Working with Bento Forms
By Jesse Feiler
Date: Jan 15, 2009
Bento, the database application for Mac OS X made by FileMaker Inc., lets you manage contacts, events, tasks, projects--everything. This chapter shows you how to work with fields and forms in Bento.
IN THIS CHAPTER
- Working with Forms
- Customizing a Form with Themes
- Customizing a Form’s Fields
Working with Forms
In Chapter 2, “Using the Bento Window,” you saw how to use the Fields list (Bento 1) or Libraries & Fields pane (Bento 2) to add fields. This chapter continues the discussion of fields and forms.
Every Bento library can be shown in a table view. At the top of the Bento window, you will see that for that library you can select either the table view or a form view. The table view is identified as “Table”; you can name the form views—and, yes, there can be more than one form view for a Bento library, but there can only be one table view.
This chapter begins by exploring the Classes template; its table view is shown in Figure 3.1. It contains a single record that is part of the template.
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Figure 3.1 Display the Classes template in table view in Bento 1.
The table view in Bento 2 is much the same as you can see in Figure 3.2. The biggest difference is that in Bento 1, the table view looks like iTunes, whereas in Bento 2, it looks more like a spreadsheet.
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Figure 3.2 Display the Classes template in table view in Bento 2.
The differences in functionality were described in Chapter 2. As far as the fields in the library that are shown in the table view, the difference is that the list is at the lower left in Bento 2 and at the right in Bento 1. In both cases, you select the fields to be shown in the table view by using the checkbox to the left of the field name. Because there is only one table view in a library, whether a field is displayed in that table view is an attribute of the field, and it can be set in the Fields list.
You can switch from table view to form view by clicking Form at the upper left of the Records area. The Classes form view is shown in Figure 3.3 as it appears in Bento 1.
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Figure 3.3 You can view the data in form view in Bento 1.
There are more differences between Bento 1 and Bento 2 when it comes to form views. Compare Figure 3.4, the Bento 2 version of the form, with Figure 3.3, the Bento 1 version.
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Figure 3.4 The Classes form view is shown in Bento 2.
First, note that in Bento 1, to the left of each field name is a small icon that indicates if that field can be dragged into the form. (The field is not already in the form because a field can only appear in a form once.) That icon appears in Bento 2 to the right of each field name. As you switch from one form to another, the icons are updated in both Bento 1 and Bento 2 to reflect whether you can add the field to the form.
Note that in Bento 2, the Fields list makes a distinction between fields in the current library and those in related data. You can see this clearly in the Assignments & Projects field, a field that shows related records from iCal. In Bento 2, it clearly shows up as a related records field, whereas in Bento 1, it and any other related records fields are displayed alongside the library’s fields.
In form view, you are able to rename a form, create new forms, and delete a form. (Except for the last one; there must always be at least one form in the library.)
To change a form’s name, double-click its name to open the dialog shown in Figure 3.5. (This is the name of the form itself; it appears to the right of Table and among any other forms. To change the name of the library, click its name—Classes in this case.) You can also use Forms > Rename Form. Here, the form in the template is called Form. For this chapter, you are modifying that form. The safest way to do that is to rename it “Original Form” and then to duplicate it and work on the duplicate. Thus, Figure 3.5 shows you the first step in the process.
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Figure 3.5 Rename a form.
The second step is to duplicate the form by choosing Insert > Duplicate Form in Bento 1 or Forms > Duplicate Form in Bento 2. Bento then duplicates the original form; its default name has “Copy” at the end. The next step is to rename the duplicate form from “Original Form Copy” to “My Form.” Now you are ready to go.
Customizing a Form with Themes
Like Keynote with its styles, Bento lets you apply visual themes to your forms. These coordinated appearances combine a selection of colors and fonts in various styles. With a form selected, you can change its theme by choosing Format > Theme. Unlike Keynote, Bento does not allow you to change the details of the themes. However, because of the large number of provided themes, you are likely to find themes that you like.
A Bento theme is totally separate from your data. That means you can switch themes at any time without affecting your data. The various templates use a variety of themes, but you can change them at will.
If you want to be sophisticated about your Bento themes, you can select several of them to use for specific purposes, such as displaying confidential data from work, displaying social data, and the like.
Themes are applied to the active form; when you next go to a table view, that theme is applied to the table. If you then go to a form in the library that uses a different theme, that other theme is applied to the table view when you navigate from the second form to the table view.
With Bento 2, there are more than two dozen themes available. You can select a theme from Forms > Choose Theme. The first item in the submenu is Theme Chooser. It lets you select a theme and try it out. The Bento window behind the Theme Chooser dialog is visible using the new theme.
Some examples of Bento themes are shown in Figure 3.6.
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Figure 3.6 Bento has a variety of themes.
Customizing a Form’s Fields
To customize a library’s table view, you use the Fields list (to control which fields are shown) and directly manipulate the table. You can reorder columns, show or hide the summary row, and change column width. In Bento 1, you modify a form view by choosing View > Customize Form or by clicking the customize form button at the upper right of the Records area. In either case, the search field is replaced by Customize Form with an X to its right. To exit from Customize Form, click that X.
