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9

The Bento Data File Date and Time

Filed Under Bento Basics 

Bento appears to use a single data file to store your Libraries and this file is called bento.bentodb and is stored in your user’s Library/Application Support/Bento folder. If you look at the details of this file via, for example, Get Info’ then you may notice that the Modified date is not the same as the date when you last used Bento, This is because the bento.bentodb file is actually a Bundle which is essentially a folder which containing other files and folders but appears to be a single file. Within this bundle there is a file called ‘database’ and this is the file that is updated every time you use Bento.

You may wonder how Time Machine handles the bento.bentodb file considering that it doesn’t appear change but Time Machine is clever enough to work out that the contents of the bundle have changed and will therefore back it up as it would any other changed file.

Comments

6 Responses to “The Bento Data File Date and Time”

  1. msw70 on October 30th, 2009 8:01 am

    Do you happen to know whether Bento’s records are stored separately or as one huge file? Time Machine saves versions, not just one copy of a file, so every file that changes between backups is duplicated. I’m wondering if changing a single record in one Bento Library or Collection results in *all* of your libraries being reproduced.

  2. Florian on October 30th, 2009 11:30 am

    Mark,
    it’s one huge file. And I can only hope that time machine is smart enough to “see” a small change, because the modified date of the database file doesn’t ever seem to change. It’s a “package file,” including several folders within. Maybe time machine can also see small changes in the overall file size and doesn’t just go by the modified date.

  3. Laurent on April 26th, 2010 6:55 pm

    Do you know how that affects the ability of Apple iDisk to recognized the latest version? In order to sync a Bento database between my laptop and desktop, I save the db file on the iDisk, which is synced between the two. That does not work very well however and I was wondering if the way Bento keeps track of modified dates could have something to do with it? Also, how do I move the db file location? I want to remove it from the iDisk and store it locally again but it seems to always revert to the iDisk.

  4. Florian on April 26th, 2010 7:54 pm

    Laurent, you might be right regarding the date.
    And when you “revert from backup,” Bento remembers the last location. Once you change it in the dialog box, it should remember it the next time.

  5. Alfredo on November 10th, 2010 4:40 am

    I work with a desktop mac and a Macbook laptop frequently. I use sugarsyn to syncronise the files in different computers. My questions are: Can a I sync Bento data file so I can use it in both computers through sugarsync? In which folder is the Bento data file? Can I change the folder where the bento data file is kept?
    Thank you in advance for your advice

  6. Florian on November 10th, 2010 7:04 am

    Alfredo,
    I haven’t heard of sugarsync. But you can just play around with it and see how it works.
    The main Bento database file is called bento.bentodb and you’ll find it here:
    (user)/Library/Application Support/Bento
    You can NOT CHANGE this default location. But you can try to work with a backup of the database file. Just choose “backup Bento data” (File menu). You can name that backup file and place it anywhere you want and just sync THAT file.
    One problem to consider: any Address Book or iCal data referenced in the Bento database file will NOT just transfer from one computer to the other. You would have to create archive files in those applications directly.

    Hope that helps.

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