Tip If you already have information from another application that you want to use in

Bento, see

30 Chapter 2 Using Libraries

”Importing Information into Bento” on page 106.

To create a library using the Bento templates:

1 Choose File > New Library from Template.

2 In the New Library dialog, select a template category in the left column, then

select the template.

Select “Blank” if none of the templates meet your needs. You can create all of the fields yourself with the Blank library.

If you select the Contacts template, you can have Bento import your Address Book library data.

3 Enter a name for your library, and click Choose.

Bento creates the library and opens it in form view.

If you selected a template other than the Blank template, review the fields that are defined for your new library.

• If you are happy with the fields and form views in your new library, then

you’re ready to add records and enter information. See

”Editing Records in

Form View” on page 48.

• If you need additional fields, you can customize the library by adding fields.

See

”Adding Fields to a Form” on page 52.

Chapter 2 Using Libraries 31

• If there are fields defined for information that you do not need, delete those

fields. See

• If you want to change the layout of the fields on the form view, see

”Customizing Form Layouts” on page 54.

• If you want to change the appearance of the form view, you can select a

different theme. See

”Removing Fields from a Form” on page 54.

”Customizing Form Layouts” on page 54.

Creating a New Blank Library

You can get started quickly by creating a blank library, then add data to it as you would in a spreadsheet.

To create a new blank library:

1 Choose File > New Blank Library.

Bento creates a library with a default name and opens it in table view.

Bento creates a blank record for you. You can add data to this record (see ”Creating Records in Table View” on page 60), or you can delete the record (see ”Deleting Records from a Library” on page 35).

2 Double-click the library name to rename it.

3 Click in the highlighted cell to start entering or pasting data.

See ”Editing Records in Table View” on page 61 and ”Copying and Pasting Data in Table View” on page 61.

Note If you already have information from another application that you want to

include in Bento, create a library and records in that library by importing your information. See

”Importing Information into Bento” on page 106.

Changing the Icon for a Library

Each library comes with its own icon. You can change the icon for any library you create.

Note You cannot create your own icon in Bento.

To change a library icon:

1 In the Libraries pane, Control-click the library you want to change.

2 Choose “Choose a library icon.”

3 Click an icon, then click OK.

32 Chapter 2 Using Libraries

Sharing Your Bento Database

You can share your Bento database with up to five other Bento users at the same time over a local network (in the same subnet). Sharing requires the current version of Bento on each computer that is either sharing a database or looking for shared databases.

You can export data or a template from a shared library. For more information, see ”Exporting Information from Bento” on page 112.

When you first start Bento, your libraries are set up ready to be shared. You then decide whether to share your entire database or only selected libraries.

To share your database with other Bento users:

1 Choose Bento > Preferences.

2 Click Sharing at the top of the window.

3 Select “Share my Bento database.”

4 Select “Share entire database” or “Share selected libraries,” then select the

libraries you want to share.

5 (Optional) Enter a different name for your shared database.

This is the name that is displayed on other users’ computers (if they are set up to look for shared databases on your network).

6 If you want other users to be able to make changes to the shared database,

select “Allow others to make changes to your data.”

If a shared database is not allowed to be changed, users see italicized field labels

and when they move the cursor over the fields.

Users viewing your shared database can’t create or delete fields or make changes to form layouts.

If you make certain types of changes to the database while it is being shared (create fields, collections, or folders; delete folders; change field options or the database name), users are prompted to disconnect from the database and then reconnect to ensure they have the latest version.

7 Leave Bento open on your computer for users to see your shared database on

other computers. If you quit Bento, your database will no longer be shared.

Important Users editing a shared database can’t undo their changes once they have

tabbed or clicked outside the field currently being edited.

To disconnect a shared database, click next to the shared database.

Chapter 2 Using Libraries 33

Turning Off Database Sharing

You can turn off database sharing to prevent other users on your local network from seeing your database.

To turn off database sharing:

1 Choose Bento > Preferences.

2 Click Sharing at the top of the window.

3 Deselect “Share my Bento database.”

Looking for Shared Databases

If your computer is connected to other computers over a local network, you can look for databases that are being shared.

To look for shared databases on your local network:

1 Choose Bento > Preferences.

2 Click Sharing at the top of the window.

3 Select “Look for shared Bento databases.”

Any shared databases appear in the Shared section of the Libraries pane.

Setting a Password for a Shared Database

If you only want only a select group of users to access your database, you can require users to enter a password, called the Sharing Password, before they can view your shared items. This password is different from the Database Password. For more information about the Database Password, see Database” on page 98.

To set the Sharing Password:

1 Choose Bento > Preferences.

2 Click Sharing at the top of the window.

3 Select Require Sharing Password, then type a password.

”Setting a Password for Your Bento

Opening a Password-Protected Shared Database

Password-protected shared databases are indicated by in the Libraries pane.

To open a password-protected shared database:

1 Select a password-protected shared database.

2 In the dialog, enter the Sharing Password that was set by the owner of the

shared database.

34 Chapter 2 Using Libraries

Working with Shared Encrypted Fields

Users can access encrypted fields in shared databases by first entering the Sharing Password (if one has been set) and then the Database Password for the shared database. For more information about the Database Password, see Password for Your Bento Database” on page 98.

Users can lock and unlock data in shared encrypted fields. For more information, see ”Locking and Unlocking Data in Encrypted Fields” on page 99.

”Setting a

Grouping Libraries

You can organize a group of libraries within a folder.

To create a library folder:

1 Choose File > New Library Folder.

An untitled folder is created in the Libraries pane above the currently selected library or folder.

2 Enter a new name for the folder and press Return.

To add a library to a library folder:

Select the library and drag it to the desired library folder.

Deleting Records from a Library

You can delete one record or multiple records from a library. The easiest way to delete multiple records is in table view.

To delete one record from a library:

1 Select the library.

2 Select the record, then choose Records > Delete Record (or press Command-

Delete).

To delete multiple records at one time:

1 Select the library.

2 In table view, Command-click or Shift-click the records you want to delete,

then choose Records

Note When you press Command-Delete, the records are permanently deleted from

both the library and any collection or related data fields that displayed them.

Chapter 2 Using Libraries 35

> Delete Selected Records (or press Command-Delete).

Deleting a Library

To delete a library:

Select the library and press the Delete key. When you press Delete, the library and all of its records are deleted.

Any related data fields in other libraries based on this library are also deleted.

36 Chapter 2 Using Libraries

Using the Address Book Library

The Address Book library displays contact information from the Mac OS Address Book application, so there is no need to re-enter your contact information. Enter new contacts in Address Book or in Bento, and the information appears in both applications.

Note The Bento Address Book library is not synced with Bento 4 for iPad. To work with

your Address Book data on Bento new Contacts library, then sync the new Contacts library with Bento more information, see

”Migrating the Address Book Library” on page 42.

About the Address Book Library

If you set Bento to display the Address Book library, Bento gets the contact information and groups from the Mac OS Address Book application. When you make changes to records in the Bento Address Book library, you are also updating the records in the Address Book application.

• If you add a record in the Address Book library, then it is added to the Address

Book application.

4 for iPad, migrate your Address Book library to a

4 for iPad. For

• If you delete a record in the Address Book library, then it is deleted from the

Address Book application.

• For every group that you create in the Address Book application, Bento

creates an Address Book library collection.

• For every collection you create in the Address Book library, the Address Book

application creates an Address Book group.

• If you delete a collection under the Address Book library, the associated

Address Book group is also deleted. Similarly, if you delete a group in the Address Book application, the associated collection under the Address Book library is also deleted.

Note When you create a new library using the Contacts template, you can choose to

have Bento import your Address Book library data.

The Address Book library displays contact information from the Address Book application.

Address Book

groups display

as collections

in Bento.

Displaying Data from the Address Book Application

Displaying the Address Book library is optional.

To turn on or off the display of Address Book data in Bento:

1 In Bento, choose File > Address Book and iCal Setup (existing Bento users) or

File > Address Book Setup (new Bento users).

2 Do one of the following:

38 Chapter 3 Using the Address Book Library

• Select “Display Address Book data in Bento” to display the Address Book

library in Bento.

• Clear “Display Address Book data in Bento” to remove the Address Book

library from Bento.

Note If you turn off the display of the Address Book data, the Address Book library

is removed from Bento. If you have related data fields based on the Address Book

library, those related data fields will be deleted. Any fields that were created in Bento for the Address Book library will also be deleted.

Bento Address Book Fields That Update the Address Book Application

The following fields in the Address Book library update information in the Address Book application.

Address: Home, Work, Other

Address list

Birthday

Company name

Department

Email address: Home, Work, Other

Email address list

First name

Home page

IM account: Home, Work, Other

IM account list

Is Company

Job title

Last name

Maiden name

Middle name

Nickname

Note

Phone number: Work, Home, Mobile, Main, Home fax, Work fax, Pager, Other

Phone number list

Phonetic first name

Phonetic last name

Phonetic middle name

Prefix

Suffix

URL

URL list

You can use import and export with the Address Book library. Records imported into the Address Book library update the Address Book application. See

”Importing, Exporting, and

Printing” on page 103 for information on importing and exporting.

You can add other fields to your Address Book library records in Bento, but your additional fields are not added to the Mac OS Address Book application. See

”Using

Fields” on page 73 for information on adding fields.

