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Jan
20
Bento Data On Multiple Machines
Filed Under Bento Tips
David Stewart submitted the following suggestion which seems to work really well (but may be dependent upon your internet connection speed since the bento.bentodb file will now be stored on-line). However, please, please backup your bento.bentodb file and keep it backed up because neither David nor I will accept responsibility for any data loss this idea may cause. Having said that I’ve been using it for a few days and he has been using it for even longer with no problems. Please also note that this will not work properly if you have Libraries which use the Address Book and iCal databases.
Here’s what David said…
I’ve found a way to use one database in multiple locations. It’s not too complicated, and it works seamlessly.
I use Dropbox by Evenflow (www.getdropbox.com). Dropbox is a file synchronization and sharing tool that works automatically.
Installed on a machine (Mac or PC) and with an account set up, Dropbox creates a Dropbox folder in your home folder and runs a background program that manages synching. All computers with Dropbox installed and linked to the same account will then maintain the same files in their Dropbox folders. In addition, the files are maintained by Evenflow on their servers, and are thus web-accessible.
So how do you keep the Bento database synched?
Keep the database in the Dropbox folder and tell Bento to find it there by creating a symbolic link in the ~/Library/Application Support/ folder titled “Bento.”
Rather than using a single file for the database, this method maintains identical files on multiple machines. This means you have to take some care in use. Make sure that you quit Bento when you’re done, so that the database file will not be open on multiple machines and receiving different changes on each. Also remember to give Dropbox time on each machine time to sync the database file before you fire up Bento.
Dropbox is free for up to 2GB of file storage, and higher priced for more storage. This should provide plenty of space for a Bento database file. And if you need a larger scale syncing solution, Dropbox might be that solution.
So how do you do this?
1. Download and setup Dropbox.
2. Copy the Bento database file from ~/Library/Application Support/Bento to
your Dropbox (~/Dropbox). The file is called bento.bentodb. Wait until the file has been synchronised.
3. Move the Bento folder out of ~/Library/Application Support, to somewhere else, like your Desktop.
4. Start Terminal, and at the command prompt type ‘cd ‘ and then type:
cd /Users/[Your User Name]/Library/Application\ Support/
5. Next type:
ln -s /Users/[Your User Name]/Dropbox ./Bento
A symbolic link is created which effectively re-directs the ~/Library/Application Support/Bento folder to your ~/Dropbox folder.
One your other Macs you simply need to repeat steps 3, 4 and 5.
If you are going to install Dropbox just to implement this idea then you can simply tell Dropbox to use your existing ~/Library/Application Support/Bento folder as its base folder and then you can skip the five steps above on your main Mac and do steps 3, 4 and 5 on your other Macs.
A very short movie showing the process is also available for download.
Lion Update
This will all work on Mac OS X 10.7, Lion, but your Library folder is hidden by default. To access it open a Finder window and type Shift-Command-G and then enter ‘~/Library’ as the folder you want to go to.
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36 Responses to “Bento Data On Multiple Machines”
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We had one report in the Bento forums of a corrupted data file after prolonged use of Dropbox… The lady had to ditch the data file and create a brand new one.
So it’s not only potential data loss, but also potential data FILE loss…
That’s why the disclaimer at the beginning of your article is important.
Indeed. There are many things which can go wrong with a hack like this so it is important that people understand that they use them at their own risk and that backups of the bento.bentodb file are crucial. Also, don’t keep just one backup because you may well over-write a good backup file with a corrupt one. Keep several and use something like the date to differentiate them.
Anent Florian’s comment:
I would suggest that the corruption might not have been due to Dropbox, as pre-Dropbox I had Bento mangle its own database file once.
However, even given that, note that Dropbox maintains many backup versions of the files it stores, so rather than creating a brand new file it’s quite possible to restore an earlier version.
Your mileage may vary, but of course backing up is worthwhile (and you could store the backups in Dropbox as well). Bento will do this automatically for you weekly or monthly, and really, with that, no one should ever suffer more than six days’ loss no matter what happens.
I would reiterate the point that, if your only need for Dropbox is using one database for Bento on multiple computers, you can simply make the ~/Library/Application Support/Bento folder your Dropbox folder in Dropbox’s preferences.
Also I have subsequently read in the Bento forums over at FileMaker that a user said that his firm uses this method, with a single (cloned by Dropbox) Bento database, and multiple users using the Bento db at the same time. According to this post, Dropbox syncing actually combines the changes of all the users, and at the end of the day, after everyone has finished with Bento, every user’s changes are incorporated and the database reflects this. If users need updates input by other users during the day, all they need to do is close Bento and restart it, and other users’ changes will be in the database.
