Feb

14

How To – Template Sharing Part Two

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As promised, today we’ll talk about importing “dirty” Bento Templates.
As a reminder, a dirty Template mostly includes unwanted Collections and Forms from iCal and/or Address Book.

Most important tip:
don’t just import a Template into your main (maybe only) database file!
For this purpose I keep a “fresh” Bento 3 database file on hand, in my Bento back-up folder. Then I save (back up) my current data and revert to the fresh database. Then I import the Template. Since I’m not using any Address Book Collections, I don’t have to worry about them. If you are using Collections (Groups), then make a list of them first, so you can check which new ones are added during import.

If you don’t have a fresh Bento database file, here is how to create one:
back up your current database file, quit Bento. Find the main database file at: user/library/application support/bento. Delete the bento.bentodb file. Re-start Bento; a fresh database file is automatically created. Now back up that file and call it “Freshbento3Data” or something similar. Now you can revert to a fresh database file any time you need to.

After you import a Template into a fresh Bento database file, check for strange Collections in Address Book and iCal. After you make sure which ones might be used by the Template, delete the stray Collections. Same goes for Forms.
In addition, you might get all Address Book/iCal Fields from the creator’s Bento. It’s too much work to deal with that issue in detail, just don’t be surprised if you run into some strange Field names once in a while…

Now you can re-export the cleaner Template and import it into your main database or any sub-set you’re using.

Happy templating…

Jan

24

Bento As A Motivational tool

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[Submitted by Daikoma, German guest-contributor]

What about your New Year’s resolutions: stop smoking, going to the gym, taking a yoga course to get more relaxed? Are they still on track?

Finding motivation to keep healthy habits is often hard. In my opinion, Bento can help you in an easy way: create a simple Check Box  field in you iCal Events Library! And check it in Bento when you’re done with your task. It helps me personally a lot.

My tips for a sports calendar

  • Create a calendar in iCal called “sports.” Than create a simple Smart Collection for the “sports” calendar in Bento and add a check box called “task completed.” Move it into the first column in Table View.
  • Create dates when you want to go to the gym. If you’d like to add notes use the notes field or an Encrypted field, then the notes are not displayed in iCal (Bento 3).
  • Let iCal remind you one day in advance so you can get your gym bag ready the night before.
  • When you come home from the gym, check the check box in Bento. I recommend using Split View, then you can see your progress over the last couple of weeks. Feel satisfied and proud!
  • This also fits, for example, when you maybe paid for 20 massages or something else: you know your dates, when you were there, and when the package will end.
  • And if you are a young man living on your own, it maybe helps with the housekeeping ;-)

Why encrypted notes in a calendar?

My gym, for example, is health-oriented. It’s not so much for body-builders, but to motivate people who sit in the office all day to get some exercise. Or to help people with back pain. So there’s a doctor, a physiotherapist, and special instructors in my gym. That’s why you might want to keep your notes private.
They won’t appear in iCal, so your colleagues at work can’t see them when they look over your shoulder, and you can look at them at home in Bento for Mac or iPhone. This is the advantage of the iCal integration in Bento: you can add a personal touch & convenience to your calendar!

Jan

15

PDF Archive Option!

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We already talked about archiving your Bento data by creating sub-sets of the database file. Now I would like to give you another wonderful option:

In the Bento print dialog, you can create a PDF of your database. On the bottom left just select “open PDF in Preview” to check it out. You can then save the file from the Preview application. I’m using a 15″ MacBook Pro and I design most of my templates to fit on that screen without scrollbars, even leaving the Library pane visible. With that set-up you can fit two Records on one (letter, portrait) page. Looks great, and you can leaf through your Libraries like they are picture books!  This is a safe way of creating an extra back-up as well.

Feel free to play with all the print dialog settings. Of course, you have to create a PDF from each form. But in Preview, you can combine two or more PDFs into one, so you have many additional options to create a “custom” database view, including mixing different Form views. If you use Landscape orientation you can get a full screen view of a single record, especially if you create a custom page size in the print dialog.

Enjoy!

Jan

14

How To – Template Sharing Part One

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Bento Template sharing is a wonderful way of learning and teaching the many possible uses of Bento. But it is not always easy to create a “clean” Template for sharing, especially when Address Book and iCal Libraries are involved. So I’ll share some tips today.
I haven’t played with Templates including Related Data from iPhoto. That will be an interesting addition for a future post.

Recently I received a Template for evaluation that included a Smart Collection from Address Book. The author chose to include Address Book as a Related Library. To do that you just have to click a check box in the “export Template” dialog. The result was that I got all of his 39 Address Book Collections in the bargain! That also means that 39 new groups were created in Mac Address Book!
As described in my article Unexpected Template Behavior Bento can’t make the distinction if you just have a Related Data field of one Address Book Collection in your Template. It includes all Forms and Collections!
Read more

Jan

10

Template Exchange Problems!

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First off I want to apologize for all those recent negative posts. We’ll hopefully tip the scale soon. I’m just trying to make users aware of the problems. It’s not my fault that there are so many of them piling up. I’m just not the person who will ignore bad issues.

More bad news today…

Be careful when downloading templates from the Bento Template Exchange at Filemaker. Apparently, they accept most templates without checking them out first. Many are designed very poorly, some are even corrupt. Also, inexperienced users in the forums complain, because they don’t even know how to use the templates without instructions.

We don’t have that many templates here on our site, but our quality control and service is included:
I will not publish a template without testing it first and improving it, if necessary.
Secondly, every template will be described as to its features and usage and will include original-size screen shots.
Finally, you can always leave comments, especially useful for any open questions.

Tip: remember, a template is only a starting point. Your exact personal needs might be different. So read the user’s guide to help you modifying a template.

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