Conversely, any custom field labels you have defined in the Mac OS Address Book application are not displayed in the Address Book library in Bento.

Chapter 3 Using the Address Book Library 39

Troubleshooting Address Book Updates

This section describes some common issues with displaying data from the Address Book application.

• Why don’t I see my Smart Groups from the Address Book application in

Bento?

Bento does not display Address Book Smart Groups because the criteria used to create the groups are not available to Bento.

• Why don’t I see my Address Book library’s Smart Collections in the Address

Book application?

The criteria used to create Bento Smart Collections cannot be passed to the Address Book application because the criteria may use fields that appear only in Bento and may involve fields that are not available to the Address Book application.

• Why don’t I see my Address Book library in Bento for Mac?

If you migrated your Address Book library in Bento for Mac, it was replaced with the Bento Contacts library. See

”Migrating the Address Book Library” on page 42.

Address Book Data and Backups

When you create a Bento backup file, the data from the Address Book application is not included in the Bento backup file. To back up the data from Address Book, use the Mac OS Address Book application.

If you add fields to the Address Book library in Bento, information from those additional fields is included in the Bento backup file. See Information” on page 123 for information on creating a Bento backup file.

”Backing Up and Restoring

40 Chapter 3 Using the Address Book Library

Migrating the iCal, iPhoto, and Address Book Libraries

When you first start Bento for Mac, if you have any existing iPhoto, iCal Events, or iCal Tasks libraries, Bento asks you to migrate the data.

When you sync Bento for Mac with Bento 4 for iPad, if you have an existing Address Book library, Bento asks you to migrate the data.

When you migrate an Address Book or iCal library, all the data in the library is moved to a new Bento library. The new library contains all your original data, including all your collections, smart collections, forms, relations to other libraries, and settings.

The new Bento libraries with the migrated data are not connected to the Mac OS Address Book or iCal applications. For example, if you update a contact in the Mac OS Address Book after migrating the data, the information will not be updated in the new Bento Contacts library. Similarly, if you update a contact in the new Bento Contacts library, the information will not be updated in the Mac OS Address Book.

If the library includes any locked encrypted fields, you are asked to enter the Database Password to unlock the fields. If you don’t unlock the encrypted fields, Bento does not migrate the library.

Note Migrating the Bento libraries doesn’t affect your data in the Mac OS Address

Book, iCal, or iPhoto applications.

Migrating the iCal Libraries

When you start Bento for Mac, if you have any existing Bento iCal Tasks or iCal Events libraries, Bento asks you to migrate the data.

Follow the onscreen instructions to migrate the data. Your Bento iCal Tasks library will be replaced by a Bento Tasks library. Your Bento iCal Events library will be replaced by a Bento Events library. The Bento Tasks and Events libraries are not connected to the Mac OS iCal application.

If you choose to migrate the data later, do one of the following:

• Control-click the iCal Tasks library or the iCal Events library in the Libraries

pane, then choose Migrate iCal.

• Choose your device in the Devices section of the Libraries pane, then click

Migrate. Follow the onscreen instructions to migrate the data.

Note If you are new to Bento for Mac, you can’t display the iCal data in Bento. The iCal

Tasks and Events libraries are not supported for new users.

Migrating the iPhoto Library

Displaying the iPhoto library is no longer supported in Bento. When you start Bento for Mac, if you have an existing Bento iPhoto library, Bento asks you to migrate the data. You must migrate the iPhoto library before you can start using Bento for Mac.

Follow the onscreen instructions to migrate the iPhoto library to a Bento Photos library. Bento copies only the following iPhoto library records to the Photos library:

• Any iPhoto library records that are referenced in related data fields.

• Any iPhoto library records that contain data in fields that were created in Bento.

Bento does not create a Photos library or migrate the data if there are no records that meet the migration requirements.

The Bento Photos library is not connected to the Mac OS iPhoto application.

Note After migrating the iPhoto library, you continue to be able to add images from

iPhoto into Bento media fields.

Migrating the Address Book Library

You can’t sync the Address Book library in Bento for Mac with Bento 4 for iPad. When you sync Bento for Mac with Bento 4 for iPad, if you have an existing Bento Address Book library, Bento asks you to migrate the data.

Follow the onscreen instructions to migrate the data from the Bento Address Book library to a Bento Contacts library. The Bento Contacts library is not connected to the Mac OS Address Book application.

For information about syncing, see ”Syncing Bento for Mac with Bento for iPhone or Bento for iPad” on page 131.

To migrate the data, you can also choose your device in the Devices section of the Libraries pane, then click Migrate. Follow the onscreen instructions to migrate the data.

For information about displaying the Address Book library, see ”Displaying Data from the Address Book Application” on page 38.

Note You can also import the data from the Address Book library when you create a

new Bento Contacts library using the Contacts template. See the Bento Templates” on page 30.

”Creating a Library Using

42 Chapter 4 Migrating the iCal, iPhoto, and Address Book Libraries

Using Collections

Vendors collection in the Address Book library

This chapter describes how to use collections to further organize your records in Bento.

In Bento, your records are kept in libraries, as described in Chapter 2, “Using Libraries” on page 29. If you want to organize records in different ways or if you want to work with a subset of the records in a library, you can create a collection.

About Collections

A collection is a set of records from a library. You can create a collection to:

• Create a set of records for a special purpose. For example, you could create a

collection of the people invited to a specific event.

• Sort records in a different order. For example, you could create a collection of

contacts to sort the contact records by last name.

• Export the data from the records in the collection rather than from all the

records in the library.

A collection in Bento is similar to a playlist in iTunes. If you have used iTunes, you know how convenient it is to use a playlist to create a compilation of songs and videos. Collections in Bento give you the same convenience for grouping records from a library.

A collection contains records from a single library. For example, you can put records from the Address Book library in an Address Book collection such as Vendors. You cannot put any other library’s records in the Vendors collection.

However, a record from a library can be added to any of the collections within the same library. For example, if you have a “DVD” library with a “Favorites” collection and a “Classic Movies” collection, you can have the same record in both collections.

There are two kinds of collections:

• collections

• Smart Collections

You create collections by using the New Collection menu item, by selecting records and using the New Collection from Selection menu item, or by dragging selected records to an existing collection or to the Libraries pane.

Smart Collections are created based on criteria you set up. Smart Collections update as your library changes; records that meet the defined criteria appear in the Smart Collection.

Creating Collections

Create a collection when you want to make a specific list of records.

To create a collection:

1 Select a library in which you want to make a collection.

2 Click or choose File > New Collection.

3 Type a name for the collection, then press Return.

4 Select the library you selected in step 1 again.

5 Click Table in the navigation bar or choose View > Table View to show the

library in table view.

6 Select the record you want to add to the collection. Drag the selected record

to the collection, or click selected record to the collection.

To select multiple records, hold down the Command or Shift key while you click.

Tip To quickly create a collection containing selected records, select the records,

then choose File > New Collection From Selection or drag the records to a blank space in the Libraries pane.

and choose Add to Collection to add the

44 Chapter 5 Using Collections

Removing Records from a Collection

To remove records from a collection:

1 Select the collection.

2 Select the records and press Command-Delete.

If you click Remove from Collection, the records are removed only from the collection, not from the associated library. If you click Delete, the records are permanently removed from both the library and the collection.

Deleting a Collection

To delete a collection:

Select the collection and press the Delete key. The records are removed from the collection but not from the library.

Note If you delete a library or collection that one or more related data fields are based

on, those related data fields are also deleted.

About Smart Collections

Create a Smart Collection when you want a collection that contains records that meet criteria you define. Smart Collections show all the records that meet the criteria.

For example, you could create a Smart Collection of contacts who live in the same city. When you add a new contact record for a person who lives in that city, Bento automatically adds that contact record to your Smart Collection.

Or you could create a Smart Collection of event records that are due in the same week. If you add or modify a record so that it meets the criteria, that record appears in the Smart Collection the next time you click the Smart Collection in the Libraries pane.

Because a Smart Collection is a set of records that match defined criteria, it is different from a collection in the following ways:

• You cannot manually add records to or remove records from Smart

Collections. To remove certain records from the Smart Collection, edit the criteria or modify the records’ values so that they no longer meet the criteria.

• You cannot import records into a Smart Collection.

Creating Smart Collections

You can create a Smart Collection that adds records to or removes records from a collection according to criteria that you define.

Chapter 5 Using Collections 45

1. Select the criteria.

2. Save the criteria.

To create a Smart Collection:

1 Choose File > New Smart Collection.

2 Type a name for the Smart Collection, then press Return.

Use the pop-up menus and entry fields to specify the criteria for the Smart

Collection. Click

to add additional criteria.

For example, to create a Smart Collection that only shows iCal tasks that are not completed, specify the criteria to be All, Completion Date, and Is empty.

3 Click Save.

Tip You can also create a Smart Collection by clicking Save after you specify the

criteria for an Advanced Find. See

”Search Field and Advanced Find” on page 25.

Changing a Smart Collection

When you change a Smart Collection, Bento updates the collection based on the criteria that you define. You can edit and duplicate records within a Smart Collection. See

”Editing Records in Table View” on page 61 and ”Duplicating Records in Table

View” on page 62.

