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1996-05-10
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This manual has 29 pages total.
********** MicroCook (C) Copyright 1993-1996
Version 1.97
Written & Published by
Gus Skiaker
NORSKi Software
P.O. Box 76
Franksville, WI 53126-0076
U.S.A.
Phone: (414) 633-6277 (6-9 PM)
America On Line : NORSKI
Internet : norski@execpc.com
CompuServe : 72713,1667
Get the latest version of MicroCook from Internet!
Point your Web browser to:
http://www.execpc.com/~norski
Also check there for MicroCook news, and maybe some
recipes for downloading.
MicroCook can also be registered at:
CompuServe Shareware Registration (GO SWREG)
(See SWREG.TXT in MicroCook directory)
Public Software Library with credit cards.
(See CREDIT.TXT for details)
See WHATSNEW.TXT for late changes/add-ons!
_______
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER # 970
MicroCook Manual - Page 1
Table of Contents:
A Description of MicroCook ............................ 4
Mouse with MicroCook .................................. 5
The KEY file .......................................... 6
Screen Saver .......................................... 7
The Editors ........................................... 7
Editor Keys ........................................... 8
Duplicates Checking ................................... 8
The File Menu ......................................... 9
Loading MicroCook ..................................... 9
Windows, OS/2 and MicroCook ........................... 10
Optimizing Memory ..................................... 10
File Menu ********************* ALT-F
Save Recipe ................ ALT-S ............... 11
Save & New Recipe .......... ALT-A ............... 11
Start New Recipe ........... ALT-N ............... 11
Load By Number ............. ALT-N ............... 11
Search for Recipe ................................ 12
Disk View .................. ALT-V ............... 12
Quit ....................... ALT-Q ............... 13
Index Menu ******************** ALT-I
Select from ................ ALT-X ............... 13
Last Search Index .......... ALT-B ............... 13
Search ........................................... 13
Index View ................. ALT-Y ............... 14
Sort ....................... ALT-O ............... 14
Delete This Recipe ......... ALT-Z ............... 14
Un-Delete & Delete Recipes ....................... 14
Print Menu ******************** ALT-P
This Recipe ................ ALT-R ............... 15
This Recipe - FAST! ........ ALT-W ............... 15
Other Recipes .................................... 15
Index In Memory .................................. 16
Manual ........................................... 16
Form Feed ........................................ 16
Registration Form ................................ 16
Database Menu ***************** ALT-D
Change to .................. ALT-C ............... 17
Create New ....................................... 17
Re-Index ......................................... 17
Setup ...................... ALT-U ............... 17
Pack ............................................. 21
Tool Menu ********************* ALT-T
File Manager ............... ALT-K ............... 22
Read Manual ................ ALT-M ............... 23
Conversions ...................................... 23
About ............................................ 24
Status ........................................... 24
DOS Shell ........................................ 24
MicroCook Manual - Page 2
Export/Import Menu *********** ALT-E
Export MicroCook database ........................ 25
Import MicroCook database ........................ 25
Export MicroCook ASCII ........................... 26
Import MicroCook ASCII ........................... 26
Import MealMaster ASCII .......................... 27
Import MasterCook ASCII .......................... 28
Convert Edna's Cookbook ASCII ......................... 28
Help .................................................. 28
What's Next? .......................................... 28
THANK YOU ............................................. 29
MicroCook Manual - Page 3
Description of MicroCook.
MicroCook is a recipe database program written to allow
users to collect, organize, and locate recipes. MicroCook will
run on IBM compatible PC's with MS-DOS, two high density floppy
disks, or a floppy disk and a hard disk. A hard disk is
recommended as is at least 512 KBytes of RAM. MS-DOS 3.2 or
higher is required. MicroCook also works well in Windows 3.x,
Windows 95 and in OS/2. If you use MicroCook in Windows 95, you
do NOT need to load a DOS mouse driver as MicroCook will use the
Windows 95 mouse driver.
MicroCook are using Overlays for memory management. This
mean that only a small part of MicroCook is loaded in
conventional memory (below 640 KBytes). If there are either
Extended (XMS) or Expanded (EMS) memory available, the rest will
be loaded there. This way there's a lot more room left in
conventional memory for the Recipe Index. If your PC has about
550 KBytes of free conventional memory there should be room for
about 2,000 recipes per Index (database). But you can have less
than 450Kb free RAM, no XMS or EMS, and still be able to load
MicroCook with a 1000 recipe database.
WARNING: Do NOT use file compression programs like PKLITE or
LZEXE on MCOOK.EXE. Since MCOOK might load parts of it
self from the disk file during use, it can NOT be
compressed.
So what's a database? A database is like a book. The whole
book is the database, while each individual record is a page in
the book. And as in the book, the database has "page numbers"
called record numbers. A page in a book has room for only so much
text and a database record also has a fixed length. This fixed
length of each record means that it is very fast and easy to
locate and load any record in the database. This is done with
help of an Index file, just as you would locate a page with help
of the Index Table in the back of the book.
The Index file in MicroCook consists of the Record Number,
Recipe Name and Category. So when you select a recipe from the
Index in MicroCook, the program loads the corresponding recipe in
the database with help of the record number. The Index file
remains loaded in memory at all times, so you can have easy and
quick access to it. You can also create your own index, built up
from one or two search words you provide. Index and Disk View
provide further information on this aspect of the program later
on in the manual.
MicroCook Manual - Page 4
The MicroCook database is a random access file system with
two main files. One database file where all the information is
saved, and one index file where only the recipe name and its
categories are saved. This index file is loaded into memory in
its entirety when MicroCook loads. This will make recipe
selection and search very fast. Because the index remains in
memory, there is a limit on how many recipes you can have per
database. MicroCook will keep track of how much free RAM remains
and will give you a warning message when the memory comes down to
a preset limit. But try to keep your databases less than 1500
recipes. Large databases will slow down MicroCook some since the
whole index is loaded in memory. The amount of free space on your
hard drive determines the number of different database files that
you may create.
For transportation, the main data file compresses very well
with a file compression program like PKZIP, PKXARC or LHA,
sometimes up to 80-90%. If no index file is found when the main
data file is loaded, one will automatically be created. So if you
want to mail an entire database on a floppy disk to a friend, or
upload it to a BBS (compress it first!), you only need to send
the file with the MCD extension.
If you have any recipe databases created with versions prior
to 1.81, the databases needs to be converted to the new 1.81
format before it can be used. MicroCook will automatically detect
which version database that's loading, and will prompt you for
conversions option if a conversion is needed.
If a MicroSoft compatible mouse is detected during
initializing, it can be used for navigating the program. Then the
only times you would need to use the keyboard are for typing in
file names, search words or recipes. Anytime you see a message
where a key has to be pressed, you can place the mouse cursor on
"3-D" button with the name of the key, and press the LEFT mouse
button. The hot-key printed in RED text. Scrolling of menus or in
editors can also be done by placing the mouse cursor on the red
arrows by scroll bars and clicking the LEFT mouse button. The
RIGHT mouse button acts like an ESC key where ESC is an option.