For this to work, would one need a separate Bento license for each computer used to access the Dropbox database?
I’m afraid I can’t give you a definitive reply because I can’t find the license agreement for Bento. It is probably worth asking in the official forums at http://forums.filemaker.com/fmbnto/ to see if a license is for a user or a computer.
I am doing something wrong every time a start up Bento it creates a new db file rather than using the one in dropbox
It sounds like the symbolic link isn’t being created or is pointing to the wrong thing so Bento cannot find the bento.bentodb file and creates a new one. All I can suggest is try the process again and see if it works (you may have made a typo) and watch the demo video. I’m not really able to help diagnose specific issues other than to say that it does work once it is set up properly.
I had the same problem as RMM where Bento kept creating a new database. I reviewed instructions several times and realized that in step 3 “move Bento FOLDER” I erroneously moved the Bento .db file (referenced in step 2). Once I moved the FOLDER everything worked fine.
This is working well for me, thank you.
Would it also work with my entire Library>Mail folder do you think? What are the risks?
I think that would be risky. Have you thought about using IMAP for your mail rather than POP3? It allows you to have all of your emails on multiple machines. I use a company called FastMail (http://www.fastmail.com) if you want to look into it.
I am wanting to try this as it would be a HUGE help for me, but I’d like to know how to reverse this change first (just in case). Specifically, what would the terminal command be to simply re-route Bento back to the default location?
You’d simply need to delete the linking Bento folder in your Library/Application Support folder. You can be sure that it is the linking folder because it will have a small arrow on it like this:
You’d then just create a new Bento folder in your Library/Application Support folder and copy your bento.bentodb file into it.
I have only used Bento for a couple of days now (I’m a Filemaker Pro user from way back but I wanted something I could run on my iPod Touch).
I’ve been successfully syncing Bento between two Macs using Chronosync (a program I’ve used for ages and can recommend). You can sync entire hard drives, folders or individual files so you can either sync your home folder or just the Bento database folder.
Re David’s comment: I am thinking of buying Bento 2.0 but a must-do is easy operation on 2 machines. I use an iMac and travel with a PB Pro for days or months at a time. I have just installed Chronosync sharing Home folders and like it. Is there any setup needed for Bento and is it still working OK? I am not a hardened db user – in fact rather a set-and-forget klutz.
I think Bento will be a big help for me if it works as I need a contact management solution for a 1-person, 2-computer business.
After doing this, it does sync the two computers, but now my iPod touch runs Bento much slower, significantly slower.
Tried this and it works fine with standard libraries but I can’t seem to get Smart Collections to work. I’ve had the main db in the dropbox and sync’d the library/applications support/bento folder but still it doesn’t want to work. Any suggestions?
I tried this, and it works fine on the main computer, the aliases is working correct, but Bento will not open the database on the “other” mac.
Might Dropbox “do” something with the files?
A related question: I use Bento on my MacPro (MP) and MacBookPro (MBP). I have file references in some of my templates on the MP of the form:
/Users/MP_name/Documents/My Docs/myfile.pdf
I sync “My Docs” and the Bento database between the machines using an NDAS drive and cronosync software. The problem is that once I, for example, sync the Bento DB from my MP to my MBP, my files cannot be accessed since my user name is different on the MBP (everything else is the same). So the file reference is as above but it exists on my MBP at:
/Users/MBP_name/Documents/My Docs/myfile.pdf
not
/Users/MP_name/Documents/My Docs/myfile.pdf
I thought one work around would be to reference all my files as, e.g.,:
~/Documents/My Docs/myfile.pdf
however the ~ cannot be used in the path name within Bento. Does anyone have a work around for this?
Many thanks!
Joe Retzer
How about simply redirecting Bento?
Hold down the Option Key while launching Bento and relocate Bento to your DropBox.
Saw the Option yet have not tried it.
Any other workarounds? Just want to examine my options before trying one. We really love Bento and want to use it in the office on the server between a few machines.
I think that your biggest problem would be having concurrent users, something Bento currently doesn’t allow (I imagine that this is to preserve FileMaker Pro sales). It may be that a future version might allow it and I’m hoping that Bento 3 might appear in the next month or two if FileMaker Inc. are aiming at annual releases like iWork has.