To change a Smart Collection:

1 Select the Smart Collection and choose File > Edit Smart Collection.

2 Use the pop-up menus and entry fields to modify, add, or remove the criteria.

3 Click Find to see if the new criteria produce the records you want.

4 Click Save.

Note To discard the changes you made to the criteria, click any other item in the

Libraries pane.

46 Chapter 5 Using Collections

Using Form View

The same record displayed in another form view, using a different organization of fields

A record displayed in one form view

In Bento, you use form view to display one record at a time from a library or collection.

This chapter describes how to create and edit records in form view, create and modify forms, and customize form layouts.

About Forms

In form view, you can create and use forms to display one record at a time from a library or collection in a page-like format. For example, you can display a project in the Projects library.

With forms, you can see the fields for an individual record. You can create and use multiple forms, or pages, to display different information about that record.

For a given library or collection, you can use any of its fields on any of its forms.

If you want to see more than one record at a time, or scan and sort your information quickly, use table view instead. See

”Using Table View” on page 59. You can view a

selected record in form view and table view at the same time. Select the record, then choose View > Split View.

Forms can also display records from other libraries or collections in related data fields. For example, you can display a list of people from the Address Book library who are attending a party event in the iCal Event library. See page 80.

”Creating Related Data Fields” on

Creating Records in Form View

You can create records in any view. For table view instructions, see ”Creating Records in Table View” on page 60.

To create a record for a library or collection:

1 Select the library or collection you want to add a record to.

2 Click a form name in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form

Name.

3 Choose Records > New Record or press Command-N.

4 Type data in the fields.

5 Press Tab to move to the next field in the same record. Press Shift-Tab to move

to the previous field in the same record.

Tip To quickly create a record, Control-click in a blank area on the form and choose

New Record from the pop-up menu.

Editing Records in Form View

To edit a record:

1 Select the library or collection that contains the record you want to edit.

2 Click a form name in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form

Name.

3 Navigate to the desired record.

Press Tab or Shift-Tab to move from field to field.

4 Click the field you want to change, modify the data, then click outside the

field or press Tab to save the change.

48 Chapter 6 Using Form View

Adding the Current Date and Time to a Field

When editing a record, you can add the current date and time to a date, time, or text field.

To add the current date and time to a field:

1 Click in the date, time, or text field.

2 Choose Insert > Current Date and Time.

If the field type is You see the current

Date Date. Set the “Display Time” option to also display the time.

Time Time

Text Date and time

Duplicating Records in Form View

To quickly add a record with the same or similar data as an existing record:

1 Navigate to the record you want to duplicate.

2 Choose Records > Duplicate Record.

Deleting Records in Form View

To permanently delete a selected record from a library:

1 Select the library.

2 Click a form name in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form

Name.

3 Select the record.

4 Choose Records > Delete Record or press Command-Delete.

In the dialog, click Delete.

Chapter 6 Using Form View 49

To remove a selected record from a collection:

1 Select the collection.

2 Navigate to the record you want to remove.

3 Choose Records > Remove Record.

If you click Remove from Collection, the record is removed only from the collection, not the library. If you click Delete, the record is permanently removed from both the library and the collection.

Creating Forms

To create a form:

1 Select the library or collection you want to add a form to.

2 Click in the navigation bar or choose Forms > New Form.

In the Form name dialog, type a name, then click OK.

3 Add fields to the blank form.

See ”Adding Fields to a Form” on page 52.

4 Create records.

See ”Creating Records in Form View” on page 48.

Deleting Forms

To dele te a form :

1 Select the library or collection you want to delete a form from.

2 Select the form you want to delete.

3 Click in the navigation bar or choose Forms > Delete Form.

If there is only one form, you can’t delete it.

50 Chapter 6 Using Form View

Showing and Hiding Forms

To hide a form:

1 Select the library or collection with the form you want to hide.

2 Select the form you want to hide.

3 Choose Forms > Hide Form.

The form and form name are hidden.

If there is only one form, you can’t hide it.

To show a hidden form:

1 Select the library or collection with the hidden form that you want to show.

2 Choose Forms > Hidden Forms.

3 Choose the form that you want to show.

Duplicating Forms

To duplicate a form within the same library or collection:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Forms > Duplicate Form.

Copying Forms

To copy a form to collections within a library or from a collection to its parent library:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Control-click the form you want to copy, then choose the library or collection

where you want the form to be copied to.

Note You can’t copy forms from one library to another.

Renaming Forms

To re name a form :

1 Double-click the form name at the top of the window.

2 In the Form name dialog, type a new name, then click OK.

Chapter 6 Using Form View 51

Locking and Unlocking Forms

Once you have completed your form layout, you can lock the form to prevent its field labels, field objects, or fields from being moved or resized.

When a form is locked, you can’t change its layout but you can add data to it in the following ways:

• Enter data in fields in the same way as when the form is unlocked.

• Create fields using the New Field dialog. Fields are automatically added to the

bottom of the first column.

• Drag libraries and collections from the Libraries pane to create related data

fields

• Drag files from the Finder to create media or file list fields

Note You can’t drag existing fields from the Fields pane to a locked form.

To lock a form:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Forms > Lock Form, or click then click .

None of the field labels, field objects, or fields can be moved or resized until you unlock the form.

To unlock a form:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Forms > Unlock Form, or click then click .

Adding Fields to a Form

To add a field to a form:

1 Select a library or collection.

2 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

3 Drag a field from the Fields pane to the desired location on the form.

To move a field, see ”Moving Fields and Objects on Forms” on page 53. To resize a field, see ”Resizing Fields and Objects” on page 53. To create a field, choose Insert > New Field. See ”Creating Fields” on page 76.

52 Chapter 6 Using Form View

Tabbing Between Fields

To tab between fields on a form:

1 Select a library or collection.

2 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

3 Click in a field, then press Tab to move from field to field, and within each

column if you have added a column divider. Press Shift-Tab to move in the reverse direction.

Note To enable the Tab key to move to all controls, make sure “All controls” is selected

in the Keyboard and Mouse (Mac OS X 10.6) or Keyboard (OS X Lion 10.7) preferences (Keyboard Shortcuts tab).

Moving Fields and Objects on Forms

To move one field or object:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Select a field or object.

3 Move your mouse near the field label or the edges of the field or object.

When the cursor changes into a hand, click to select the field or object, then drag it to a new location.

Bento allows you to drag fields above, below, next to, or between other objects on the form.

To move multiple fields or objects:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Command-click or Shift-click to select multiple fields or objects.

Tip To quickly select many fields and objects, click in an empty part of the form, and

while holding down the mouse button, drag to select multiple items.

Resizing Fields and Objects

Any field and any object can be resized.

To resize a field or object:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Select the field or object.

3 Move the cursor to one of the handles. When the cursor changes to a double

arrow, drag to change the size.

Chapter 6 Using Form View 53

Removing Fields from a Form

To remove a field from a form:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Select the field, then press the Delete key or drag the field off the form.

The data in the field is still in Bento even though the field is no longer displayed on the form.

Customizing Form Layouts

You can quickly change the appearance of a form.

Changing the Theme

You can change a form’s theme (the coordinated colors, layout, and text attributes) at any time. For example, you can use a light-colored theme for printing records.

To change a form’s theme:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Forms > Theme Chooser.

3 In the Theme Chooser, select a theme, then click OK.

You see a ripple effect as the theme changes. If you don’t want the ripple effect, choose Bento “Display animation.”

> Preferences, click General at the top of the window, then clear

If you want to preview a theme before applying it to your form, click Try It.

Resizing Column Widths

You can change the width of columns. Increase the width to accommodate wider fields or to increase the amount of blank space between columns.

To resize the width of a column:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Select a column divider.

If the column divider is not visible, move the cursor over the area where the divider is located, then click.

3 Position the cursor over a column divider, then drag left or right.

54 Chapter 6 Using Form View

Changing the Position and Size of Field Labels

You can change how the labels for fields are positioned on a form.

To change the position of labels adjacent to fields:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Forms > Field Labels.

3 Select Above or Beside.

To change the size of text in labels:

1 Choose Forms > Field Labels.

2 Select Small, Medium, or Large.

Changing the Size of Text

You can change the size of text that is displayed in fields.

To change the size of text in fields:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Click near the field label or the edges of the field to select the field.

Note If you click inside the field instead of selecting the field, the text size options

will be dimmed.

Command-click or Shift-click to select multiple fields.

3 Choose Forms > Text Size.

4 Select a size from the list: Smallest, Small, Medium, Large, Largest.

Changing the Shading of Fields

You can change the level of shading that is displayed behind fields.

To change the shading of fields:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Select the field by clicking near the field label or the edges of the field.

Note If you click inside the field instead of selecting the field, the text size options

will be dimmed.

Command-click or Shift-click to select multiple fields.

3 Choose Forms > Shading.

4 Select a level of shading: None, Light, or Dark.

Chapter 6 Using Form View 55

Aligning the Right Edges of Fields

You can align the rightmost edges of selected fields within a column.

To align the right edges of fields:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Select the fields whose right edges you want to align within a column.

Command-click or Shift-click to select multiple fields.

Tip To quickly align the right edges of many fields, click in an empty part of the

form, and while holding down the mouse button, drag to select multiple items.