Where a "Press any key" message is displayed, either mouse
buttons can also be used as the "any key". In Setup you can
customize the mouse cursor to the colors and character you like
best.
MicroCook Manual - Page 5
MicroCook also has on-line quick help, available by pressing
F1, You can also read this manual while working in MicroCook
without having a hard copy. Built in is also a full file manager
with Copy, Move, Delete, Rename, View, and Edit files. The
editor, which work best with pure ASCII files, has built in
macros for easy editing of ASCII recipe files from other than
MicroCook's format.
Registered users will receive a small "key" file that will
disable the "Please register" messages and the short time delays
during loading and unloading of MicroCook.
This KEY will also display a serial number and the registered
users name in the "About.." window in the Tools menu and the
users name on line 25 in the main screen. This key file is called
xxxxx.KEY, where xxxxx is a 5-digit number that is your personal
serial number. The KEY file MUST reside in the same directory as
MCOOK.EXE. With your registration you will also receive over 2000
free recipes, and a database repair utility called MCDBFIX. This
utility will re-create as much as possible of a recipe database
that has been damaged by DOS, another program, or other Gremlins.
The menus consist of a pull-down windows system with hot-
keys. Hot-keys are keyboard combinations that make it easy to
perform a function. Also pop-up "exploding" windows are used
throughout MicroCook for warnings and/or information messages.
On the top of the screen, the current database name is
displayed along with the number of recipes in it as well as the
status of the recipe currently displayed on the screen. If the
three sections where the name, ingredients, and directions are
normally given are empty, or have text in them without the recipe
having been saved, the word NEW will be displayed. If a recipe
is loaded from the database or is a new recipe that has been
saved, its record number will be displayed. To avoid the
possibility of losing data caused by an electrical outage or
other unforeseen occurrences, it is recommended that you save as
soon as you have completed entering or editing the necessary
information. This is easily done by pressing down the Alt key and
the letter F key at the same time; once the file menu choices
appear in the upper left-hand corner of your screen, press the
key S to complete the saving function. With a mouse simply put
the cursor on the letter F in the word File (located in the
upper left hand portion of your screen) and click the mouse.
Click the left-hand button on your mouse on the letter S from the
selections presented. Or use the Hot-key: ALT-S to save.
MicroCook Manual - Page 6
If you have a VGA monitor, a "graphical screen saver" will
be activated after a preset time (see setup) if there has been no
activity in the editors. Press any key or a mouse button to
return to the editors when the screen saver is displayed.
This screen saver is a stand-alone executable program called
MCDOODLE.EXE. You can also use your own screen saver program with
MicroCook. See Setup later in this manual for details, and also
read the MCDOODLE.TXT file for more details on the included
screen savers. WARNING! If you run MicroCook in a window in
Windows 3.x, do NOT activate the screen saver. Set activation
time to 0 in Setup to disable it. The graphical formats in
MicroCook and Windows 3.x are no the same so Windows could crash.
In Windows 95 you can use the MCDOODLE screen saver in both full
screen and a window.
There are actually three different text editors that you
will use to enter recipes with. First, there is a three item
Header Editor that is used to enter the recipe name, category and
the number of servings. Next, there is the Ingredients Editor. On
the screen you only see 7 lines, but this is a scrolling editor
with a total of 34 lines. This editor is 38 characters wide.
Last, there is the Preparation Editor. This editor is also a
scrolling editor, 50 lines long and 78 characters wide. You can
switch between the editors by using the F5, F6, F7 key, by Hot-
keys, CTRL-Cursor Up for previous editor or CTRL-Cursor Down for
the next editor, or by moving the cursor with the mouse or
keyboard. If you are on the last line in an editor, and you press
enter or the arrow-down key, the next editor down will be set as
the active one. If you are at the bottom in the Preparation
Editor, the cursor will scroll around to the Header Editor.
NOTE: MicroCook prior to version 1.81 used 34 lines in the
Preparation Editor.
The Ingredients and Preparation Editors have a Wrap-Down
feature, so when you are at the end of a line, and the word you
are typing is too long for that line, the whole word will appear
on the next line. If you place the mouse cursor on the red up or
down scroll arrows on the left side of the Ingredients or
Preparation editor, you can scroll up or down by clicking with
the left mouse button. If you keep the cursor there and keep the
button down, the scroll will go up or down slowly for about 1
second before the "Turbo" kicks in. Then you will be at the top
or bottom of the editor in no time. Or you can place the mouse
cursor above or below the scroll indicator, and press the left
button. Then the indicator will move towards the mouse cursor.
MicroCook Manual - Page 7
These editing keys are the available for use in all editors:
Back Space ----------------- Delete character left of cursor
Delete --------------------- Delete character at cursor
End ------------------------ Go to end of line
Home ----------------------- Go to beginning of line
Insert --------------------- Toggle Insert/over write mode
(Insert mode adds a letter without deleting the
existing letters, overwrite substitutes a new letter
for an existing letter)
TAB ------------------------ Move left 4 characters
CTRL-Cursor Down ----------- Next Editor
CTRL-Cursor Up ------------- Previous Editor
These additional keys are for use in the Ingredients and Category
editors:
CTRL-End ------------------- Go to last line in current window
CTRL-Home ------------------ Go to first line in current window
CTRL-Y --------------------- Delete line at cursor
CTRL-N --------------------- Insert line at cursor
Shift-TAB ------------------ Move right 4 characters
Page Up -------------------- Move up one screen full
Page Down ------------------ Move down one screen full
ALT-Page Up ---------------- Go to first text line in editor
ALT-Page Down -------------- Go to last text line in editor
If a recipe is selected from a compiled index, there will be
a line displayed on the bottom of the screen that allow you to
use CTRL-Page Up and CTRL-Page Down to page through all the
recipes in the current index. Also the Hot-keys for moving
between editors are displayed. You can click on the red text to
move between editors, or just place the cursor with the mouse in
the editor where you want to work.
If the "Check for Duplicates" has been set to "Y" (Yes) in
Setup, MicroCook will check the current index to see if a recipe
exists with same name as the one entered in the editor, or
against the recipes imported with one of the import functions. If
a duplicate recipe name is detected, a pop-up window will warn
you. If you are importing recipes without the verifying on, the
same window will pop-up, and you will have the option to save or
not save that recipe. The duplication checking is not case
sensitive, so upper and lower case words mean the same. But the
spelling or the recipe name must be exactly the same. Therefore
if you have two or more recipes with duplicate names, you will
need to save each one individually or make a slight name change
before importing the recipe: Coffee Cake1; Coffee Cake2; etc.
