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May
10
Template Ideas, Please!
Filed Under Bento Tips
Here’s a good tip: if you are looking for a particular template, leave us a comment right here! There are many Bento users out there who love to figure out how to create the perfect solution.
Additional requests: please don’t ask for a template that is very simple and straightforward. Try to work on it yourself first. If you get stuck, comment right here and ask for help.
Secondly, try to include details in your requests, like field names or special features.
I’ll start: I get frequent requests for a Wedding Planner Template.
To follow my own new rules: it should include, for example, a guest list, a list of the gifts, the priest, the wedding party, the reception, tracking of different projects and side-events, like the invitations, who’s taking care of the flowers, the bridal shower, etc.
Who wants to take a crack at it?
Let the creative juices flow… and submit the finished template to BentoUsers.com! Thanks in advance in the name of all current and future Bento addicts.
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50 Responses to “Template Ideas, Please!”
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I manage a performing arts venue and have recently began using Bento 2 for client management.
I’ve developed a pretty nice layout for looking at a clients vital stats, including event dates, contract amounts, payment due dates, follow up fields with priority ranking, related files, and more.
The thing that I would love more than anything would be the option to input data into the field layout, and have a contract populated with the data.
Contract language is standard, but entry of the various data including contact, dates booked, contract amounts, deposits, and payment structures are all dynamic fields.
That’s my dream, but I don’t know if the Application can accommodate.
Alex,
have you worked with Related Record List fields (totally different from related files)? Seems to me that this should be doable. You could create a Contract Language Library and then create several Relational Loops to account for the dynamic data. Tell me if you have more questions about that. If you have already tried that and didn’t get anywhere I would have to see your main template (layout).
I have a friend whose needs would be met with a travel agency template. It should be pretty simple: there are conference trips with various options, there are (potential) participants. And those could be interrelated.
I would not mind seeing a gardening template – something to track what I have planted in my garden, when I am to prune it, where I planted it, a picture image of what it is supposed to look like. Nothing complicated.
Graham,
that is so simple that I don’t see a reason not to try this yourself! Give it a shot and send it to me.
Jens,
please come up with a list of fields (titles) that should be included.
These recent comments have prompted me to revise my post to make clearer how we should go about the templates. I will do this later today.
I am interested in using Bento to conduct fire inspections.
All of the locations to be inspected are already in address book and I would like each inspection created to appear in ical.
These inspections are done once a year so there would be many inspection records to one location.
The majority of the fields would be choice (Yes/No/Not Applicable but some would require direct entry of data.
NOTE Each of the addresses in address book has a photo and I would like that photo to appear in the bento record as well.
AJ
AJ,
I’m going to add my 2 cents to help you or another template builder to get started.
This doesn’t sound very complicated, so I would encourage you to make the first attempt yourself.
If you want the inspections to appear in iCal you should create your records in iCal Events, as a collection.
The Addresses would be in a related record list field.
For the photos you could either add the same photo in a picture field to the collection, OR take advantage of the new feature of the RRL: click once to peek at the original address record, a second time to jump back to your inspections collection.
Besides the choice fields, just create a text field: “additional remarks” or the like.
Bento is a playground – have fun with your creation!
In addition you could create smart collections for each location.
Florian,
2 cents–5 cents its all appreciated.
I know exactly what I want to do and am confident that I can handle most of this. My weakness lies in
1-I want to use my iphone to do the inspections but thought I read that u can not sync bento if using an ical template.
2-I understand how to get a related record list field but not how to tweak it.
I am not looking for someone to do my work for me I was just hoping that the wheel had already been created and that I could just look it over and incorporate it into mine.
AJ,
you hadn’t mentioned initially that you wanted to use the iPhone, because you’re correct, Bento for iPhone doesn’t have (developers-) permission to use iCal.
So if you want both, you’d have to do double duty: create two independent libraries: one in iCal Events, one without.
Please feel free to ask me any specific questions about tweaking the RRL field you might have. Probably best by email (click on Contact).
… and you can still sync Bento, the iPhone will simply ignore everything iCal.
I am a BSA Cubmaster. I would love to keep my Scout Pack organized with Bento. I am flubbing through trying to write a database, but would be thrilled to use a Template!!!
Among the things I need to track, I would need to include:
* Scout Name
* Parent Name, contact info (often one parent with two or more kids in the pack)
* Scout advancements, achievements, rank, etc.
* Scout attendance at events
* Scout registration number with BSA
* Parent registration number with BSA
* Volunteer roles taken by parent
* BSA training passed by parent
* Scout School
* Scout birthday
etc.
Aaron,
this sounds pretty straight forward. I do think you should first try to attempt this yourself. And here is why:
this template should include several Related Record lists, including one from iCal Events, and one from Address Book. Because of the bad behavior of Bento when it comes to exchanging templates with related records, you might get into trouble importing a template like that.