3 Choose Forms > Align Right Edges.

Adding Text Boxes

Add a text box if you want text such as a heading on your form.

To add a text box:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Insert > Text Box.

An untitled box appears at the bottom of the form.

3 Drag the text box to the desired location, double-click in the text box, and

start typing.

Adding Image Boxes

Add an image box if you want an image such as a logo or letterhead to appear on every record in your form.

Tip Use a media field if you want a different image to appear in every record. For more

information about media fields, see

To add an image box:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Insert > Image Box.

An image box appears on the form.

3 Drag the image box to the desired location.

4 Drag an image file from the Finder into the image box.

5 Click in the image box to reposition or change the display size of the image.

For more information, see ”Positioning Images” on page 96 and ”Changing the Display Size of Images” on page 97.

Tip To delete an image box, click near one of its edges to display the border

around it. Then press the Delete key.

56 Chapter 6 Using Form View

”Working with Media Fields” on page 95.

Adding Horizontal Separators

A horizontal separator is an object you can add to a form. Separators help organize forms by visually separating the items above and below the separator. The appearance of the horizontal separator is defined by the theme applied to the form. You can change the horizontal separator's width but not its height.

To add a horizontal separator:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Insert > Horizontal Separator.

3 Drag the horizontal separator to the desired location on the form.

Adding Column Dividers

You can divide up horizontal space on a form with column dividers. All column dividers are the same length.

Bento automatically adds a column divider to the right of any item (field or object) that you add horizontally to a form. For example, if you drag a field to a form, Bento inserts a column divider to the right of that field. If you then add a text box to the right of the column divider, Bento inserts another column divider to the right of the text box. Bento does not add a column divider if you add an item above or below an existing item, or if you delete some (but not all) items from a form.

You can also add column dividers manually to a form.

To add a column divider:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Insert > Column Divider.

3 Drag the column divider to the desired location on the form.

Tip To delete a column divider, Control-click the divider, then choose Remove

from Form.

Chapter 6 Using Form View 57

Adding Spacers

Use a spacer to create a blank space between items on a form. For example, add a spacer to separate groups of fields. When editing the form, you can change the spacer's width, height, and shading.

To add a spacer:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Choose Insert > Spacer.

3 Drag the spacer to the desired location on the form.

Drag the right or bottom edge of the spacer to change its width or height.

4 (Optional) Choose Forms > Shading.

5 (Optional) Select a level of shading.

58 Chapter 6 Using Form View

Using Table View

One record

One field

In Bento, you use table view to display text and media in a spreadsheet-like format where rows represent records and columns represent fields.

This chapter describes how to create and modify records in table view, sort records, and rearrange, summarize, and display data in columns.

About Table View

In table view, you can see your records in rows with the fields in columns (in a format similar to a spreadsheet).

To go to table view, choose View > Table View.

Table view gives you flexibility while working with your data. For example, you can:

• see more than one record at a time

• choose which fields are displayed as columns

• sort records in ascending or descending order by using sort commands in the

column header pop-up menu

• duplicate one or more records

• delete multiple records

• enter, select, copy, and paste values in one or more cells, in a spreadsheet-like

manner

• summarize data

• select and drag multiple records to create new collections within one library

• create, view, and edit media fields

You can view a selected record in table view and form view at the same time. Select the record, then choose View > Split View.

In table view, you cannot see related data fields or any of the list field types, such as address, email address, file list, message list, and simple list. See Data Fields” on page 92 and ”Working with List Fields” on page 86.

”Working with Related

Setting Table View Text Size

You can change the size of text for displaying records in table view.

To change the size of text used in table view:

1 Choose Bento > Preferences.

2 For “Table View Text,” select Small or Large.

Selecting Records in Table View

To select one record in table view:

Click a row number.

To select multiple records in table view:

Click a row number, then Shift-click the last row you want to include in the selection. Or Command-click individual rows to include in the selection.

Creating Records in Table View

You can create records in table view or form view.

To create a record for a library or collection:

1 Select the library or collection you want to add a record to.

2 In table view, choose Records > New Record. Or click in the last empty row

and start typing.

At the bottom of the window, the record count indicator increases.

60 Chapter 7 Using Table View

3 Type data in the columns.

If you type data in the last column, Bento creates a new field with the default name Field 1.

4 Press Tab to move to the next field in the same record. Press Shift-Tab to move

to the previous field in the same record.

To add existing records to another collection within the same library:

Select the records, choose Edit > Add To, then choose a collection from the list. The selected records are added to the collection that you chose in the list.

Editing Records in Table View

To edit a record:

1 Select the library or collection that contains the record you want to edit.

2 Double-click a field (table cell). Press Tab to move to the next field in the same

record. Press Shift-Tab to move to the previous field in the same record.

Press Command-Return to insert a line break in a text field.

Tip To edit a choice field in table view, click close to the right edge of the field to

display the pop-up menu.

Copying and Pasting Data in Table View

You can copy and paste data between Bento records in the same or other libraries as well as between Bento and spreadsheet applications such as Numbers and Excel.

Tip To duplicate the same data for multiple cells in the same column, see ”Filling Fields

Automatically” on page 66.

To co py data:

1 In Bento, select one or more rows of data by clicking the row number. To

select adjacent rows, select one row, then hold down the Shift key as you select adjacent rows. To select nonadjacent rows, hold down the Command key as you select rows.

2 Choose Edit > Copy.

Bento copies the selected data to the Clipboard.

Chapter 7 Using Table View 61

To past e data:

1 Click a cell.

2 Choose Edit > Paste.

Bento creates additional records and columns as necessary.

Note When pasting into existing fields, Bento pastes as many values as possible. If

the data being pasted doesn’t match the field type, Bento gives you the choice of rejecting the data or changing the field type to Text.

To paste data into new columns:

1 Click a cell in the empty column after the last column of data.

2 Choose Edit > Paste.

Bento creates new text fields, and additional records as necessary.

Duplicating Records in Table View

To quickly add a record with the same or similar data as an existing record:

1 Select the library or collection.

2 Select one or more records, then choose Records > Duplicate Record.

If you duplicated a record in a collection, the record is created in the parent library and displayed in the collection.

Deleting Records in Table View

To permanently delete selected records from a library:

1 Select the library.

2 Select the records, then choose Records > Delete Selected Records or press

Command-Delete.

In the dialog, click Delete.

To permanently delete selected records from a collection:

1 Select the collection.

2 Select the records, then choose Records > Remove Selected Records or press

Command-Delete.

In the dialog, if you click Delete, the records are permanently removed from both the library and the collection. If you click “Remove from Collection,” the records are removed only from the collection, not the library.

62 Chapter 7 Using Table View

Sorting Records

To sort records:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.

If you want to sort by two or more fields, sort by the least significant field first, followed by the more important field or fields. For example, to sort records by last name and first name, first sort by the First Name field, then by the Last Name field.

Working with Fields and Columns in Table View

Creating Fields in Table View

To create a field in table view:

1 For blank libraries, the first field is automatically created with the default

name New Field.

2 Double-click the column header and type a new name for the field, then

press Return.

3 Enter data in the field.

Bento creates a Text field by default. You can change the field to another type. See ”Changing the Field Type” on page 64.

4 Press Tab to create another field, where you can continue typing in the same

record.

5 Repeat steps 2-4 to create as many fields as you want.

Adding Fields in Table View

To add a field before or after a column:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Add Field Before or Add Field After.

A new column is inserted before or after the current column with the default name Field 1.

3 Type a new name for the field.

Chapter 7 Using Table View 63

Press the Space bar to view the selected media field.

Working with Media Fields in Table View

You can create, view, and edit media fields in table view in the same way as you do other field types.

Changing Options for a Field in Table View

To change field options:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Edit Field.

3 Change the field name or set options.

Note To change options for a field in Form View, Control-click the field, then choose

Edit Field.

Completing Text Automatically as You Type

If you need to enter the same text for several text fields, you can change the field option to automatically complete the text as you type.

To complete text automatically while typing:

1 Click near the right edge of the column header for the field.

2 Choose Edit Field.

3 Select “Automatically complete text while typing.”

Duplicating Fields

To duplicate a field:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Duplicate Field.

Changing the Field Type

You can change the type of some fields to another. Automatic counter, location, and address fields, and any fields you access in a shared database can’t be changed to a

64 Chapter 7 Using Table View

Select checkboxes

to display fields.

different type. For more information see ”Changing an Existing Field from One Type to Another” on page 86.

To change the field type:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Change To, then select a field type from the list.

Showing and Hiding Columns

To hide columns:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Hide Field.

To show or hide columns using the Fields pane:

In the Fields pane, select a field’s checkbox to display the field in table view. Clear the checkbox to hide the field in table view. To select multiple fields at once, select one field, then Shift-click another field to select all fields in between. To quickly clear them, press the Space bar.

When you hide a field in table view, the field and its data are not deleted from the library or collection.

Tip To display more data, hide the Libraries and Fields pane. Choose View > Hide

Libraries & Fields Pane.

Chapter 7 Using Table View 65

Drag header to reorder column.

Drag header edge to resize column.

Fill handle

Deleting Fields in Table View

To delete a field in table view:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Delete Field.

3 In the dialog, click Delete.

The fields and their data are permanently removed from the library.