When the Duplicate recipe warning pop-up, you'll also have a
"View & Compare" function. There the Original recipes from the
database you are importing TO, and the imported recipes will be
displayed in two separate windows. You can scroll both or one
windows at the time. Press ESC to exit.
MicroCook Manual - Page 8
When you load a recipe from the Index, you can mark the
recipe as Deleted while it is displayed in the Editors with the
"Delete This Recipe" function under the Index menu. The Hot-key
is ALT-Z. You can disable the Window that pops up after an ALT-Z,
but from then on, you will NOT get any warning that a recipe is
deleted when ALT-Z is used. This will reset next time you load
MicroCook.
MicroCook has an easy-to-use file selection that is used
throughout the program to select files, change directory or disk
drive. When this smaller file manager (see details later on the
main File Manager) is displayed, a small window at the top of the
screen will display the current directory. You can scroll through
a file list with the Up Arrow, Down Arrow, Page Up and Page Down
keys. If you have a mouse connected, you can place the cursor on
the red arrows on the right side of the window and press the left
mouse button. Or place the cursor on the scroll marker between
the arrows, and while holding the left mouse button down, drag it
up or down. In the larger file manager window the top line has
two dots (.. <Parent Directory>)
if you are in a directory other than the root directory. This is
the symbol for the Parent directory, the directory above the
current directory. If you place the cursor bar on that line and
press Enter or double click with the mouse, the parent directory
will be displayed. Any floppy disk drives or additional hard disk
drives are displayed as: [-A-] <Disk drive> (in this case
the A drive). If you select a floppy disk drive and it's not
ready or the floppy disk is write protected, an error message
will be displayed. Any name in all upper case letters and with
<DIR> after it is a directory. You can select any directory and
display its files by placing the cursor bar on the line with the
name of the directory. Now press Enter or double click with the
mouse. File names are displayed in lower case with their size in
bytes and creation date. Select a file to load by pressing enter
when the cursor bar is on the file name, or by double clicking
with the left mouse button. If only change of directories are
called for, no files will be displayed in the file menu. Press
ESC or the Right mouse button to cancel any work in the file
menu.
You load MicroCook by typing MCOOK in the directory where
the program and its files are saved. The first time you load
MicroCook, the Setup editor will first come up since there are no
configuration files. Please edit and change any of the defaults
so it reflects your system and recipe directory name. As the
default name for recipe file is the RECIPES.MCD file that's
included with MicroCook. See Setup described below for all the
defaults.
MicroCook Manual - Page 9
If you have a monochrome monitor, start MicroCook as
MCOOK/MONO to force the program into a Black & White mode. This
will make some of the color combinations more visible. To see
other available startup switches for MCOOK, type: MCOOK/?
Try MCOOK/NORSK if you have Norwegian blood in your veins:)
There have been reports that MicroCook locks up when running
in OS/2. But with help from a friend who uses OS/2, I think we
figured it out. In the meantime OS/2 users should start MicroCook
as: MCOOK OS2. This will bypass some routines that can cause the
lock up. This bypass will NOT make MicroCook lose any of its
functions. Also see the OS2_HOW.TXT file for additional
information.
If you want to install MicroCook in Windows 3.x or Windows
95, see the WINDOWS.TXT for details. A few icons are also
included.
Since MicroCook are using part of XMS or EMS memory, you can
optimize the conventional memory MicroCook use. If you have some
large recipe databases, or want most available memory when
Shelling to DOS from the Tool menu, you can add this line to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT:
SET OVERLAY_HEAP=0
If doesn't matter where in AUTOEXEC.BAT you add, as long as it's
typed exactly as above. There's not a space between OVERLAY and
HEAP, but an underscore. You can get to the AUTOEXEC.BAT from the
DOS prompt by typing:
EDIT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
or from Windows by typing: SYSEDIT in the RUN window from the
File menu. Be sure to select the AUTOEXEC.BAT window so you don't
add the line to the wrong file. After the AUTOEXEC.BAT is saved,
you need to reboot the computer before the OVERLAY_HEAP will
work.
MicroCook Manual - Page 10
Description of Menus ----------------------------------------
Press and hold one of the ALT keys, and then the first
character in the menu group name to access any of these menus. Or
use the Hot-key to access the function directly.
If a function isn't available at the time, for example if
you attempt to "Print This Recipe" when the editors are empty,
the color for the text for that function in the menu is turned to
black.
On the bottom line of the screen a more detailed description
of the menu items are displayed as you move through the menu.
File Menu (ALT-F) -------------------------------------------
Save Recipe - Hot-Key: ALT-S
Select this option from the file menu while you are editing
your recipe to avoid losing your work. When this function is
selected, either from the pull-down menu or by the hot-key, the
current recipe on the screen will be saved to the main data file.
At the same time the index will be updated, both in memory and in
the disk file. When the recipe is saved, you will hear a tone in
the PC speaker. You will not be able to save unedited recipes or
a recipe without a name. If you have edited a recipe, and select
a menu function that could clear the data on the screen, you will
be prompted so you can save the recipe. If AutoSave in Setup is
set to "Y", the recipe will automatically be saved without any
message. See Setup for details. After the recipe is saved, the
data is still on the screen, so you can continue entering more
text if necessary.
Save & New Recipe - Hot-key: ALT-A
When you have made your final editing corrections, choose
this option from the file menu. This option will both save your
recipe and clear the screen.
Start New Recipe - Hot-key: ALT-N
This menu function will only clear the screen without saving
the recipes first. But if the editors detect that the recipes
have been edited, you will be asked if you want to save it first,
as described above.
Load by Numbers - Hot-key: ALT-L
This function is only available if the "Enable Display and
Load by Recipe #" in Setup is set to Y (Yes). When enabled, the
recipe numbers will be displayed in the right column in the Index
listing. You can then browse through the index, and write down
the recipe numbers you want to retrieve later with this function.
This might be faster when the database grows to 1000 or more
recipes. Or you can note the recipe numbers during imports and
later quickly retrieve one or more of them.
MicroCook Manual - Page 11
Search for Recipe - Hot-key: None
If you need to look up some information that is stored in
the main data file on the disk, but you can't remember under
which recipe name it is saved, you can use this (or the next)
function. When this function is selected, a pop-up window will
prompt you for which part of the recipes you want to search. You
can choose between Recipe name, Category, Ingredients,
Preparations, or All. After this selection you will be prompted
for a search word. You can also you use ? as a wild card
character in the word. The search will also find words where you
only supply a part of it. So, if your search word is APPLE, both
APPLESAUCE and APPLECIDER are found (if they are there), along
with ANY word where APPLE is used. Or should you want to find all
recipes where chicken is used, this is the correct function to
use. If you selected to search on Ingredients, you will have the
choice to use 2 search words. Then BOTH words must match before
the recipe is loaded. i.e. Chicken AND Rice. The last window will
ask if you want to search on the whole word, or on a syllable.