The second thing your template could benefit from are Choice fields and Checkbox fields. Those two make data entry much faster and easier.
I’ll email you to get you started and I can help you all the way through. It would be a great learning tool to create this template yourself.
I work on a prime-time uk television production that has 3 separate tv crews constantly filming at 2 studio locations and various exterior locations.
i would like to be able to see the following for each unit on any given date:
start time
end time
hours worked
location
director
episode number
program number
But also be able to create a snap shot to see where all 3 units are on any given day in the same form.
There will also be the post production to link into this but that is for a later date.
Can Bento do this or do i need filemaker???
A loan template would be a good idea. I have a client who has a number of loans on various properties they own. Each loan has different due dates, payment amounts, etc. Some have balloon payments after 10 years, but the payments are based on a 20 year loan. I just got my copy of Bento and this might be my first project.
How about a SCUBA log database template. This would be great for documenting dives and recording the things seen on a particular dive or for finding a site that has a particular kind of fish or coral.
How about a template that keeps track of books, magazines, articles that one has read. Basic notes and information, main characters, etc. Also if there is a way to set up a family tree or time line for books that have related characters or use the same character for multiple stories.
I am seeking a means for integrating all of my financial categories with spreadsheets, in order to track monthly, quarterly and yearly statements. It seems that it’s possible, but I want to be able to link the various spreadsheets together as well. Does this make sense to you?
Jonathan,
the only way to link things together in Bento is with Related Record fields. Have you played around with them?
Otherwise, keep in mind that Bento is not a spreadsheet, but a database program. Its table view looks like a spreadsheet, but that’s deceiving. Records are simply displayed in a table. The summary row can only make very simple calculations which can be combined with calculation fields, but it’s not as straight forward and flexible as a dedicated spreadsheet application.
I would like a net worth template
I desperately need an invoice template and an ENVELOPE printing template! Help, Please!!
Hi Geri,
it’s much easier to print envelopes with Mac Address Book. It has many templates you can customize.
Invoicing should be simple: just make a list of fields you want; doesn’t need to be fancy. If you want us to help you, please tell us which information you need to track in detail.
But I would encourage you to try it yourself and come back to us if you run into problems.
Hi there,
We homeschool our children and we want to use Bento to track everything. We track students, time, class, grades, test results, and days attended. Then each new year sepearate the new data from the previous years. Then of course a report card would be nice.
Cheers,
JK
John,
have you checked out the template exchange at Filemaker? It’s really growing fast and search-able. See link on our sidebar.
Otherwise, give us more details, like names for fields. Separating data by years is done by creating smart collections in Bento. See the user’s guide.
Very interesting post, am loving it!! Will come back again – taking you feeds also, Thanks.
Regarding a template for a Cub Scout Pack, I want to do the same thing. What gets complicated for me is how to calculate achievements earned. Very often, there are complicated things like “Do 2 of 1 through 5 and any five of 6 through 12″ to earn an achievement. I would love to set it up so I can check off who has completed what and have the system automatically figure out who has completed what, print out a to-do list I can give to the boys telling them what to work on (unfinished items) or a shopping list of badges to buy for my den, etc. I am getting the impression that Bento is not that powerful. Possibly with AppleScripting?
Andy,
you can use Bento’s Smart Collections to create those lists automatically. You can create any kind of criteria for those, several levels deep.
Bento will never have any scripting otherwise.
Hello. I am a freelancer who needs to track and summarize earnings outside of quicken. I want to enter every field on a check, and sum each field. Also, Year to Date and the same things for my wife would be good. I am really not that good at this stuff – a very basic spreadsheet is a challenge. I am , however, a good carpenter and a pretty good dad. I am using Bento 2, but would be happy to upgrade to 3
Hi Dan,
that’s too bad, because Quicken would do a much better job than Bento. Bento is very limited when used as a spreadsheet, because it’s really a database program.
But you should really try this yourself and see how you like it. For summarizing you should just use Table View. This is a straight forward project and this way you can really learn easily how Bento works.
First write down on paper all the fields you need. You can stick to two different field types: Number and Text. Then create a new Library and add new fields one at a time. Finally drag each field onto the form and arrange it any way you like. Send me an email if you have any questions along the way (under the “contact” link).
If you have any basic questions, you should read the user’s guide first. You can do it! Bento 2 will be just fine for this project.
Two simple requests, because I’m totally ignorant:
mileage log for business record keeping and reimbursement, not for fuel economy checking.
Blood glucose log for diabetics, including total carbs, glucose readings and averages, times and events, insulin doses.
thanks
We’ll work on it. Gareth, are you still with us too?
