Bento 4 users can export libraries populated with data and e-mail them to others-"It makes libraries as easy as sending a file," Rosenberg said.Īnother enhanced sharing capability involves the company's Bento Template Exchange, an online resource where users can swap pre-designed database forms. Multi-user sharing highlighted the changes in 2009's Bento 3 update, and this new release continues that trend of making it easier to share databases with others.
The update adds a pair of printer-friendly themes that Rosenberg says will "make forms look the way you want." What's more, the new version expands form printing options, letting users print without field borders and field labels, among other tweaks. Users can also customize labels using fields and images stored in Bento.īesides the addition of label printing, Bento 4 also promises improved form printing. Users can build custom labels as well, making font and style adjustments right in the Print dialog. Scientists can use the label printing capabilities to print labels for samples, businesses can use the feature for inventory tracking, and event organizers can print out name tags from Bento.Īll told, Bento 4 offers more than 250 ready-to-use Avery and Dymo label formats. And that doesn't just mean creating address labels from contact records stored in Bento, according to Rosenberg. One of those top requested features was the ability to print labels from Bento. Many of the changes in Bento 4 are what FileMaker vice president of marketing and services Ryan Rosenberg described as "customer-driven stuff." With the update to Bento, Rosenberg told Macworld, FileMaker has "gotten around to things that, in many ways, have been on the list since the first version." The mobile editions pick up some new capabilities of their own, including automatic location fields, an integrated voice memo feature, and support for iCal tasks syncing. New features in Bento 4 tackle everything from new ways to share data stored in the application to performance-boosting enhancements. On Wednesday, FileMaker overhauled its Bento lineup, rolling out version 4 of the personal database for the Mac while updating the iPhone and iPad versions as well. Flash forward to 2011, and Bento has not only become a mainstay program for individual users on the Mac, but it's also available in versions for all of Apple's iOS devices.
A little more than three years ago, FileMaker had only started to offer a personal database program for Mac users intimidated by the extensive features of FileMaker Pro.