When a recipe is found with the matching search word, it will be
displayed on the screen, and a message will ask if this is the
correct recipe or not. If you answer N (No), the search will
continue to the next occurrence of the word, and you will be
prompted again. If you answer Y (Yes), MicroCook will keep the
recipe on the screen, and enter the editors so you can edit, view
or print the recipe. If no recipes are found, a "Not Found"
pop-up message will be displayed. If the search has been used
previously, the last search word will still be displayed. You can
clear the editor with ALT-C, and if you need to, restore the
cleared word with ALT-R.
Disk View - Hot-Key: ALT-V
This search is similar to Search for Recipe. The main
difference is that instead of asking you to decide whether the
recipe that was found is what you are looking for, a new Index is
created which contains any recipe that meets your search
requirements. This is a helpful function when you have some
ingredient that you want to use, an overabundance of tomatoes or
apples or whatever, since you will be presented with all the
recipes that contain the ingredient and can select the one most
appropriate for the situation at hand. You can now select from
any of the displayed recipes. (see "Select from..." below). This
is also the function to use if you want to export only a certain
category in either ASCII or MC database format. First compile an
Index on the search word you want. After the search is done,
press ESC for the editors, then ALT-E to get to the Exports.
Select which export you want, and then after filling in a file
name, select one of the last two export options. If you have not
compiled a new Index with ALT-X, Index Select, you can access the
last compiled search index with the Hot-key: ALT-B, or from the
Index menu.
MicroCook Manual - Page 12
Quit - Hot-key: ALT-Q
This will close all files, clear the screen and exit
MicroCook. If an edited recipe is still on the screen, the "Not
saved" message described above will be displayed.
Index Menu (ALT-I) -----------------------------------------
Select from... - Hot-key: ALT-X
This is the function you will use to select and browse
through already entered recipes. When you choose this function
the first time, the Index will be compiled, sorted alphabetically
on the sort key you selected in Setup. In the index array, only
the recipe name and category is displayed. Once displayed, you
can scroll through the index with the cursor keys, Page Up or
Page Down, or by clicking with the left mouse button on the
up/down arrows on the right scroll bar, or on the red key names
on the bottom of the screen. If there are less than a screen full
of recipes displayed, only the up and down arrow cursor keys are
active. Select a recipe by pressing Enter when the highlighted
cursor bar is on-line with the recipe name you want to retrieve,
or by placing the mouse cursor on the line with the recipe name
and double click with the left mouse button. Once the recipe is
loaded from the main data file, it will be displayed in the
editors. You can move quickly to recipes or categories by typing
the first letter of the recipe or category names. If the Index is
sorted on Recipe name, the first letter in the recipe name is
used. And if sorted on Category, the first letter in the category
is used. If no sort is used, the first letter in the recipe name
is used. When typing a letter, the cursor bar will move to the
first recipe or category name starting with that letter. If the
same letter is typed again, the cursor bar will move down to the
next and so on. When it's past the bottom of the Index listing,
it will start from the top again. In the lower right corner the
number of recipes that are marked as deleted is displayed. Press
ESC in index to cancel any selection. While in the Index you can
re-sort it by pressing F8 or clicking on F8. You can also compare
two recipes with F4. Press F4 once, and it will mark the first
recipes. Press F4 on an other recipes will bring up the split-
windows where you can easy see the differences between the
recipes.
If more than 20% of the recipes in the current database are
marked as deleted, a window will pop up with a warning that it
might be a good idea to Pack the database. See Pack later in the
manual for details.
Last Search Index - Hot-key: ALT-B
When an Index listing has been compiled with either Index or
Disk View, it's kept in memory until a new index is compiled,
either through a search, or by accessing the whole index with
Index Select. So if you selected a recipe from a Search Index,
you can access the index listing again through this function
without re-doing the search.
MicroCook Manual - Page 13
Search - Hot-key: None
This is basically the same as the "Search for Recipe"
function described above, except this search is only for the
index in memory. Only words in the Recipe Name and/or Category
are searched. If a search word is found, MicroCook will retrieve
the whole recipe from the main disk file and display it. Then
display the "Correct Recipe? (Y/N)" message. Since the Index
searches are searching in memory only, it's VERY fast compared to
the Disk searches. However, the Index searches are limited to
searching for a recipe name and category only.
Index View - Hot-key: ALT-Y
This function is the same as "Disk View" described above,
except the search is only in the index in memory. You will use
this primarily when you know the name of a recipe and want to
avoid scrolling up or down to locate the recipe in order to bring
it up on the screen.
Sort - Hot-key: ALT-O
The Sort is a 2-key sort for the Index array only. The sort
can be performed either ascending or descending, and with either
recipe name or category as the primary sort key. When selected, a
window will pop-up with choices of sort keys. Select one by
number, or by placing the mouse cursor on the corresponding line
and clicking with the left mouse button. Since this a 2-key sort,
both the Recipe Names and Category are sorted. So if Category is
the primary sort key, all recipes within the same category are
sorted in the same order as the category. See Default Sort-key
under Setup.
Delete This Recipe - Hot-key: ALT-Z
By selecting this function, or with the hot-key, while a
previously saved recipe is displayed in the editors, the recipe
will be marked as deleted. Before it is marked, MicroCook will
ask if you really want to delete the recipe. As with the "Delete
Recipes" function described below, you can later un-delete the
recipe if the database has not yet been Packed. If you disable
the window that pop-up after ALT-Z is used, you will NOT be
warned that a recipe will be deleted when ALT-Z is used. After a
recipes is deleted, the next on in the Index order will be
displayed.
Un-Delete Recipes & Delete Recipes - Hot-key: None
When marking recipes for deletion, you are actually not
deleting them, only marking each recipe so it won't show up in
the index listing. When this function is selected, an Index array
with ALL recipes are compiled and displayed. You can then move
through the index and mark the recipes you want to mark for
deletion by pressing the Enter key, pressing the Space bar or
MicroCook Manual - Page 14
placing the mouse cursor on the line with the recipe name and
clicking the left mouse button. The recipes that are marked for
"deletion" will have a check mark in the left column by the
recipe name. When done marking, press F10 to write all the makers
to the disk files, and re-initialize MicroCook. You can un-delete
any recipes by selecting this function again. All recipes that
are marked for deletion will have the check mark by its name. Now
just un-mark the recipe, press F10 and the recipe is back again.
All marked recipes can be cleared with ALT-C, and also marked
with ALT-M. See the Pack function for permanent deletion of
recipes.
