Review: Bento 4 Database Software

The latest version of Bento, the consumer database app for Mac from FileMaker that also works for small businesses, addresses some of the programs earlier shortcomings such as its inability to print labels or professional-looking reports.

"Bento 4, Filemaker's personal database application for the Mac, is a perennial favorite because of how simple it is to use and how easy it is to sync data between your computer and your iOS devices. But there have been completely justifiable complaints about Bento-for such a consumer-focused application, it lacked some very obvious consumer-focused features. Namely, it was impossible to print labels with the application unless you resorted to a workaround using your Mac's Address Book app. The other issue was that, while Bento allowed you to print your data, what your printed data looked like was a glorified print screen, not a professional form that you'd want to send to your customers or friends.

Bento 4 fixes that, offering you over 250 label templates and giving you the option to create your own label templates if the one you need isn't available. In addition to labels, you can also export templates that contain data and Bento 4 has added a number of new field types that allow you to take advantage of location and audio information collected when you use Bento's iOS apps. In short, Bento 4 rescues Bento from being a kind of cute but impractical boutique application, making it an excellent and inexpensive way to manage a variety of data."