But we can’t do it in Danish…
Lars,
the free Filemaker template exchange has several templates for mileage tracking, one is actually called mileage tracker:
http://solutions.filemaker.com/database-templates/search_results.jsp?search=mileage
You should still read the user’s guide, so you know at least how to manipulate existing templates to adjust them to your exact needs.
Tell me how the mileage tracker worked out for you.
Lars,
Filemaker even offers a Blood Glucose Monitor template:
http://solutions.filemaker.com/database-templates/detail.jsp?serial=2550633
Download it and tell me what’s missing. You might be able to expand on it yourself. It’s really easy to just add some new fields.
Hi, I read your tips frequently and take this chance to ask for a template.
I’m a bowler and also do some training. It would be great to have a way to keep scores and and to have averages and diagrams automatically calculated. Preferably to do the input in the iPhone and do the stats in the mac.
I’m surprised that this is not done before since Bowling is wide spread in the US!?! Have done a lot of searching in google but can not find any stats program for Bowling.
Please help me
Bernt the Swede
Hi Bernt,
Bento is a database program, NOT a spreadsheet like Numbers or Excel. Bento can not to graphs or diagrams, nor fully automatic calculations across several records.
So you probably won’t be happy with a template. The only calculations across records can be done in Table View or in a Related Data field on a form.
If you still want to give Bento a try, tell me exactly what fields you want (or what data you would like to enter) and I can make you a simple template which is all Bento can do for you as a bowler.
Hi Florian…
I just discovered Bento (v3 at that…) and database in general, and was wondering if it could help me with my studying/filing of medical disease highlights…
Basically, I’d have diseases and presentation symptoms, physical examinations findings and further investigations needed…
And then grouping by general symptoms.
For example: Chest Pain….
And then heart infarct, heartburn, gastritis, anxiety … (you get the idea)…
Now, all the disease will have the same History (what, when, where, other symptoms etc etc…), same physical exam (head, heart, lungs, gi, neuro, ….) fields, which will be populated with different (some recurring) symptoms (for example… nausea, chest pain, convulsion etc…) and other fields (like need to further investigate by doing a complete blood count… test for drugs etc etc)…
What would be the best way of doing this, while being able to regroup them afterwards as I see fit (for example, get all the diseases with lowered red blood cell count, or with vomitting, or with vomitting, nausea AND chest pain, but NOT tachycardia)?
As you can see, I’m pretty new to this, and not sure I have a clue on how to start all this big project… But mostly, I would hate to start this and finding halfway that I’m doing something completely wrong
.
Thanks for the help,
Erick
Hi Erick,
Bento is pretty straight forward and intuitive. It’s hard to do something “completely wrong.”
Your project does not sound complicated either. I really think that you can easily do this yourself.
You should start by reading the Bento user’s manual (see the Help menu) to understand the basics.
Then you should map out the database on a piece of paper and assign initial field types to the chunks of information you need to enter, like text fields, choice fields, number fields, choice fields.
Then start with a blank template and add the fields one by one and drag them onto a form. Then you have to test the database by entering some records.
Once you have done all that, come back with any questions that might present themselves.
I’m looking for a bento template solution for an iPad. I don’t own either but I’m researching possible solutions with the resulting purchase. The problem is we want to create a sign up sheet for students when they enter a karate class. It should be simple, they select their name from a drop down list or add their name in a blank field. They choose the class they are attending from a drop down list. A data stamp is added to the entry in the database and they click a button to submit or declare they are attending that night’s class. It would be great if there could be a button that the teacher can press to see a list of who has attended the class that night. Is this possible using Bento and the new iPad or am I just a dreamer.
Oba (for short),
yes, what you want is possible. Not EXACTLY, but in essence. For example, you can’t press buttons in Bento, but instead you can create Smart Collections which can automatically create lists of classes students sign up for.
But in order for you to see how it works and the different ways to accomplish it, you really have to take a first-hand look at Bento. That is easy since it comes with a 30-day trial period (not the iPad version).
the TV time code template would be great but I’ve tried converting a timesheet template but it on work in hours and days and don’t think Bento can do it.
I need to calculate
start time
end time
Duration
hh.mm.ss.ff frame are in batchs of 30.
Anyone have any ideas?
Ben,
iCal Events has those three fields built in (Start Time, End Time, Duration) and in the settings you can set how you want it displayed. The frames you would have to calculate separately. But to get several opinions you should go to the Bento forums.
Is there any way to use Bento just to create simple invoices? ie if I see a client 2-3 times per month at $100 each time and want to print out an invoice, could I do so? I’d rather not pay $$$ for Filemaker Pro; must be a way just to do this in Bento? (would also like to track total annual revenue from clients). Thx
Ed,
yes, that’s a simple task for Bento.
