Now that FileMaker (Apple) has announced Bento is at end-of-life, I'm curious what light-weight "database" options the community might suggest. Either OS X or Windows.

Paul Korm wrote:

Now that FileMaker (Apple) has announced Bento is at end-of-life, I'm
curious what light-weight "database" options the community might
suggest. Either OS X or Windows.

I don't use any, but if you do a search for "database" in the forum search box on the left, it should give you the most frequently discussed ones, to get started with.

I hadn't heard this. Bad news. I really like Bento. It syncs nicely with the app on my iPad and iPod Touch.

Sadly, I do not think there are a lot of options for Mac. Anything out there, like Panorama Sheets or iData, have not been updated themselves for a few years, and neither are as good as Bento, in my opinion. I would also welcome other suggestions, though I'll keep using Bento for a while.

Steve Z.

One option that looks promising is TapForms. It has versions for Mac, iPad and iPod, which sync via iCloud. Here's more info:

http://www.tapforms.com

Anyone have any experience with this?

Steve Z.

Not that making the switch was all that urgent yet, but I've started using TapForm and it feels like a very capable Bento replacement. Importing Bento data into TapForm was easy. I just exported it as a CSV file from Bento. I didn't even have to create an entry form, as TapForm did that for me. I sync'd it without problems between my iPad and my MacBook.

TapForm isn't as visually appealing as Bento, unless you like a minimalist look, which I do.

So far, and this is still preliminary, I like TapForm quite a bit.

Steve Z

Bento is a classic example of a spin-off marketed to its death.

I once had been very interested in Bento, so I tried to discover, in what way was it different from their core product, in which way could I have realized tasks easier and faster with it than with the latter, but where were its possible limitations, and to none of my questions I got any answer, so I dropped it and put my data into askSam, meaning I left all these decisions by taking the easy way out... and after having had a look at Access: there, at least, you have the advantage of help forums and many free (and some paid) standard solutions which form a nice construction kit altogether, but which demands a rather heavy time investment; if you rely upon those "light" databases around 100 dollars mentioned here and elsewhere, this eco-system around your database is missing, though, so Access is preferable in the end, as I see it.

But as said, I took the easy way out, judging I needed good search, but not really a relational database, and Ultra Recall might replace a "real" database for some given tasks, too. Here, there is an additional advantage: If ever you have time to proceed to a real database, some day afterwards, you will have all your data within a standard SQLite database, you will get some standard frontend for it (some are free, really good ones cost around 100 dollars), and there is plenty of community help around SQLite.

This is not to be mixed-up with databases like mySQL which are indeed more suitable for bigger tasks: SQLite is perfect for even the most modest demands.

But as said, there is always askSam 7, regularly on bitsdujour, and version 8 will come out rather soon it appears; of course, it's not the ideal solution for number crunching, but then, if that's your priority, you will already know that many people then will use Excel, and here again, there is a fully-developed help and tools ecosystem built up around it, a factor that is never negligeable.

Had not considered TapForms -- thank you for the tip. I've had moderate success importing a Bento-exported CSV into TapForms. It seems a "date" field in Bento doesn't export in a way that TapForms recognizes in either "Date" or "Date and Time" form on import.

Paul Korm wrote:

Had not considered TapForms -- thank you for the tip. I've had moderate
success importing a Bento-exported CSV into TapForms. It seems a "date"
field in Bento doesn't export in a way that TapForms recognizes in
either "Date" or "Date and Time" form on import.

Hi, Paul,

The database I exported from Bento to TapForms via CSV came through Date formated just fine. The original file only had the date, no time. Visually it looked like 7/16/2013 (and was a date field in Bento, with the record being created by selecting the date in a calendar). The import to TapForm wizard gave me the option to select the format for the incoming date data... perhaps that's the stumbling block in your situation?

Steve Z.

This Bento thing is proof positive that the big boys (FileMaker a.k.a. Apple, Google) are just as unreliable as most one-man bands (Catch being the most recent and topical small developer to "change direction" in a customer-irking way). I feel sorry for the 20 FileMaker employees (mostly on the Bento team) who have just been made redundant, too.

It's a shame. I didn't use Bento on the desktop, but I liked the iOS app, which was quite flexible and also imported/exported stuff very nicely.

Those seeking an alternative might also like to investigate open-source KeePass, the encrypted database manager that holds your data very, very securely. There are various clients for iOS and Android, and I transfer my heavily encrypted KeePass files quite happily via Dropbox. KeePass files can be extensively customised, and the interface is about as minimalist as you could wish!

MadaboutDana wrote:

This Bento thing is proof positive that the big boys (FileMaker a.k.a.
Apple, Google) are just as unreliable as most one-man bands

I'd say the big boys are even more unreliable than one-man bands because they can drop a software that has tens or hundreds of millions of users without batting an eyelid (see Google Reader), while for a one-man band it's a big part of their livelihood or a labour of love...

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

... perhaps that's the stumbling block in your
situation?

Steve Z.

Steve, thank you for the tip. Took a little fiddling with the format setting you suggested, but the import finally succeeded.

22111 wrote:

Bento is a classic example of a spin-off marketed to its death.

...

But as said, there is always askSam 7, regularly on bitsdujour, and
version 8 will come out rather soon it appears

Almost missed this sarcasm, given the lengthy digression between the two statements.

I've been a Bento user for many years. I've found it to be quite capable for small business and personal projects. Bento became my go to db application after spending too much time trying to learn the ins and outs of Filemaker 5, 6, 7 whatever. Unfortunately, I think I'll be headed back to Filemaker Pro. FM Pro 12 is still more difficult to set up on the fly than Bento, but it is industrial strength and once a db is created it can handle much more than my ability to put it to the test. I looked at Tap Forms with great anticipation. It clearly is much easier to use a la Bento, and if your Bento libraries only contain text and number fields (including dates, etc.) then you'll be fine with an easy export from Bento to Tap Forms. But if your Bento libraries contain photos or multimedia files you're out of luck with the conversion because the Bento export .csv files do not contain pictures and multimedia. So if you want to move to Tap Forms your only choice (and it may not be a bad one if you don't have too many records) is to create a db in Tap Forms with the necessary fields for photos, etc., use csv to export your textual data from Bento, and then manually copy/paste your multimedia files one at a time from Bento to Tap Forms. Once your Tap Forms db is set up, it is a pleasure to use.

Filemaker Pro 12 has a conversion app that will move your entire database from Bento to FM Pro 12, but then you're dealing with a much more complex database software thereafter. If you are weighing your alternatives vs. MS Access, then I wouldn't hesitate to go to Filemaker Pro 12 first. FM Pro 12 is easier to use and customize than Access. But if you are looking for something that is as easy to use as Bento, then my first stop would be to check out Tap Forms.

Filemaker Pro 12 is available for iPad and iPhone (IOS), Windows and Mac OS X. Tap Forms is available for iPad and iPhone (IOS), and Mac OS X, and it syncs across devices with iCloud and Dropbox.