Shop'NCook shopping list and recipe management software

Shop'NCook Pro 3.4.2 User's Manual

Shop'NCook

Recipe Import/Export

Recipes can be exported to the following formats: Shop'NCook exchange format, Meal-Master format, HTML and plain text. If you are exchanging recipes with other Shop'NCook users, you should use Shop'NCook exchange format, as it conserves the ingredient links to the shopping list and the unit data to compute the nutritional information.

You can import recipes in the following formats and extensions: Shop'NCook Exchange (*.scx), Meal-Master (*.mm and *.mmf), MasterCook (*.mxp and *.mx2), Now You're Cooking (*.txt), TheRecipeManager (*.txt) and plain text (*.txt).

ExtensionFormat description
.scxShop'NCook exchange format
Files in this format start with:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="yes"?>
<!DOCTYPE ShopNCook SYSTEM "http://www.rufenacht.com/shopncook.dtd">

.mmMeal-Master format
Files in this format have the "Meal-Master" in the first line, for example:
------------- Recipe Extracted from Meal-Master (tm) Database
.mxpMasterCook export format
Files in this format start with:
* Exported from MasterCook *
and the ingredient list is introduced by
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------

.mx2MasterCook XML export format
Files in this format starts with:
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!DOCTYPE mx2 SYSTEM "mx2.dtd">

.txtNow You're Cooking text format
Files in this format stat with:
@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format
.txtTheRecipeManager text format
Files in this format stat with:
* Exported from TheRecipeManager *
and the ingredient list is introduced by
Qty Measure Ingredient ------------------------------------------------------------
.txtPlain text format
This is a general format for text recipes. See below for a list of the requirements for a plain text recipe to be correctly imported.

Formatting text recipes for importing

Shop'NCook uses a sophisticated algorithm to parse plain text recipes and can automatically recognize quantities and ingredient names. Therefore very little or no formatting is needed to import successfully a plain text recipe. For the best results, make sure that the first line is the recipe title and that only one ingredient is listed per line. If you are importing several recipes in one file, separate them with a line of five or more consecutive hyphens.

The import editor

When importing a recipe from the clipboard or from the Internet, you are first taken to the import editor where you can edit the recipes. The format of the recipes is automatically recognized, but you can choose there to use a different format to interpret them. Once you are done editing the recipes, click the Import button to be taken to the import manager.

The import manager

When you import recipes from a file or from the import editor, you are taken to the import manager that lists the titles of the recipes to import. On the left-hand side of the titles, you have a checkbox. You can uncheck the recipes you do not want to import. On the right, you have the list of the categories. You can edit the list of categories for each recipe. If you want the recipe to belong to several categories, separate the category names with the character "|". In the toolbar of the import manager window, you can specify an additional category that will be added to all the imported recipe. It is set to "Direct Access" by default when importing from the Direct Access panel, and to "Import" otherwise. You can select another value in the pull-down menu, or type in the desired value. This additional category makes it easier to access your newly imported recipes and is particularly useful when you are importing a lot of recipes at once. If you do not want an additional category, clear its field. Click Save to import the checked recipes. The recipes are imported into the current cookbook. If you specified an additional category, the recipe panel will be displayed with all the recipes belonging to this category.

How To...

How to export a recipe to a file or to the clipboard

Go to the Recipes panel by selecting the Recipes tab. Open the cookbook from which you want to export recipes. You can select several recipes for exporting at one time, unless export protections have been set on the cookbook. To select a range of recipes, click the first recipe of the range, then shift-click the last one. You can also select several recipes by clicking with the control-key pressed on Windows, or with the command key pressed on Mac OS X. To export the selected recipes to the clipboard, select "Export To Clipboard..." in the File menu. They will be exported in plain text format. You can also export the recipes to a file by selecting "Export" in the File menu and selecting the desired format (Shop'NCook Exchange, MealMaster, HTML, or plain text).

How to import a recipe from a file

Go to the Recipes panel by selecting the Recipes tab. Open the cookbook into which you want to import recipes. If the cookbook is locked, you need to unlock it prior to importing. Select Import... from the File menu. Select a file of type .scx, .mm, .mmf, .mxp, .mx2 or .txt. In the window of the Import Manager that opens, you can select which recipes you want to import and edit the category list of each recipe. You can also input an additional category that will be added to each imported recipe. Click OK to import the selected recipes.

How to import a recipe from the Internet

Go to the Recipes panel by selecting the Recipes tab. Open the unlocked cookbook into which you want to import recipes. Select "Get Recipes..." to open a page with links to internet recipe resources in your browser. Search for recipes in some of the recipe databases or with a search engine. When you have found a recipe, select its text and copy it to the clipboard. Return to Shop'NCook and select "Import From Clipboard..." in the File menu of the Recipes tab. A window opens where the recipe text can be edited if necessary. See above for information about how a text recipe should be formatted for best import. Click then on Import. The Import Manager window opens where you can edit the category list of the recipe. Click on OK to import the recipe.

How to import a recipe archive from the Internet

Go to the Recipes panel by selecting the Recipes tab. Open the unlocked cookbook into which you want to import recipes. Go to the Browser panel and browse to the page of the recipe archive you want to import. Click on the link of the recipe archive. The archive will be downloaded and automatically expanded if necessary. If it contains several files, you are prompted to select one file of the archive for import. The text of the file is then opened in the Import Editor window where you can edit it if necessary and check that the format has been correctly recognized. Click then on Import. The window of the Import Manager opens, where you can select which recipes of the archive you want to import and edit the category list of each recipe. You can also input an additional category that will be added to each imported recipe. This additional category helps you access the recipe of the archive afterwards. It is set to Import by default. Click OK to import the selected recipes.

How to import a cookbook from the Internet

Go to the Browser panel and browse to the page of the cookbook you want to import. Click on the link of the cookbook. The file will be downloaded and automatically expanded if necessary. If it contains several files, you are prompted to select one file of the archive for import. Select the file with extension ".scb". The cookbook is automatically installed in the Cookbook folder and opened in the Recipes panel.

How to import recipes from another software

If you want to import recipes from another cooking software, export them to a file in Shop'NCook Exchange, MasterCook or MealMaster format. Go then to the Recipes panel and open the unlocked cookbook into which you want to import the recipes. Select "Import..." from the File menu and locate the file to import. The import manager window opens where you can select which recipes you want to import. When you click Save, the selected recipes will be imported into the current cookbook.

If you want to import recipes from a browser or a text editor for example, select the recipes and copy them to the clipboard. Open Shop'NCook. Go to the Recipes panel and open the unlocked cookbook into which you want to import the recipes. Select then "Import from Clipboard..." in the File menu. The Import Editor window opens where you can choose the import format and edit the text of the recipes if necessary. See above for tips in how to format text recipes for the best success. Click the Import button. The Import Manager window then opens where you can select which recipes to import and edit the list of categories of the recipes. Click the Save button to finalize the import.

Copyright Rufenacht Innovative 2004.