First, let me be clear about databases. Even the easiest of them, Bento, requires time and dedication. It takes a while to get your head wrapped around the database mentality, because it's different than a word processing program or even a spreadsheet.
The first thing I suggest is that you look at all the free resources, starting with the Filemaker/Bento site itself. Then sign up for the Bento forums and look over the questions. Check out Don McAllister's excellent ScreencastsOnline (which is great for all things Mac). He has one on Bento 2, but it will give you a great introduction into the concepts.
After playing for a while, you may want to buy Using Bento 3, available from Amazon in either paper or Kindle format. It's a great book, and it will lead you through the process step by step. In fact, if you don't mind paying $10, you may want to buy it first.
Start thinking of all the information in your life and how it can be organized into databases. The possibilities are endless. For example, I was reading a book (on my iPad, of course), called The Private Lives of the Impressionists. It does not have images. So I decided to create a database called Art. Here's a screenshot:
I spent a few very pleasant hours Googling for Impressionist paintings and pretty soon I had a collection worth millions of fantasy dollars. The related library My Journal that you see in the lower right hand corner will let me record when (hopefully) I see the actual painting.
When you get into the Bento mindset, you come to realize that all aspects of your life are related to each other. For example, in LifeCentral (a sort of overview of all my libraries) I have a link to the library Menus, where I track meals I served (not all, just the memorable ones). In Menus there's a link to Notes (an all-purpose note taking library) where I enter a comment about the food. Here's a screenshot of the links page of LifeCentral:
I don't want to overwhelm you with information, but this will give you an idea of the power of Bento. The important thing is to be patient and to have fun.
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