Print Menu (ALT-P) -----------------------------------------
This Recipe - Hot-key: ALT-R
If there is a recipe on the screen, this function will send
it to the printer port assigned to MicroCook in Setup. You will
be asked if you want to re-direct the output to an ASCII disk
file. This can be an handy feature if you later want to import
the recipe(s) into a word processor when you are ready to write
your own cookbook. The file output is formatted exactly in the
same way as the printed hard copy. One recipe will need one sheet
of paper, or about 60 lines of text. If a Laser printer is used,
a page eject is performed at the end of the print job, and if a
continuous sheet dot-matrix printer is used, the printer will
advance to the next page break. If the printer is not on-line and
ready when this or any other print function is selected, an error
message will be displayed. You can then ready the printer and try
again without aborting the printing.
In Setup you can specify what the heading on each recipe
should read. For example "------ Karen's Gourmet Recipes -------"
By leaving this field in Setup blank, no heading will be printed.
You also have the option to print recipe number and database name
on the line below the recipe heading. See Setup for details.
This Recipe - FAST - Hot-key: ALT-W
This is the same as above, but without ANY questions asked.
As soon as this function is selected, the recipe is printed to
the printer.
Other Recipes - Hot-key: None
With this function you can print selected recipes from the
Index. You can tag one recipe, or as many you want for multiple
sheets of recipes. Move through the index and mark the recipes
you want to Print by pressing the Enter key, Space bar or placing
the mouse cursor on the line with the recipe name and clicking
with the left mouse button. The check mark will indicate which
recipes will be printed. Press F10 when done selecting to start
the printing. You will also be given the chance to print an ASCII
MicroCook Manual - Page 15
file to a disk instead of to a printer. If you are printing to a
printer, you will also be asked if you want to remove the blank
lines between recipes. This will place more than one recipe on a
sheet of paper, but a recipe could also be split between two
pages. When printing to a file, there is one blank line between
recipes.
Index in Memory - Hot-Key: None
This will print the CURRENT compiled index in memory. If you
select this function without performing any of the View searches,
the whole index (minus the recipes marked as deleted) will be
printed. If you perform either an Index View search or a Disk
View search, only those recipes found in the search will be
printed.
Manual - Hot-Key: None
Here you can print out an hard copy of this manual. This
routine will also add on a 8-character left margin to the text,
so the sheets can be used in a 3-ring binder. The manual is
formatted for a 60-line page, which is used in most laser and
jet-ink printers. But it will also print out fine on a dot-matrix
printer.
Form Feed - Hot-Key: None
If you need to advance the paper in the printer one page,
this function will do so for you by sending a form feed command
to the printer (ASCII 12).
Registration form - Hot-Key: None
This menu item will only be visible if MicroCook is NOT
registered, or the KEY file can't be found in the directory where
MCOOK.EXE is. When selected, you'll have the option to print
the SWREG.TXT file, the CREDIT.TXT file, or use an editor to
enter information that can be mailed to NORSKi Software with a
check or money order (US currency ONLY). The SWREG.TXT file has
information about easy registering for CompuServe members. See
the CREDIT.TXT file if you want to register and pay with either
VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit cards. With
a credit card you can register through an 800 number, fax, e-mail
or postal mail. The REGISTER.EXE program can also be used from
the DOS prompt as a stand-alone program.
MicroCook Manual - Page 16
Database Menu (ALT-D) ---------------------------------------
Change to - Hot-key: ALT-C
Since you can have several different databases for use with
MicroCook, you will need an easy and fast way to change between
them. And this is it! When selected, an alphabetically sorted
scrolling menu will be displayed with only the *.MCD database
files that are in the current default directory (see Setup). By
placing the cursor bar on the file you want to load, and pressing
Enter, the file's Index will be loaded into memory. See
description earlier in this manual about the File menu.
Create New - Hot-key: None
Before any database file can be used to save recipes in, it
has to be created. This function will pop up a window where you
can type in an 8 letter filename. Do NOT use extension, as this
will be supplied by MicroCook. Both an empty main data file and
the index file will be created. After the database has been
created, you'll be asked if you want to set the new database as
the active one. You can also change the name of the default
database to it in Setup, so it will be loaded the next time you
load MicroCook. The default directory where the database files
will be created is also displayed in the window. If you want to
create the database in a different directory, press F8. The same
file menu as described above will then be displayed. But this
time only the available directories and disk drives are
displayed. After the file name has been entered, you will be
asked if you want to make the new database active. If you answer
Yes (Y), the new database will be loaded. If No (N) (or ESC), the
current database will stay loaded.
Re-Index - Hot-key: None
If the index file for some reason should get corrupted with
garbled data, you can re-create a new index file with this
function. It will delete the old index and read the necessary
information from the main data file and save it in a new index
file.
Setup - Hot-key: ALT-U
Here you let MicroCook know about some of your PC's
configurations and how you want the program to operate.
Default Recipe File...............................
This is the main data file MicroCook looks for when it's
loaded from the DOS prompt. If this file cannot be found, an
error message will be displayed. While working in MicroCook you
can change between databases as often as you want.
Default: RECIPES.MCD
MicroCook Manual - Page 17
Default Path for Recipe and data files............
Enter the disk drive and the directory where the recipe
database files, index files and any ASCII export or Import files
are. This does not have to be same directory as where the
MCOOK.EXE program and its support files are saved.
Default: Where MCOOK.EXE is located.
Auto Save after Edit? (Y/N).......................
If you set this option to Y (Yes), MicroCook will not prompt
you if a recipe has been edited, and you are about to select a
function that possibly could clear the recipes currently on the
screen, but automatically save it for you, no questions asked. By
setting this to N (No), a message will prompt you to save before
you can change function. Now you will have the option of either
saving the recipe or not. Press F, or click on the letter, to
bypass the save. Depending on the function you selected, the
recipe could possibly still be on the screen when you return. For
example, if you only wanted to look at the index, but not select
a new recipe, the recipe on the screen will still be there. But
if don't want to take any chances, save the recipe first.
Default: N
Printer Port used (LPT1-LPT4).....................
Enter the parallel port number where your printer is
connected.
Default: 1
Printer Page Length (Lines) ......................
Enter number of lines of effective printing one sheet of
paper can handle. This is usually 66 lines for a Dot-Matrix
continuous feed printer, and 60 lines for single sheet Laser (or
any other single sheet) printer.
Default: 66
Default Index Sort, Name or Category. (N/C).......
When the index is first loaded, it's sorted alphabetically
on two keys, one primary and one secondary key. This function let
you select the primary key. This can be either on recipe name (N)
or category (C). If you prefer to have recipes grouped by
category instead of by index name, select C.
Default: N
Sort Ascending/Descending (A/D)...................
Here the sort order for the primary key is set. The
secondary key is also sorted in the same order. If ascending (A)
is selected, the sort will be from A to Z. Apples will be on the
top of the index, and Zucchini on the bottom. Descending sort
will put the Zucchini on the top. The sort is case sensitive, so
Zucchini (upper case Z) will come before apples (lower case a).