Reordering Columns

To re order a co lumn:

Drag the column header left or right to a new location.

Resizing Columns

To resize a column:

Drag the edge of a column header to the width you want.

Filling Fields Automatically

Bento lets you use the content in one or more rows to automatically add or replace records below the selected fields.

To fill fields automatically:

1 Select one or more fields in one or more records.

2 Drag the fill handle to copy the fields’ values downward as far as you drag.

66 Chapter 7 Using Table View

Summarizing Column Data

The summary row provides an easy way to perform basic operations on the data in a column and display the results. The summary row is located at the bottom of table view and at the bottom of simple list fields and related data fields.

To show or hide the summary row, choose View > Show Summary Row or Hide

Summary Row. Or, click

Depending on the field type, the following summary functions are available.

Name Purpose

Sum Calculates the total of the values in the selected field

Count Reports the number of items that have an entry in the selected field

Average Reports the average of the values in the selected field

Minimum Reports the lowest value of the values in the selected field

Maximum Reports the highest value of the values in the selected field

You can use the Count function on any type of field. You can use the Sum, Average, Minimum, and Maximum functions on fields of the following types: Number, Currency, Duration, Rating, Automatic Counter, and Calculation (when the result is number, currency, or duration). You can also use the Minimum and Maximum functions on Date and Time fields.

Chapter 7 Using Table View 67

Choose Sum in the summary row to calculate the total of the amounts listed in the Budget column.

To calculate a summary for a column:

Click in the summary row of the selected column, then choose a function from the popup menu. The name of the function and the results are displayed in the summary row.

When you do a search or an Advanced Find, the summary is recalculated based on the records that are found.

68 Chapter 7 Using Table View

Using Grid View

Media fields displayed in grid view

Form thumbnails displayed in grid view

In Bento, you can work with your media fields (pictures, music, and movies) and forms in an easy-to-use grid layout.

This chapter describes how to work with a library’s media fields and form thumbnails in grid view, look at a record in grid view and a form view at the same time, filter grid view items, set and change labels of grid view items, change the display size of grid view items, and work with library folders in grid view.

About Grid View

In grid view, the media fields in each record of a library or collection are displayed as thumbnails in rows. Each thumbnail is a grid view item. If a library or collection does not contain any media fields, Bento displays thumbnails of the forms.

Move the cursor back and forth over a grid view item to flash in succession all the media fields within the grid view item.

To go to grid view, choose View > Grid View or click .

Viewing the Grid and a Form at the Same Time

You can view a selected record in a form view and grid view at the same time.

If you are in grid view, select the record, then choose View > Split View or click .

If you are in form view, select the record, then choose View > Split View or click .

Displaying Grid View Items

To display grid view items:

Click to display photos, music, movies, and documents.

Click to display form thumbnails.

Setting Grid View Options

To set labels for grid view items:

1 Click .

You can specify up to two fields.

2 Click the Title pop-up menu, then choose the fields.

Note If you don’t want any labels to be displayed, choose the dash symbol in both

fields.

To set the default media field for grid view items:

1 Click .

2 Click the image in the Grid Settings window, then choose a media field.

Changing the Display Size of Grid View Items

To change the display size of grid view items:

Drag the zoom slider.

70 Chapter 8 Using Grid View

Library

folder

Working with Library Folders in Grid View

When you select a library folder, you see a grid view of all the libraries contained in the folder along with information about the number of records and forms in each library.

Move the cursor back and forth over a library to flash in succession all the forms it contains.

To go to a specific form:

1 Move the cursor over a grid view item until you see the form you want.

2 Control-click and choose Go to Form from the pop-up menu.

To set the default form displayed for grid view items:

1 Move the cursor over a grid view item until you see the form you want.

2 Control-click and choose Set Default Grid Form from the pop-up menu.

Chapter 8 Using Grid View 71

72 Chapter 8 Using Grid View

Using Fields

Bento provides a wide variety of field types to store the kinds of information you use in your daily life.

In Bento, you can choose from many different field types to track things such as names, addresses, dates, times, prices, images, movies, songs, locations, and lists of files.

This chapter describes the purpose of the field types, how to create and modify fields, how to use the Fields pane, and work with the various types of fields that Bento provides.

About Fields

Each library contains a set of fields. Each field stores a particular kind of data. In the record pictured on the next page, there are several fields. For example, the Project Name field contains text.

Once you have created a field, you can use it on multiple forms and tables within the same library or collection. When you want to link data between libraries or collections, you can use related data fields.

From email, address, phone number, IM account, URL, and location fields you can perform tasks such as sending an email message, getting directions to an address, displaying a phone number in large type, or capturing a specific location at the time a record is created or modified.

Table viewForm view

Text field

Fields

Date field

Currency field

Related data field

Choice field

Display phone

number in large type

Field Types

These are the types of fields you can create in Bento:

Field Type Purpose

Text Store anything you type*

Number Store numeric data, with formatting options**

Choice Create a pop-up menu in order to select an item from a list

Checkbox Provide an on-off type of choice

Media Store and use image, movie, sound, and PDF files

Simple list Store data that’s in a variety of data types in columnar format

File list Store and view thumbnails of aliases to files or folders that are on your

Message list Display emails, notes, and RSS articles from the Mac OS X Mail application

Related data Store one or more records from another library or collection that are

Time Choose and store a time of day, in hours, minutes, and seconds, AM or PM

Date Choose and store a date and time value. Displays the date by default and

Duration Store an amount of time in weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds

Calculation Display the result of a specified calculation. Supported operators are

computer

related to the current record

can also display the time.

addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and concatenation (joining two or more words or sentences).

74 Chapter 9 Using Fields

Field Type Purpose

Currency Store an amount of money and display it in the selected currency format

Automatic counter Assign a higher number to each new record

Rating Set the rating value of an item by clicking stars in the field

Encrypted Protect sensitive or confidential data and hide it from view (data is

displayed as bullets). Encrypted data is stored in your Bento database.

Location Store location information (latitude and longitude) and display a map of

the location in a web browser. Locations are displayed either in decimal degrees or in degrees, minutes, and seconds.

Latitude values range from -90 to 90 degrees. Positive values correspond to North latitudes; negative correspond to South.

Longitude values range from -180 to 180 degrees (or 0 to 360 degrees). Positive values correspond to East longitudes; negative correspond to West.

Address Store all components of a single street address

Phone number Store a phone number, including the area code

Email address Store an email address

URL Store a website, FTP site, or AFP site address***

IM account Store an IM account and service name

Notes:

*Maximum text field size is approximately 2 GB.

**The largest number supported is 2

***The URL field does not support URL values that contain Japanese characters.

Note The date and time formats vary depending on the current System Preferences

settings. See Mac Help for information about changing the format.

For a list of field types that you can import data into, see ”Field Types Supported for Import” on page 110.

List Fields

When you create address, phone number, email address, URL, and IM account fields, Bento creates an associated list field that lets you display multiple addresses, phone numbers, and so on for one record. When you enter data in one of these single field types, Bento displays the same data in the associated list field.

For example, suppose you have a form that displays a home phone number in a phone number field named “Home Phone Number.” You add work and mobile phone numbers to two other phone number fields. Bento creates a list field and displays all three phone numbers in that list field, but the work and mobile phone numbers are not added to the “Home Phone Number” field you created.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 75

On Form 1, you enter data in single phone number fields.

Phone number list field created by Bento

Single phone

number

fields

Form 1 Form 2

On Form 2, Bento displays the data in the phone number list field that you entered in the single phone number fields.

You can import and export values stored in regular fields (for example, “Home Phone Number” in the form shown above) but you can’t import or export values stored in list fields. You can see values stored in list fields in form view but not in table view.

Creating Fields

Follow the steps below to create all types of fields, except calculation, file list, message list, related data fields, and location fields. For more information about those field types, see page 78, ”Creating Message List Fields” on page 79, ”Creating Related Data Fields” on page 80, and ”Creating Location Fields” on page 79.

For information about adding a field to a form, see ”Adding Fields to a Form” on page 52.

To create fields:

1 Choose Insert > New Field or press Control-N.

2 Choose a field type.

3 Name the field.

4 Set the options on the field, if any.

5 Click “Create and Continue” or press Command-Return.

6 Repeat steps 2-5 to create additional fields.

7 Click Close.

”Creating Calculation Fields” on page 77, ”Creating File List Fields” on

The name must be unique within the library.

The fields are added to the Fields pane and the current form.

76 Chapter 9 Using Fields

This is what you see in the calculation field for the current record.

The formula for the calculation. In this example, it’s the value in First Name, a space, and the value in Last Name.

Operator buttons

8 Use the Fields pane to add or display fields.

To Do this in the Fields pane

Add a field to a form in form view or split view Drag the field to the form.

Display a field as a column in table view or split view Select a field’s checkbox.

Note In table view, you cannot see related data fields or any of the list field types, such

as address, email address, file list, message list, and simple list.

Creating Calculation Fields

To create a calculation field:

1 Choose Insert > New Field or press Control-N.

2 Choose Calculation.

3 Click Continue.

4 Name the field.

5 Build a formula for your calculation.

To ad d Do this

A reference to a field In the Available Fields list, double-click a field name.

A mathematical or text operator

The current date Click Today to insert the current date.

