Bento 4 for iPad
Company: FileMaker
Version: 4.0.0
Price: $4.99 until July 31, 2012, then increases to regular price of $9.99
Requires: any version of iPad and iOS 5.0 or later
iTunes link
Organizational apps are a big category in the iTunes Store. There’s multiple app choices for contacts, expenses, projects. Why use all those different apps when Bento 4 for iPad can handle all those tasks, plus much more.
Bento 4 for iPad (Bento 4), recently released by FileMaker (of FileMaker Pro fame), has been totally redesigned from the ground up. Bento 4 boasts 25 new templates and 40 retina-ready themes. Now it’s easier than ever to design a database from scratch on the iPad. No Mac needed.
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FileMaker Pro 12
Company: FileMaker
Price: $299, $179 upgrade
Requires: Mac OSX 10.6 or higher, Windows XP SP3 or higher. See web site for FileMaker Server 12 requirements and pricing
FileMaker GO 12 for iPad and iPhone
Price: Free
Version: 12.0.2
Requires: iOs 4.3 or later
iPad link
iPhone link
FileMaker Pro is used by thousands of businesses, universities, government agencies, and non-profits, and is available in 15 languages. Yet, even with all this success, FileMaker continues to improve their product to make it as easy-to-use and attractive as possible for anyone interested in creating and maintaining a database.
FileMaker Pro 12 was recently released, with new themes and starter solutions, including layouts tailored for iPad and iPhone. Add new design capabilities, design tools, chart styles, enhanced container fields-including drag and drop, and you have an application that even a newbie like me can use.
Or can I?
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FileMaker Pro 12
This page has a useful table to help you choose the version that’s right for you.
Site Licenses: see https://store.filemaker.com/US/ENG/LIC/#close
Education and Non-Profit: see http://store.filemaker.com/US/ENG/EDU/entry/form
Company: FileMaker, Inc.
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and above; Intel processor with at least 1GB RAM; 1024 x 768 or higher screen resolution. DVD player for boxed product.
FileMaker Pro is the most venerable, probably the most used, and certainly the best established relational database management system for the Mac (Windows versions are available).
Earlier reviews on MyMac (towards the foot of this page (version 10) and here (11) have been very favorable. You are referred to these reviews for an overview of the product and the FileMaker product line.
Now FileMaker Pro (and the Advanced and Server versions) has reached version 12. At first glance the feature list doesn’t seem to suggest much major that’s really new. But look more closely…
FileMaker Go
Company: FileMaker
$39.99 for iPad
Version 1.2.1
$19.99 for iPhone and iPod touch
Version 1.2.1
Both apps require iOS 4.2 or later
If you use a database for your job, chances are it’s a FileMaker database. And, chances are, you access the information from your desk. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the pertinent databases with you when you’re conducting business outside the office? FileMaker thought so too, and created FileMaker Go.
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Bento 4 for Mac
Company: FileMaker
Cost: $49 individual, $99 family pack of 5 licenses, $20 instant upgrade rebate for existing Bento users
Requires: Mac OS 10.5.7 or higher; support goes back as far as Power PC G4 Macs
Mac App Store link
If you ask a Mac user about database software, most will reference FileMaker, the standard for creating business databases. However, FileMaker may be more than what’s necessary for a small business or home user. That’s where Bento 4 comes in.
Bento 4 is an easy-to-use, dare I say fun, database application for the Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Recently upgraded, Bento 4 includes many new features users have asked for that make creating libraries in Bento 4 easier than ever.
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Bento 3
Company: Filemaker
Price: $49 ($99 Family Pack), $20 upgrade rebate for qualifying Bento 1 and Bento 2 users
http://www.filemaker.com
Indexing fields, uses of global fields
Last month I started explaining fields. So I thought I’d continue, as they are the building blocks for everything else.
One of the basic choices, after creating a field, is whether to “index” it. If a field is indexed, it means that FM stores a special list of its contents, ready to use quickly. It then uses this list to do Finds and other operations rather than having to go back and read the field again.
You can reach the indexing dialog by hitting the button at the bottom of the Options dialog box, labelled Storage Options. There are usually three choices: Indexing on; indexing off, but available if needed; and indexing permanently off. The underlined one is the default. It happens automatically if you don’t specify one of the others, so usually you don’t have to do anything. The first time you run an operation such as a Find on that field, FM takes a little time to index it. But then the next time you do a Find, it’s very fast.
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