Default: A
MicroCook Manual - Page 18
Index Sort when Recipe Save/Database Load (Y/N) ...
When the database is getting large, over 1500 recipes, the
Index sort will take a few seconds because it's a 2-key sort. But
you can disable the automatic Index sort during Index load and
also after a new or edited recipe has been saved by marking this
item with N (No). You can then sort the index as needed either
while in the Index (F8) or from the Index menu. If the Sort is
set to on, (Y), the Index will only be sorted if either the
recipe name or category is sorted. If only editing has been done
in either the Ingredients or Preparation, no sort will be
performed when the recipe is saved again.
Default: N
Enable Display and Load by Recipe#? (Y/N)........
If this function is enabled, the recipe (record) numbers
will be displayed in the Index listing. The recipes can then be
loaded directly by the Load by Number function in the File menu,
or ALT-L hot-key.
Default: N
Auto check for duplicate recipe names? (Y/N).....
When this function is enabled, MicroCook will check the
current index to determine if a recipe already exists with the
same name as one that is being entered and saved from the editors
or being imported with one of the imports. The name check is NOT
case sensitive, but the spelling and punctuation of the whole
recipe name must be the same. If a recipe is about to be saved
and has the same name as one already in the Index, a window will
pop up and warn you about it.
Default: N
12 or 24 hour clock format? (12/24) ................
Here you can chose if you want the clock on the screen to
display the time in the 12 hour format (A.M. & P.M.) or in the
military 24 hour format, also used in Europe and other parts of
the world. 11:37:12 PM vs 23:37:12.
Default: 12
Name of Screen Saver file, included extension ......
The screen saver isn't really needed with today monitors,
but they can be nice and relaxing to look at. So I have collected
Oodles of Doodles, and complied them into MCDOODLE.EXE. More
details about MCDOODLE.EXE are in the MCDOODLE.TXT file. Also how
to use your own (or somebody else's screen saver). Be sure that
you enter the whole file name of the screen saver, included the
EXE, COM or BAT extension. If the specified screen saver file is
not found in the same directory where MCOOK.EXE is, nothing will
happen when the time has passed to activate the screen saver.
Default: MCDOODLE.EXE
MicroCook Manual - Page 19
Minutes till Screen Saver Activates (0-60) (0=Not Used)
If you have loaded MicroCook on your PC, and it just sits
there and is doing nothing, this function will make it do
"something". If the keyboard or mouse hasn't been used within the
time limit set here, a graphical screen saver will be activated.
This screen saver has many different screens, and they will
change in a random manner. Just tap a key on the keyboard or
click one of the mouse buttons to get back to the editors again.
If you don't want the screen saver activated at all, enter a 0
(Zero) here, and you'll never see it again. This screen saver
ONLY works on VGA or better monitors. If a CGA or EGA monitor is
detected, it will not be activated.
Default: 5
Silent Mode (NO Chimes)..........................
With an Y (Yes) here, all the chimes and beeps will be
disabled.
Default: N
Capitalize First Letter in Recipe Name? (Y/N) ...
With the feature ON (marked Y), any recipe name, either
entered in the editor, or through an Import will capitalize the
first letter in each word in the recipe name. Since the sort is
case sensitive, Zucchini will come before apple, but if they both
have the first letter in upper case, Apple will come before
Zucchini.
Default: Y
Print Database name * Rec.# on printout (Y/N) ...
When this option is marked Y (yes), the recipe number and
the name of the recipe database is printed on the line below the
recipe heading. So if you have lots of recipe databases, you can
easily locate the correct database and recipe number from the
hard copy of the recipe.
Default: Y
Top line on printed recipes .....................
Here you customize the printout of the recipes. You can
either enter your own heading, or leave it blank for no heading.
Default: ---------- MicroCook Recipe -----------
MicroCook Manual - Page 20
Mouse Cursor Foreground Color#: Background#: Character#:
Bored with the same mouse cursor? Now you can create your
own! Choose from 15 foreground colors, 7 background colors, and
253 different characters. That's an awful lot of combinations!
When the editor cursor is placed on one of these three input
fields, a large window will pop up with color numbers to use, and
also the ASCII decimal number of some of the characters that can
be used. Many of the low ASCII characters, from 31 and down to 1
can also be used as cursor. See an ASCII chart for a full
listing. A DOS or Windows manual might have one as an appendix.
Look at the mouse cursor after you change one of the values and
move to the next field! Defaults: 14-4-4, which is a yellow
diamond on red background.
When done editing the setup, press F4 to save, or ESC to
cancel. If F4 was pressed, MicroCook will re-initialize so any
changes can be put into effect.
Pack - Hot-Key: None
When you delete a recipe, it's not really deleted, but only
marked so it won't show up in the index listing. It will also be
ignored during a search. So the recipe still takes up room in the
database, and on your hard disk. When you are 110% sure you DO
NOT want to un-delete any of the marked recipes, use this Pack
function to PERMANENTLY delete the recipes. During Pack, the
database is renamed to MCOOKTMP.MCD. Then a new database is
created with the same name as the one that are being Packed. Next
all recipes that are NOT marked for deletion is copied from
MCOOKTMP.MCD to the new database. When the Packing is done, you
will be asked if you want to delete the OLD MCOOKTMP.MCD or not.
This is the LAST chance to get any deleted recipes from the
MCOOKTMP.MCD database! If you answer Yes, the recipes will be
gone forever. If you answer No, the MCOOKTMP.MCD will still exist
on the hard disk, and can be loaded as a normal database. But
unless you need any recipes from it, it's just taking up disk
space, so you might as well delete it.
MicroCook Manual - Page 21
Tools Menu (ALT-T) -----------------------------------------
File Manager - Hot-Key: ALT-K
With file manager you can take care of many file tasks
without leaving MicroCook. Here you can copy or move files to
other disk drives or directories, rename or delete them, or take
a look at them with the file viewer. Of course, only ASCII text
files will make any sense, EXE or COM files will only display
some characters that won't make for good reading. If you want a
hard copy printed out of the file currently viewed, press F9. The
limit on files in the file viewer is about 16,000 lines. Any
existing ASCII file, up to approximately 50Kb in size, can be
edited, or you can start to write a new ASCII file. When you
start a new file, it's size is set to 500 lines, and when you
load an existing file there's room to add 100 more lines. If a
file that's too big for the editor is loaded, an error message
will be displayed.
On the left side is a listing of the disk drives available,
and also the directories and files in the current directory. The
listing is keyboard sensitive, so by typing a letter on the
keyboard, the highlighted cursor bar will move to the first
directory or filename that starts with that letter. Repetitive
typing of the same letter will move the cursor bar to the next
file with the correct first letter. If you know the name of the
file you want, you can type in partial or full name by pressing
TAB. This will bring up a small one line editor where you can
enter the file name. The wild card is ?. The wild card only work
if it's used before the last letter typed.