In Bento 2, you can customize a form by clicking on the edge of a field to move or change it. Figure 3.7 shows how you can access the customization options for a form. If you click in the field itself, you are able to enter data. Clicking on its border shows handles that you can use to resize the field, as shown in Figure 3.7. When the handles are visible, you can drag on the field’s border to move it. If you click in the center of the field, the handles disappear, and you are able to enter data. This and the other interface elements described in this section replace the Customize Form mode in Bento 1.
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Figure 3.7 Move and reshape fields in Bento 2.
When you start to customize a form in Bento 1, new tools appear at the bottom of the form view; in addition, guides appear on the form. Among the customization tools is a Themes tool that lets you select themes just as you can do by choosing Format > Themes. In Bento 2, a button in the lower-right corner of the window controls whether the form tools are shown or hidden as does View > Show Form Tools, as shown in Figure 3.7.
Bento puts the labels in the appropriate location and coordinates their appearance with the appearance of the relevant field using the currently selected theme. When you drag a field from the Fields list or Libraries & Fields pane into a form that you are editing, an outline of the label and data field appears as soon as you move your mouse into the Records area, as shown in Figure 3.8.
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Figure 3.8 Bento automatically provides the label and data entry fields.
Some fields require more than one data entry element; if so, they are shown in the outline and are placed in the form as soon as you release the mouse button. A heavy line shows you where in the form the new field and label are placed. In Figure 3.8, a URL list is being placed on the form; it is one of the field types that require several elements for display and entry.
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For more details about these composite data fields, see Chapter 5, “Working with Phone, URL, IM, and Address Fields and Lists in Contacts,” p. 69. |
After a field and its label have been placed on a form, you can change its width or height by selecting it and dragging the right or bottom border. You can also rearrange fields; just drag them up or down or from column to column. Everything is taken care of for you by Bento: fields move aside as needed. And, of course, the tab order remains logical (top to bottom and left to right in column one, and then on to column two with the same ordering). To rearrange fields after you have already added them, in Bento 1 you choose View > Customize Form, and in Bento 2, you click the border of a field to begin editing it.
Bento provides you with several formatting objects that you can add to a form. Figure 3.9 illustrates three of them.
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Figure 3.9 Use form objects to help format a form.
The line beneath the two images is a horizontal separator. Another object, a spacer, has been added before the Date Created field. Also, a column separator has been added to the right of the column containing the images. Of these objects, only the horizontal separator is visible when you have finished editing the form (by clicking in another field or going to another form). Figure 3.10 shows the result. You can tell that a third column has been added to the form by the position of the horizontal scrollbar at the bottom of the form. In Figure 3.10, it has been moved so that the third column is visible.
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Figure 3.10 Only the horizontal rule is directly visible in the finished form.
The Form tools in Bento 1 and Bento 2 are mostly the same, but there are some differences. Table 3.1 describes each of the tools from left to right and provides keyboard equivalents. In the case of tools that are different in the two versions, that difference is noted. If no version difference is indicated, the tool works the same in both Bento 1 and Bento 2.
Table 3.1. Form Tools
|
Tool |
Equivalent |
Purpose |
Version Differences |
|
Form |
Double-click form name in the navigation bar or Forms > Rename Form. |
Change a form’s name (Figure 3.5). |
Bento 2 |
|
Field |
Opens the Create a Field dialog |
Open the Create a Field dialog (Figure 6.2). |
Bento 2 In Bento 1, a choice in the Objects tool |
|
Text Box |
Insert > Text Box |
You can type anything you want in the text box, and you can move it around the form just like a field. Unlike a field, this is not data from your library; it is simply text that appears on the form. |
Bento 2 In Bento 1, a choice in the Objects tool |
|
Objects |
Insert > Horizontal Separator Insert > Column Divider Insert > Spacer |
A spacer is a blank area that also can be moved around. You use it to add space between fields. There is also a horizontal separator (a line) that can be used to separate groups of fields. |
See Field, Text Box, and Columns for Bento 1 differences |
|
Related Data |
Insert > Related Records List |
Open the Create a Field dialog with Related Records List selected for Field Type. |
Bento 1 |
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Themes |
Bento 1: Format > Theme Bento 2: Forms > Choose Theme |
Select a theme. |
Theme Chooser only available as the first choice in Bento 2 |
|
Columns |
Format > Columns |
Choose 1-5 columns for the form. |
Bento 1 |
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Labels |
Bento 1: Format > Labels Bento 2: Forms > Labels |
Choose Above or Beside for position of labels on all fields in the form. |
Bento 2: can also choose small, medium, and large size |
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Shading |
Bento 1: Format > Shading Bento 2: Forms > Shading |
Choose None, Light, or Dark for selected field(s). |
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Text Size |
Bento 1: Format > Text Size Bento 2: Forms > Text Size |
Choose Smallest to Largest for selected field(s). |
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Align Edges |
Bento 2: Forms > Align Right Edges |
Align right edges of selected objects. Other edges remain where they were. |
The field consists of the label and the data entry section(s); a background may be shaded for the entire rectangle that contains these elements. In the Format menu or the tools at the bottom of the Customize Form view, you can choose the degree of shading you want. They can be effective in highlighting essential (or nonessential) information as long as you use shading consistently.
You can also change the size of the text in the data fields, although the size of the label text is changeable only in Bento 2. Finally, you can select two or more fields and align their right edges. You do this by expanding the narrower fields’ widths so that all are consistent.