I am new to mac and really want to use Bento instead of trying to use Filemaker. I just don’t want to make the time or financial investment. My assistant and I are trying to get this to work. But we tried to do this by duplicating the file and placing it in Dropbox. Then holding down the alt/option key and redirecting bento to open from there. It really tried to work when we were using iDisk/Mobile Me, but when we used Dropbox, nothing worked.
I’m not quite sure I understand your directions. I know this is a lot to ask, but can you give us a very laymen’s explanation of how to do this? We would only use dropbox for this purpose. I appreciate your help.
Hi Erin.
First, a word of warning… If you both try to use Bento with a single, shared data file then you will probably corrupt it and you will probably destroy your data. The Dropbox solution is intended to be for single users with multiple machines or, if you are very, very careful, people like you where you can be sure that only one of you will be running Bento at any one time. Please, please, proceed with caution!
Since you are only going to use Dropbox for this I’d recommend that you share a single Dropbox account between you. this way you can simply install Dropbox and during the setup process, when it asks you to choose a folder to be your top-level Dropbox folder you select your Bento folder which is in the Application Support folder in your Library folder. When you do this on the second machine make sure that the Bento folder is empty and does not contain any bento.bentodb or other files.
This screenshot should show you which folder you need to select:
Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!
Hi, I’m really interested in this thread and the idea of multiple users. I purchased Bento 3 thinking this would answer the problem of multiple users and, although it’s quite good, there’s a fatal flaw.
In single user, the file list field windows are a great way to speedily access and open documents on a central server. However, on the multi-user Bento 3, although all users can use this function to open documents (and it works great) only the master user can add files to the file list windows.
Am I missing something or is this how it works? Has anyone found a way around this?
All ideas welcome.
Thanks, Norm
Norman, you’re not missing anything, this is how Bento is handling it. You have to look at it this way: the database is physically only on the host’s computer. The file list field adds aliases for files it can “see.” It can’t see any files on other computers, so the aliases can’t be added. The other computers are peeking into the host’s computer, that’s actually a one way street, so to speak.
As you might know, there are other restrictions. The client computers also can not makes changes to the layout or add fields. Only the field data that’s stored in the database can be edited.
You can go to the Bento forums and discuss it with our Bento tech support people. They have a direct link to the development team which i myself severed…
I currently have a five seat license for Bento and would like to store all data on my time capsule hard drive. The drive works well for sharing .PDF files with mac laptops. i would like to move to the next level with bento customer and contact manager. Any suggestions?
T,
try to get some ideas from the previous posts in this thread or ask your questions in the Bento forums. All I can think of is backing up your Bento data onto your external drive and try to restore it with a different computer. This will only work if it doesn’t include Address Book or iCal data, since every computer has different ones.
Sounds like filemaker server is a better option
AWESOME SAUCE!!! This definitely works. I use Bento to manage an online community and it has been great for keeping tabs on super user outreaches. The only problem was I use a desktop imac in my office and a laptop for travel. This hack should help me tons in keeping things together (I’m a huge Drop Box fan anyway).
NOTE: for Step 3 you must move the FOLDER out of the Library, not just the Bento.db file. I messed this up a few times before realizing. Once I moved the folder, the link was created.
Thanks!
Hello,
Chiming in on this several months later…
I moved my Bento database to Dropbox, after I discovered that you can option-click the Bento icon in the Dock (or in the Applications folder) and tell the app where your database is stored. This is similar to what happens in iPhoto and iTunes.
This keeps the Bento database in sync between my desktop and laptop Macs and is working great (I just tested it again before posting, adding a note to a field in one of my records).
* As always, be sure and backup your database as well. I use a (Apple) Backup script to save a copy of the database on iDisk. Also, as indicated in this thread, I wouldn’t recommend having Bento running on both Macs at the same time.
Thanks for all the tips and great posts!
Can you update this for Lion?
Updated.
Thanks for the Lion update. Works great!
Genius ! Thanks for the code
Might I suggest that the tip above be edited to encourage the method first put forth by Kal MichaeL in this thread (and presumably supported by Bento) as the preferred option? I’m trying to think of a reason for the symbolic link if Bento supports the ability to open a different db by default on load and can’t come up with one. Just store your bento db in Dropbox, option-open Bento once, choose the location, then be done with this. At least this way, Bento will offer a modicum of support. They may still blame Dropbox for the corruption, but they cant blame *us* for an unsupported workaround…
Carl,
I would still not call the workaround “supported by Bento” because this option-open feature is an unofficial one that has not been documented by the Bento developers team.