To perform a function on one of the files, you must place
the cursor bar on the filename first, and then either click on
the appropriate button with the mouse cursor, or press ALT and
the (red) first letter in the function name at the same time.
If you want to change disk drive or directory, place the
cursor bar on the drive/directory name, and press (or click on)
ENTER. If you try to access a disk drive that's not ready, an
error message will be displayed.
When a file is selected for either copy or move, a window
will pop up where the destination drive and directory must be
entered. If the file is moved, it will be deleted from the
current directory after it has been copied.
Also when renaming a file, a window will pop up where you
must enter the new file name. If a file with the same name
already exists in the current directory, an error message will be
displayed.
If you select to delete a file, a window will pop up and ask
if you are sure that you really want to delete it.
The ASCII editor can be used to edit anything from the
AUTOEXEC.BAT to any recipe files you might download from a BBS.
MicroCook Manual - Page 22
If you need to edit recipes in other formats than those that can
be directly imported into MicroCook, there are built in macros
for the "key" words and headings that MicroCook looks for when
importing ASCII files in its own format. Press F2 to see a
listing of the available macros. While the macro listing is
displayed, you can also enter your own macro test for F3. Press
F3 to activate the macro editor. After the macro is saved, it
will always be available in the ASCII editor. If you need help on
how the MicroCook ASCII format look like, press ALT-F2 to see a
detailed description. ALT-S will save the current file, and ALT-N
will clear the editor so you can start a new file. ESC will bring
you back to the File Manager again. If a file is edited before
exiting, and it is not saved, a message will be displayed, and
ask if you want to save first.
Read Manual - Hot-key: ALT-M
If you don't have a printed manual (this document) nearby
while working in MicroCook, you can select this function and read
it without first exiting MicroCook. See "Conversions" about
navigating in the file viewer. The manual is called MCOOK.MAN,
and it MUST reside in the same directory as MCOOK.EXE.
Conversions - Hot-key: None
Selecting this function will bring up an ASCII file viewer
with a file called MCOOK.MCC. This file MUST reside in the same
directory as MCOOK.EXE. This file contains some conversions
between metric and English weights and volume, abbreviations for
measures used in recipes, some substitutes that can be used
during cooking, and conversions between degrees Centigrade and
degrees Fahrenheit. This file is an ASCII text file, so you can
edit and/or add your own data that you might need to look at
while entering recipes. You can scroll up, down or sideways
through the file with Page Up, Page Down, the up, down, left or
right arrow keys, or by placing the mouse cursor on the up or
down arrows by the scroll bars and clicking the left button. The
End key will place the cursor on the last line in the document,
and Home will place it on the first line. F3 will bring up a
small window where you can type in text that you want to search
for. When found, the text will be highlighted, otherwise a Not
Found message will be displayed. Press ESC to return to the
editors.
MicroCook Manual - Page 23
About..... - Hot-Key: None
About provides information relating to MicroCook. The
program name and version will be displayed in a pop-up window as
well as an indication as to whether or not the program has been
registered. If it's registered, the serial number and the name of
the person it was registered to are also displayed.
Status - Hot-key: None
As your recipe database grows, you can take a look in this
Status window to see how many more recipes there are room for in
the database currently in use. This is an estimate only,
calculated from the free memory you currently have in your PC.
Also displayed is how much free disk space is left on the disk
currently in use. And how many more recipes it could hold, if you
were to fill up the rest of the disk with recipes only. Even
though the Status window says you can have for example, 1985
recipes in a database, you should try to keep the maximum at
least 20-30 less than that number. BEST: Keep the databases below
1500 recipes. Smaller databases are faster in loading, sorting
and selecting from. This will protect you in case you add a new
RAM resident program (TSR) and still allow you to access the
database and the index. Also, if you have many recipes in a
database, Imports and editing will slow down if Duplicate
Checking is on.
DOS Shell - Hot-key: None
Need a short trip to the DOS prompt? Here's the door.
There's probably not enough memory to load WordPerfect, but most
DOS program less than 200 Kb should work. If you change directory
while in DOS, MicroCook will change it back to the working
directory when entering the program again. Type EXIT to re-enter
MicroCook again.
MicroCook Manual - Page 24
Export/Import Menu -----------------------------------------
Export MicroCook database - Hot-key: None
With this function you can export the whole (basically copy
the one in use), or selected recipes from the one currently in
use. Since MicroCook uses a fixed length record random access
database system, these files can ONLY be used by MicroCook. When
selected you will be asked for a filename to use when you export.
Type in a name, maximum 8 characters and no extension. If a file
with that name already exists, a message will ask you if you want
to enter a different name, append to the existing one, or
overwrite the existing one. If you enter a new file name, a new
database will be created, but without the index file. If you
select "overwrite" the existing database will be deleted, and a
new empty one with the same name will be created. Next you will
have the choice of if you want to export all or selected recipes.
If you have compiled an Index on a Search Word and want those
recipes in a separate database, select 3. You can be even more
detailed with #4, Export Selected Recipes from Current Index,
where you can tag from the compiled Index. If Selected is chosen,
the index will be displayed. And now you can tag only the recipes
you want to export to the new database. When done tagging, press
F10 to start the export. This export feature can be a handy
feature if you later want to divide up the recipes into different
groups, like different ethnic foods, or want to mail some of your
recipes on a floppy disk to a friend who also uses MicroCook.
Press F8 to bring up the File menu described earlier if you want
the new database file to be saved in a different directory.
After the export is done, you will be asked if you want to mark
the exported recipes as Deleted. This would be the same as you
had MOVED the recipes to a different database.
Import MicroCook database - Hot-key: None
This allows you to import the database files that were
exported with the function described above. When selected, you
will see the scrolling File menu with the available databases in
the current directory. After you have selected one, the next
question is if you want to verify the recipe before it's saved to
the one currently in use. If you answered N (No) all recipes will
be imported. If you are not sure if you want all the recipes in
the imported one, answer Y (Yes). That way you can select those
you want to save or want to edit a little. As the recipes are
retrieved from the database, they are displayed in the editors.
If you don't want to save it, just answer N (No), and MicroCook
will continue on to the next one. Press Y (Yes) to save it, or E
(Edit) if you want to edit it. If you select Edit, the editors
will be activated. When you are done editing, press ALT-S to
Save, or ALT-N if you don't want to save it. The import will
continue on to the next recipe. This editing function is only
MicroCook Manual - Page 25
available if you answer Y (Yes) to verify the recipes as they are
imported. You can abort the import at any time by pressing ESC,
or clicking the right mouse button. When done importing, you will
be asked if you want to import more files.
If the database you are importing is from a MicroCook
version prior to 1.81, it will automatically be converted during
import.