The current time Click Now to insert the current time.

A pre-formatted value

Click an operator button or type an operator in the formula.

Click Value, then select a value from the list. Replace the pre-formatted value with the value you want.

6 Choose the correct data type for the result you want and set any other options.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 77

7 Click Create.

The new field is added to the Fields pane and the current form.

Tip If you are unfamiliar with creating calculations, click Show Examples to see and

experiment with examples of calculations.

To create a calculation in a simple list field:

1 Click the pop-up menu in a column header.

2 Choose Change To > Calculation.

3 Choose Edit Column Name to open the calculation dialog.

4 Build a formula for your calculation as described in steps 5 and 6 in the

procedure above.

Creating File List Fields

Use a file list field to store a list of aliases to files or folders on your computer. Each alias contains a path to a specific file or folder in a specific location on your hard drive.

Storing a file alias creates a connection, or link, to the actual file on your computer. Moving, renaming, or deleting the file will break the connection to that file. (To reestablish the connection, you will need to add the file alias into the field again.) Aliased files are included when you export a template with data but not when you back up or restore data.

You can quickly open files or applications that are stored in file list fields. For example, you could store an alias to a PDF file of a prospective employee's resume. If you double-click the PDF icon, the document opens in your system's default application for viewing PDF files.

To create a file list field and add files to it:

1 Choose Insert > New Field or press Control-N.

2 Choose File List.

3 Name the field.

4 Click Create.

The new field is added to the Fields pane and the current form.

Tip You can see file list fields in form view but not in table view. Choose View >

Split View so that when you’re working in table view you can also see file list fields in form view.

5 In the bottom-left corner of the table for the file list field, click or choose

Insert > File.

6 In the Open dialog, navigate to the file you want to include in the file list field,

then click Select.

78 Chapter 9 Using Fields

You can also drag files from the Finder to the file list field.

7 To open a file in the field, click and choose Open, or double-click the

file thumbnail or row in the field.

• Folders are not included when you export a template with data.

• You can preview files that are stored in file list fields with Quick Look. See

”Previewing Files with Quick Look” on page 89. See also ”Working with Files Stored in File List Fields and Message List Fields” on page 88.

• When you export records with a template that includes data, aliased files are

also exported. For more information, see Collection, or Smart Collection” on page 113.

”Exporting from a Library,

Creating Message List Fields

Use a message list field to store aliases to Mac OS X Mail messages, notes, and RSS articles that are relevant to a specific record. For example, you can keep a log of correspondence linked to a project or event.

Note Because the message list field stores aliases to messages, when you delete a

message from Mac OS X Mail, it is also deleted from the message list field.

To create a message list field:

1 Choose Insert > New Field or press Control-N.

2 Choose Message List.

3 Name the field.

4 Click Create.

The new field is added to the Fields pane and the current form.

Note You can see message list fields in form view but not in table view.

5 Add Mac OS X Mail items (messages, notes, and RSS articles) to the field.

See ”Adding Mac OS X Mail Items to a Message List Field” on page 88.

Creating Location Fields

In a library such as a vacation journal or customer visit log, you can use a location field to track your location (latitude and longitude) and to see a map of the location in your web browser. If you have an active connection to a wireless network and Mac OS X

10.6 installed, you can set up a location field to capture the information automatically.

To create a location field:

1 Choose Insert > New Field or press Control-N.

2 Choose Location.

3 Name the field.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 79

4 Select a format: Decimal Degrees or Degrees, Minutes & Seconds.

Example of a location in Decimal Degrees format:

37.406300° N, 121.983400° W

Example of a location in Degrees, Minutes & Seconds format: 37°24’ 23” N, 121°59’0” W

For more information about latitude and longitude values, see ”Field Types” on page 74.

5 Select “Automatically enter location” to capture your current location when a

record is modified or created (requires an active connection to a wireless network and Mac OS X 10.6 installed).

Choose “When the record is modified” or “When the record is created.”

6 Click Create.

The new field is added to the Fields pane and the current form.

Note Bento can enter your current location only if you have enabled Location

Services in System Preferences. For OS X Lion 10.7, you also need to select the Bento checkbox in the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences to allow Bento to determine your location.

Creating Related Data Fields

Use a related data field to display one or more records from a library or collection that are related to the record you are viewing.

For example, if you used the Projects library to manage planning a triathlon and wanted to display a list of vendors on a form, you could create a related data field to display the vendors that you hired to supply equipment and food. These records come from the Vendors collection. If you add a new record in the related data field, the record is displayed there but is stored in the Vendors collection.

You can create a related data field by using menu commands (as outlined below) or by dragging a library or collection to a form (see Dragging Records” on page 82).

You can see related data fields in form view but not in table view.

To create a related data field:

1 Select the library or collection you want to add a list of related records to.

2 Choose Insert > New Field or press Control-N.

3 Choose Related Data.

4 Name the field.

5 Choose the data source from the list.

The data source can be a library, collection, or Smart Collection. If you select a library, you can add any record from the library to the related data field. If you

”Creating Related Data Fields by

80 Chapter 9 Using Fields

Related data field

Drag here to show or hide the Notes section.

Go to the selected

record in its source

library or collection.

View related

records in a grid.

Show or hide the summary row.

Switch between fields listed in the Fields pane (either the data source or library).

select a collection, you can only add records from that collection to the related data field.

6 Click Create.

The new field is added to the Fields list and the current form.

7 Click to switch to grid view for the related data field.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 81

8 Click to display records from the data source you specified in step 5.

Select the records you want to add to the related data field, then click Save Changes.

• Click to add a record. If the data source is a Smart Collection, is

disabled, since you can’t add records to a Smart Collection.

• Click to remove the record from the related data field. The record still

remains in the data source (the library or collection) that the related data field is based on.

• If you delete a library or collection that a related data field is based on, the

related data field is also deleted.

• If a record that appears in a related data field is deleted in its data source, the

record is also deleted from any other related data field it appears in.

• To change the data in a related data field, click . A window opens,

showing records from the related library or collection. Any records that are already related to the current record are selected and highlighted. To add more related records, select records in the window to add, then click Save Changes. To remove records, select records in the window to remove, then click Save Changes. Records are removed only from the related data field; they remain in the data source.

Creating Related Data Fields by Dragging Records

Another way to create a related data field is to begin with a record or records that you want to relate to (appear in) another library or collection. The illustration below shows how to have related Projects records in the Vendors collection.

82 Chapter 9 Using Fields

Then, select the Vendors record(s) that you want to relate the Projects records to.

The new related data field, with records, on a form in the Vendors collection.

First, select and drag records from the Projects library that you want to relate to one or more vendors.

To create a related data field by dragging records:

1 Open the library or collection that has the records you want to relate to

another library or collection. (For example, open the Projects library.)

2 Switch to table view.

3 Select the record(s) that you want to relate to another library or collection.

(For example, to relate Projects records to the Vendors collection, select those records in the Projects library.)

4 Drag the selected records to the library or collection in the Libraries pane that

you want to relate the records to. (For example, drag the selected Projects records to the Vendors collection in the Libraries pane.)

5 If a relationship already exists between the two libraries, skip to step 6. If

there is no relationship between the two libraries, Bento asks if you want to create a related data field. Click “Choose Records.”

6 In the window of the library or collection that you dragged records to (in step

4), select the records that you want to relate to. (For example, select the vendor(s) you want to relate to the selected projects.)

Chapter 9 Using Fields 83

7 Click Add To Record.

Bento creates a new related data field in the library or collection you dragged records to in step 4. (For example, a related data field named Projects is created in the Vendors collection.)

8 In the library or collection that you dragged records to in step 4 (for example,

the Vendors collection), drag the new related data field from the Fields list onto the form.

Navigating to Related Records

To navigate among related records:

1 Click a record.

2 Click to go to the record in its library or collection and view the record’s

details.

You can edit the record you have navigated to.

3 As you navigate among records in different related data fields, you can

quickly return to the previously viewed related record by clicking navigation bar.

However, once you select an item in the Libraries pane, Bento stops keeping track

of the related records you viewed and

disappears.

in the

Using the Fields Pane

The Fields pane displays an alphabetical list of the fields that are available for the selected library or collection. Use the Fields pane to select the fields that you want to add to the current form (in form view) or to display as columns (in table view). In split view, the Fields pane indicates the fields that can be added to the current form or can be displayed in table view.

84 Chapter 9 Using Fields

Field has not been added to the current form.

Field has been added to the current form.

Field is

displayed in

table view.

Field is not

displayed in

table view.

List field has no

checkbox

because it can’t

be displayed in

table view.

In table view

In form view

Address subfields can’t be added to the form individually.

In the Fields pane you can:

• create a field by clicking

• drag a field with to a form

• select a field’s checkbox to display the field in table view

• double-click field names to modify names and settings. If a field is locked ,

you can’t modify its name or settings because it is either shared with Address Book, iCal, or iPhoto, or is reserved by Bento.

• duplicate a field by clicking and choosing Duplicate

• delete a field and its data by clicking . When you delete a field, it is

deleted from the library and from collections and related data fields that use it.