I am the head of a relatively small school in the U.S. I am using Bento fairly successfully to track student information. What I would like to do is find a way to have 2-3 different lists of students from Bento at my fingertips all the time. I want these lists to be created and organized according to different types of data like attendance, behavior incidents, assessment results etc…, so that I have on my desktop current lists of students that I am paying special attention to. For example, if we give a common assessment to all of the first graders, I would like a report on my desktop sorted according to the lowest 10 student scores. Is there a way to pull sorted data from records and keep it updated on my desktop. I just figured out how to use smart collections and want to take this a step further.
Hi Conrad,
Bento doesn’t do reports; it’s an often requested feature. The only way to get something onto your desktop is by exporting your data as a spreadsheet (csv file). Then you can use OS X’s Quick View to see the data. But that can’t be done automatically.
You could post your request at the Bento forums, those guys have creative suggestions sometimes…
I am a new owner of one rental property which of course is over priced and requires work to bring it up to code. I need a way to keep track of all my info on Furnace bids, Paint colors, Lead abatement procedures, new windows, insulation by wall, room and attic, a grid of the parts of the house and a live button to bring up details. Pictures of the problems and of the solution drawings and end results
contacts and copies of deeds and titles going back
Jonnee,
I emailed you. Sorry I spelled your name wrong in the email…
I am a school speech-language pathologist. I’m looking for a way to track therapy data collection on my Bento for iPad 2 that I can sync to my Mac and convert to progress reports for parents at the end of each 9-week quarter. I have the iPad app & the desktop version, of course. Typically, I am tracking progress on 4 to 6 objectives for each student (but it can go up to 8 objectives). Those objectives are for one goal or spread out over two goals.
The 4 goals I work on are articulation, language, communication, and social skills. Some students are working on one goal area, i.e., articulation. Some kids are working on 2 areas, i.e., articulation AND language. For each goal area, there can be up to 4 objectives. Objectives are “customized” according to student needs ( r, s, th sounds, etc. for articulation; analogies, sequencing, inferencing, etc. for language). To simplify things, since the students’ plans specify Goal: Articulation, Objective 1: vocalic /r/, etc., I don’t think I would need to spell out what each individual objective is.
During any one 30-minute therapy session, I will at most work on up to 5 objectives (which I want to call “targets” , e.g., 2 articulation objectives and 3 language objectives.
I evaluate therapy performance in the following ways: 1) I keep track of whether the first response is correct or not. I then ask a varying number of questions (typically in the range of 5 to 10 questions). Other than the first response as mentioned, however, I am NOT looking for a way to track each subsequent individual response. For my purposes, I want to assign an overall rating of 1 to 5 (1 = fewer than 20% correct responses to 5 = all or nearly all correct responses) to performance on each objective.
I typically have 60-80 kids on my caseload. Therapy groups are 1 to 4 students during 30-minute sessions, once or twice a week. The school year is divided into 4 9-week periods. I send progress reports home at the end of each 9-week period. An objective is considered met when a level of 80% is achieved over 3 consecutive sessions.
It would be very helpful to be able to group students according to their therapy times, i.e., Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30-9:00 so I can find student records and enter information quickly. Of course, given 10 therapy sessions per day X 5 days, that means there could be up to 50 sessions per week. Also, I am assigned to 4 different schools, and it would be convenient to have students grouped by school, too. Perhaps 1 library per school?).
Fields needed:
Name of Student (up to 80 students)
Date of Session
Goal (one of 4 areas: articulation, language, communication, social skills)
Target (Obj 1, Obj 2, Obj 3, Obj 4)
1st response (checkbox, checked = correct)
Performance (5-point rating scale, 1 = nearly all answers incorrect, 5 = nearly all correct)
Repeat up to 4 times.
Finally, I’d like to be able to determine percentage of correct 1st responses over the course of the 9-week period AND an average “rating” over the 9-week period.
Zowie! I had figured out how to create the different fields I wanted, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to tie them all together according to school, therapy groups and averages of 1st response data and performance rating on each objective. I don’t need to average performance across objectives or tie any individual objectives to each other.
Any help on this would be much appreciated . . . and shared with my fellow 45 speech therapists (all of whom are getting iPads when school starts in a couple weeks!)
Regards,
Rick Marcus
Rick,
I emailed you about this.
Hi All,
I am a Speech-Pathologist in the schools as well and have been racking my brain to find a new data collection system utilizing my new iPad. I am completely new to filemaker and Bento but Rick’s post describes exactly what I’m looking for. If it’s possible then I would definitely buy Bento!
Any guidance would be so appreciated!
Lauren McCulley
Lauren,
sure it’s possible. Sounds simple enough. I had offered Rick an iChat session to get him started. But he hasn’t gotten back to me. I can offer the same to you. Just email me.