Export MicroCook ASCII - Hot-Key: None
If you are using bulletin board systems (BBS) such as GEnie
(tm), Prodigy (tm), CompuServe (tm), America On Line (tm) or any
other BBS, and want to upload one or more of your recipes to
share with friends that also use MicroCook, this is the function
to use. If you need to share ASCII recipe files with someone that
doesn't have MicroCook (yet), the ASCII format is so "clean" that
the file can be used in any word processor or text editor.
So that MicroCook can recognize the ASCII recipe, there's a
header and footer line. These two lines must NOT be changed. Also
some of the other text are used as "road markers", so that
MicroCook knows what goes where.
If you export in a narrower than the default 78 character
wide format, you should try to use indent (Tab) on the first line
in each new paragraph. This will help reconstruct the Preparation
text closer to the exported original when importing again.
If no major change has happened in the ASCII recipe between
the header marker and the end of recipe marker, MicroCook can
pick out the recipe and format it for use without any problems
from within a large file with other downloaded E-mail.
The procedure to Export MC ASCII files is the same as MC
Database Export, except here you will also be asked for the width
in characters of the ASCII file. If you want to post MicroCook
ASCII recipes on BBS's, or on Online services like AOL,
CompuServe, GEnie or DELPHI, you should use a narrower than the
78 wide default format. But check with the Sysop on-line for
which width is preferred. By using the best width for the BBS the
downloaded ASCII file will import much better into MicroCook
again. MicroCook will remember which width you used when you use
the ASCII export again.
In MicroCook 1.3x a ^ formatting character was used. This
character made the recipes not very "BBS friendly", so some
Sysops refused to post MicroCook recipes. The 1.3x format will
still import correctly with this version.
Import MicroCook ASCII - Hot-key: None
This is the function you need to use when importing the
specially formatted ASCII files exported with the function
described above. When selected, the file menu described earlier
will pop up with a listing of ALL files in the current directory.
MicroCook Manual - Page 26
So be sure you select only the ones that are valid MC ASCII
files. If any other files are selected, nothing will happen
because MicroCook can't find the MC ASCII recipe header, and
after it has gone through the whole file, a "No Recipes found"
message will be displayed putting you back in the editors. Here
you also will have the option of verifying and/or editing the
recipes before they are saved to the database currently in use,
or importing all of them. If the ASCII recipe has been exported
in a narrower format than the default 78 characters, it will be
expanded again. MicroCook will try to figure out where the
beginning and end of paragraphs are, but depending on the
exported file, it might not always be successful. When done
importing, you will be asked if you want to import more files.
See MCFORMAT.TXT regarding how a MicroCook ASCII file must look
before it can be imported.
Import MealMaster ASCII - Hot-Key: None
I know that there are many ASCII recipe files formatted for
Meal-Master(tm) around on various BBS's. And if you want to
download any of them and import them, you can use this function.
I have tried to make this function as flexible as possible
without letting anything but Meal-Master recipes through. This
function will work for both the special Prodigy format and the
"generic" Meal-Master ASCII format. But since these Meal-Master
recipes are not created by MicroCook, some editing might be
necessary during Import to get them the way you want them. But I
think about 99% of them do just fine as they are.
When this function is selected, the same file manager as
described above will be displayed with a listing of ALL the files
in the current directory. After a file is selected, MicroCook
will ask if you want to verify each recipe during Import. If you
answer Yes, you can select to either save, not save, or edit the
recipes as they are found in the imported file. When answering
No, MicroCook will import non-stop. If Duplicate checking is set
to On, the import will stop if a duplicate recipe is found.
The next window will ask how you want to format the
ingredients. Samples are provided so you can see how different
options will format the imported recipe. When done, type D(one),
or click on the Done! button. Now MicroCook will load the file
and start to look for the Meal-Master header:
---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v7.0 (or other version)
After the header is found, the rest of the text is deciphered,
and the recipe name, categories, servings, ingredients and
preparation are put into the correct places in the MicroCook
recipe. Also the narrow Prodigy (*P) format and recipes from most
versions of Meal-Master and MMCONV are recognized. When done
importing, you will be asked if you want to import more files. If
MicroCook Manual - Page 27
the number of lines in either Ingredients or Preparations are
more than MicroCook capacity (34 & 50), a warning window will pop
up. You now have the option to either save or not save the
recipe.
Import MasterCook ASCII - Hot-Key: None
This is an other ASCII format that is getting popular on
many BBS and On-line services. The Import will recognize the
MasterCook II and MasterCook Mac formats. Since the MasterCook
ASCII files are not created by MicroCook, some re-formatting of
the text might be necessary.
NOTE: A stand-alone conversion program for converting ASCII
recipes from Edna's Cookbook is also included. This might not be
as popular a format, but several users has asked for this
utility, so they got it! The program is called EDNA2MC.EXE. See
EDNA2MC.TXT for details on how to use this utility.
Help - Hot-Key: F1
Just that - HELP! This function will bring up an ASCII file
in the ASCII file viewer called MCOOK.HLP. This file MUST reside
in the same directory as MCOOK.EXE. In this file only keys and
key combinations that are not printed on the screens are listed,
like the hot-keys, and editing keys in the editors. If you need
detailed help about MicroCook, use the Read Manual function in
the Tools menu. If you want to add your own Help and/or tips in
this file, use an ASCII editor like MS-DOS's EDIT, or MCEDIT that
you receive after you have registered MicroCook. You can also use
a word processor, but be sure to save what you write as a pure
ASCII text.
What's next?
I have received several suggestions from users of previous
versions that I will try to implement in the next version. Some
of them are in this version too. But the more feedback I get from
YOU, the user, the better MicroCook will get. So, please let me
know the GOOD and BAD about MicroCook, and what you would like to
see in the next version. Either by mail, on the registration
card, by phone or on one of the on-line services where I'm a
member. See the WHATNEXT.TXT file for some of what's in the works
or planned with MicroCook.
There might be a few new/changed items that have not made it
to this manual yet. See WHATSNEW.TXT for any "un-documented"
features.
MicroCook Manual - Page 28
A Special THANK YOU to:
Annie, Beverly, Bill, Berni, Bobbie, Chet, Cindy, Darla, Fred,
Gail, Gloria, Hank, Herman, Irene, Jackson, Judi, Kay, Linda,
Neil, Patsy, Shari, Shirley and Wendy on GEnie On-line Services.
They helped me in getting the "bugs" out of MicroCook. Without
them and their suggestions and keen eye for "something that
doesn't work right", MicroCook wouldn't be what it is today.
Couldn't ask for better Beta Testers!
And thank you for good ideas for improvements to Mike, Charlie,
Bobbie, David and many more. Keep 'em coming! And also a BIG
THANK YOU to Caryl in Texas for help with the manual.
The various brand names mentioned in this manual are registered
trademarks.
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MicroCook Manual - Page 29