Note In the Fields pane in table view, there is no checkbox next to related data fields

or the list field types (address, email address, phone number, IM account, URL, file list, message list, and simple list) because these fields can’t be displayed in table view.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 85

Convert from:

Tex t

Number

Choice

Checkbox

Media

Time

Date

Duration

Calculation

Currency

Rating

Encrypted

Phone number

Email address

URL

IM account

Changing an Existing Field from One Type to Another

You can change the type of some fields to another. Automatic counter, location, and address fields, and any fields you access in a shared database can’t be changed to a different type.

The information in the table below also applies to changing the data type of columns in simple list fields and columns in the notes section of related data fields.

Convert to:

Tex t

• • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • •

• • •

•

• •

•

• • •

•

Number Choice Checkbox Tim e Date Duration Currency Rating Phone

• • • • • • • • • • •

Other list fields

Calculation ; Encrypted; Media

To change an existing field from one type to another:

1 Select a column name in table view.

2 Click near the right edge of a column header.

3 Choose Change To, then select a field type from the list.

Working with List Fields

Some types of list fields (address, phone number, email address, URL, and IM account) have a pop-up menu from which you can quickly perform actions such as displaying the selected phone number in large type, getting directions to or from the selected address, and displaying a map for the selected address.

86 Chapter 9 Using Fields

Sending Emails

In form view and table view, you can quickly send emails to your family, friends, or colleagues.

To send an email in form view:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Click next to the email address field.

If you see , the email address is not valid.

3 The default email application opens and displays a blank email message

addressed to the name in the email address field.

4 Compose the message and send it.

To send an email in table view:

1 Select one or more email address fields.

You can select any block of fields to quickly select multiple email address fields.

2 Choose Edit > Email Selected Address or press Shift-Command-M.

3 The default email application opens and displays a blank email message

addressed to the name or names in the selected email address field or fields.

4 Compose the message and send it.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 87

Adding Mac OS X Mail Items to a Message List Field

In message list fields, you can store aliases to Mac OS X Mail messages, notes, and RSS articles that are relevant to a specific record. For instructions on creating message list fields, see

Note Storing an alias in Bento does not store the email message in Bento; it simply

links to the message that’s in Mail. If you remove the message from Mail, the message will also be removed from Bento.

To add a Mac OS X Mail message, note or RSS article to a message list field:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 In the bottom-left corner of the message list field, click to open the Mac

3 In Mac OS X Mail, select a folder that contains messages, notes, or RSS articles.

4 Drag one or more items to the message list field.

”Creating Message List Fields” on page 79.

OS X Mail application.

Tip Click to show the fields for the message list field in the Fields pane.

To open the items in Mac OS X Mail, see ”Working with Files Stored in File List Fields and Message List Fields” on page 88.

Working with Files Stored in File List Fields and Message List Fields

When browsing records, you can quickly open files or applications stored in file list fields, and Mac OS X Mail messages, notes, and RSS articles stored in message list fields.

To open files stored in a file list field or message list field:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Select one or more items in the file list field or message list field. Command-

click to select nonadjacent items.

3 Click and choose Open (file list) or (message list), or double-click

the items you want to open.

4 The application associated with each item starts and displays the contents of

the items.

For example, if you double-click a PDF file and a QuickTime movie file, the Mac OS X Preview and QuickTime Player applications start and display the PDF file and the QuickTime movie file. If you double-click an email message, note, or RSS article, the Mac OS X Mail application starts and displays the Mac OS X Mail item.

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To view files stored in a file list field:

1 Click to display the items in a table.

2 Click to switch back to the grid format.

Click to change the display size of items in grid format.

To email a file from a file list field:

1 In the file list field, select one or more filenames that you want to email.

2 At the bottom-left of the file list field, click , then choose “Send in

Mail.”

The Mac OS X Mail application opens.

3 Enter the recipients’ names, make any changes to the subject and message,

then click Send.

Previewing Files with Quick Look

With Quick Look, you can quickly view the contents of an item in a file list field or message list field without opening it.

To preview a file:

1 Select a form in the navigation bar or choose View > Form View > Form Name.

2 Select one or more items in a file list field or message list field.

3 Click and choose Quick Look filename or press the Space bar.

The content you see depends on the type of file. If it’s an image, you see a smaller version of it. If it’s a text document, you can read the text and scroll to see more. If you selected multiple items, you can use the arrow keys or the buttons at the bottom of the Quick Look window to move from one item to another.

Working with Simple List Fields

You work with columns and rows in simple list fields in much the same way as you do in table view. This section tells you how to do some things with simple list fields. For more information about working with columns, see in Table View” on page 63.

To add information to a simple list, first you need to create a field of the type Simple List. See

”Creating Fields” on page 76.

”Working with Fields and Columns

Chapter 9 Using Fields 89

You can drag a simple list field from the Fields pane onto a form and start typing to add data that is relevant to the record. Bento creates a text field by default, but you can change the field type of the column.

You can work with media data in simple list fields, just as you do in media fields. For more information, see

”Working with Media Fields” on page 95. Also, you can create, view, and edit calculations in simple list fields. For more information see ”Creating Calculation Fields” on page 77.

To add data to a simple list field:

1 Click in a field of the column to which you want to add data, then type in the

field.

2 Press Tab to create another column, where you can continue typing in the

same record.

Note You can also copy and paste data from table view or a spreadsheet file into a

simple list field.

To add a column in a simple list field:

Click near the right edge of a column header, choose Add Column Before or Add Column After. Type a new name for the column, then press Return or Tab.

To change the name of a column in a simple list field:

Do one of these:

• Double-click the column name, type a new name, then press Return or Tab.

• Click near the right edge of a column header and choose Edit Column

Name, then change the column name in the dialog. There, you can also change whether you want Bento to complete text automatically as you type in the field.

To change a column from one data type to another:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Change To, then select a data type from the list.

Note Not all data types can be changed. For more information, see ”Changing an

Existing Field from One Type to Another” on page 86.

To delete a column in a simple list field:

Click near the right edge of a column header, then choose Delete Column.

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To show or hide columns in a simple list field:

1 Click in the lower-right corner of the simple list field.

2 To show a column, in the Fields pane, select the checkbox next to the column

name.

To hide a column, do one of these:

• Click near the right edge of a column header, then choose Hide Column.

• Click in the lower-right corner of the simple list field. Then, in the Fields

pane, deselect the checkbox next to the column name.

To sho w or hide the summary row in a simple list field:

Do one of these:

• Choose View > Show Summary Row or Hide Summary Row.

• Click in the lower-right corner of the simple list field.

For more information about the summary row, see ”Summarizing Column Data” on page 67.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 91

Click to switch between the displays in the Fields pane.

Fields pane displaying columns in the simple list field

Fields pane displaying fields in the library

To switch between views in the Fields pane:

Click in the lower-right corner of a simple list field to switch between displaying columns in the simple list field and displaying the fields in the library in the Fields pane.

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Working with Related Data Fields

In a related data field, you can store information about records that is relevant to the data source but isn’t linked to the data source. This information is stored in a separate section of the related data field called notes.

For example, in a Recipes library that has a related data field linked to the Ingredients library, you could store information such as the required amount of each ingredient in a recipe in the notes section of the Ingredients related data field. In other fields in the notes section, you could add details about how to prepare the ingredient or the name of the store where you purchased it. The information in the note fields is not stored in the Ingredients library.

Notes fields

Related records from

the Ingredients library

Click to display records in a grid format.

You can create, view, and edit calculations in the notes section. For more information see

”Creating Calculation Fields” on page 77.

To display the notes section:

Position your cursor on the right edge of a related data field. When the cursor changes

, drag it to the left. You see the notes section with the first notes column (named

to New Column) created for you. Type a new name for the column, then press Return or Tab .

To add a column in the notes section:

Click near the right edge of a column header, choose Add Column Before or Add Column After. Type a new name for the column, then press Return or Tab.

To change the name of a column in the notes section:

Do one of these:

• Double-click the column name, type a new name, then press Return or Tab.

• Click near the right edge of a column header and choose Edit Column

Name, then change the column name in the dialog. There, you can also change whether you want Bento to complete text automatically as you type in the field.

To change a column from one data type to another:

1 Click near the right edge of a column header.

2 Choose Change To, then select a data type from the list.

Note Not all data types can be changed. For more information, see ”Changing an

Existing Field from One Type to Another” on page 86.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 93

To sho w or hide the summary row :

Do one of these:

• Choose View > Show Summary Row or Hide Summary Row.

• Click .

For more information about the summary row, see ”Summarizing Column Data” on page 67.

To delete a column in the notes section:

Click near the right edge of a column header, then choose Delete Column.

To sort records in related data fields:

Click the pop-up menu in a column header, then choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.

To display related data records in a grid format:

Click to display the records in a grid.

To set labels for grid view items:

1 In grid view, click .

2 Click the Title pop-up menu, then choose up to two fields.

Each field’s data is displayed as a label for the grid items.

If you don’t want a label to be displayed, choose the dash symbol for the field.

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Working with Media Fields

You can add many types of sound, image, and movie files to a media field, including JPEG, QuickTime, and MP3 files.

If you add a sound file that you purchased from the iTunes Store, you may have to enter the account name and password for the account that was used to purchase the sound file.

Note You can’t add movie files that you purchased from the iTunes Store.

Tip Use an image box if you want an image such as a logo or letterhead to appear on

every record in your form. For more information about image boxes, see Image Boxes” on page 56.

Taking Photos

If your computer has an iSight camera, you can take pictures with it to use in your forms.

To take a photo:

1 Click an empty media field.

For information about how to create a media field, see ”Creating Fields” on page 76.

”Adding

2 Click .

3 In the window, click , then wait for the image to appear.

4 Optional: Click , then select a special effect to apply to the photo.

5 Click Set to save and load the image into the media field.

Tip To back up a photo, export it. For more information, see ”Exporting Images” on

page 97.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 95

Adding Media Files

You can add sound, image (pictures, graphics, and so on), and movie files to media fields. Image files include images from the web or other applications such as iPhoto.

To add a media file:

1 Click in the media field.

2 Drag a media file from the Finder, iPhoto, or iTunes to the media field or click

to choose a file.

Except for iTunes files, when you add a media file, Bento copies it into the bento.bentodb file. When you add an iTunes file to a media field, Bento creates an alias to the file.

If you don’t want to copy the media file into Bento, hold down the Option key

after you start dragging the media file to the media field. An arrow the thumbnail. Bento creates an alias that contains a path to a specific file in a specific location on your hard drive. If you use an alias for the media file, and then move or rename the original media file, the alias to it is broken.

3 In the Open dialog, select the image you want to add, then click Open.

appears on

Playing a Movie or Sound File

Playing a movie or sound file in Bento is similar to how you play a movie or sound file in QuickTime Player.

To play a movie or sound file:

1 Click in the media field.

2 Click in the playbar to start the movie or sound file.

Drag the slider up or down to adjust the volume.

3 To pause the movie or sound file, click . To restart playing the movie or

sound file, click .

Positioning Images

You can move an image in any direction within a media field.

To position an image:

1 Click in the media field.

2 Drag the image within the field.

If you drag the image out of view, select Fit to Frame to bring it back into view.

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Changing the Display Size of Images

You can change the display size of an image within the media field.

To change the display size of an image:

1 Click in the media field.

2 Drag the zoom slider to zoom in or out on the image.

3 Select Fit to Frame to make the image the same size as the field.

Exporting Images

You can export (save) any image file with a different name or in a different location. It is saved in its original file format.

To export an image:

1 Click in the media field.

2 Click .

3 In the Save As dialog, navigate to the folder where you want to save the

image file.

4 Type a name, then click Save.

Deleting Media Files

When you delete a media file from a record, it is permanently deleted from its library and from any collections within the same library.

To delete content in a media field:

1 Click in the media field.

2 Press the Delete key or choose Edit > Clear.

Working with Encrypted Fields

In Bento, to encrypt data in a field, you must first create a field of the type encrypted. See

”Creating Fields” on page 76.

You can store sensitive data in encrypted fields. When you enter data in encrypted fields, it is securely stored in your Bento database and can only be read within Bento. Encrypted data in a locked field is displayed as bullets.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 97

If you attempt to enter data in an encrypted field and you have not already set the Database Password, you won’t be able to proceed until you do so. For information about setting the Database Password, see Database” on page 98.

You can search encrypted fields if they are unlocked. For more information about searching, see

”Search Field and Advanced Find” on page 25.

”Setting a Password for Your Bento

Setting a Password for Your Bento Database

You can set a password to protect your database. The Database Password also protects all encrypted fields. To set a password for accessing a shared database, see Password for a Shared Database” on page 34.

To set the Database Password:

1 Choose Bento > Preferences.

2 Click Security at the top of the window.

3 Select Use Database Password.

4 For Enter Database Password, type the password. Maximum length is 20

characters.

5 For Confirm, type the password again.

6 (Optional) For Password Hint, type a word or phrase to help you remember

the password.

7 Keep your password in a safe place.

”Setting a

Important If you forget your password, it is not possible to recover it.

8 Click Set Password.

9 Click the lock to prevent further changes.

To clear the Database Password:

1 Choose Bento > Preferences.

2 Click Security at the top of the window.

3 Click the lock to make changes.

4 Enter your Database Password, then click Submit.

5 Deselect Use Database Password.

You can’t deselect Use Database Password if there are encrypted fields in use.

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Locking Bento

You can lock Bento to hide the Bento window and protect your data.

To lock Bento:

1 Choose Bento > Preferences.

2 Click Security at the top of the window.

3 Click the lock to make changes.

4 Select “Require Database Password when Bento starts.”

5 Choose Bento > Lock Bento.

The Bento window is hidden.

To make the Bento window visible again:

1 Enter your Database Password.

2 Click Submit.

Locking and Unlocking Data in Encrypted Fields

Locking encrypted fields helps keep your data safer, since you have to first unlock the fields before viewing the data. After you lock encrypted fields, you can’t modify their contents until you unlock them.

To lock data in all encrypted fields:

In form view, select an encrypted field and click next to the field. Then select Lock Encrypted Fields. In table view, select an encrypted field and click the pop-up menu in the column header, then choose Lock Encrypted Fields.

A appears next to all encrypted fields in form view, and bullets replace the contents of all encrypted fields.

Note You can’t copy data from encrypted fields, and you can’t paste into encrypted

fields when they are locked.

To unlock data in all encrypted fields:

1 In form view, select an encrypted field and click next to the field. Then

select Unlock Encrypted Fields. In table view, select an encrypted field and click the pop-up menu in the column header, then choose Unlock Encrypted Fields.

2 Enter your Database Password, then click Submit.

A appears next to all encrypted fields in form view.

Chapter 9 Using Fields 99

Showing or Hiding Data in Encrypted Fields

To show data in an encrypted field:

In form view, select the encrypted field and click . In table view, click the pop-up menu in the column header, then choose Show Encrypted Field Contents.

The data you encrypted replaces the bullets.

To hide data in an encrypted field:

In form view, select the encrypted field and click . In table view, click the pop-up menu in the column header, then choose Hide Encrypted Field Contents.

Bullets replace the encrypted data.

Note You can’t copy and paste when the data in encrypted fields is hidden.

Working with Location Fields

In a library such as a vacation journal or customer visit log, you can use a location field to track your location (latitude and longitude) and to see a map of the location in your web browser.

For information about creating location fields and setting options for them, see ”Creating Location Fields” on page 79.

To enter latitude and longitude values:

1 Select a location field.

2 In the Latitude field, enter a value from -90 to 90 degrees.

Press Option-Shift-8 to enter the degrees symbol (“ ° ”).

3 In the Longitude field, enter a value from -180 to 180 degrees (or 0 to 360

degrees).

Decimal Degrees format (Example: 37.406300° N, 121.983400° W). If you type a value that is a positive decimal number, Bento adds the degrees symbol and the direction (N or E) automatically. For a negative decimal number, Bento adds the degrees symbol and the direction (S or W) automatically.

Degrees, Minutes & Seconds format (Example: 37°24’ 23” N, 121°59’0” W). Type the degrees value (positive or negative), followed by the degrees symbol (“ then the minutes value followed by the minutes symbol (‘), then the seconds value followed by the seconds symbol (“).

Tip If you want Bento to format a coordinate for you, type just the degrees value

(without the degrees symbol). Bento provides default values for the rest of the coordinate. Then you can change the minutes, seconds, and direction values as needed.

100 Chapter 9 Using Fields

° ”),

FileMaker Bento 4 User’s Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Bento® 4

Welcome to Bento

Managing Data in Libraries

Importing Data from Other Applications

Creating Collections

Creating Relationships

About This Document

Resources for Learning More

Overview of Bento

Home Dialog

Bento Window

Libraries Pane

Records Area

Search Field and Advanced Find

Fields Pane

Using Libraries

About Libraries

Creating a Library Using the Bento Templates

Creating a New Blank Library

Changing the Icon for a Library

Sharing Your Bento Database

Turning Off Database Sharing

Looking for Shared Databases

Setting a Password for a Shared Database

Opening a Password-Protected Shared Database

Working with Shared Encrypted Fields

Grouping Libraries

Deleting Records from a Library

Deleting a Library

Using the Address Book Library

About the Address Book Library

Displaying Data from the Address Book Application

Bento Address Book Fields That Update the Address Book Application

Troubleshooting Address Book Updates

Address Book Data and Backups

Migrating the iCal, iPhoto, and Address Book Libraries

Migrating the iCal Libraries

Migrating the iPhoto Library

Migrating the Address Book Library

Using Collections

About Collections

Creating Collections

Removing Records from a Collection

Deleting a Collection

About Smart Collections

Creating Smart Collections

Changing a Smart Collection

Using Form View

About Forms

Creating Records in Form View

Editing Records in Form View

Adding the Current Date and Time to a Field

Duplicating Records in Form View

Deleting Records in Form View

Creating Forms

Deleting Forms

Showing and Hiding Forms

Duplicating Forms

Copying Forms

Renaming Forms

Locking and Unlocking Forms

Adding Fields to a Form

Tabbing Between Fields

Moving Fields and Objects on Forms

Resizing Fields and Objects

Removing Fields from a Form

Customizing Form Layouts

Changing the Theme

Resizing Column Widths

Changing the Position and Size of Field Labels

Changing the Size of Text

Changing the Shading of Fields

Aligning the Right Edges of Fields

Adding Text Boxes

Adding Image Boxes

Adding Horizontal Separators