Meal-Master™ Recipe Database from Episoft Systems

Program Operation FAQ

I forgot my registration number. How do I find it?

• Beginning with version 8.06, registration numbers are no longer needed. Please download the latest version of Meal-Master and update your existing program with it.

What files do I need to back up?

• Index.mme, Ingred.mme, Direct.mme contain your recipes
• Catfile.mme contains your personal category list
• Parm.mmf contains your current option settings. This file should NOT be restored to any location other than where Meal-Master was originally installed. For example, if Meal-Master was installed to C:\MM and you later move it to D:\MM, then you should allow Meal-Master to create a new Parm.mmf file in D:\MM rather than restoring the old one.
• *.mmp files contain any printer definitions you have created. If you have never used "Save As" from the printer menu or downloaded additional *.mmp files from the internet, then the only *.mmp files in your MM directory will be those installed with the Meal-Master program. In that case, you need not back the files up because you can re-install them from your Meal-Master diskette or downloaded archive file.

How can I use PKZIP to backup my database to floppy disks?

• Assuming your recipes are in subdirectories of c:\mm, then:
  
  pkzip -arp& a:mmback.zip *.mme parm.mmf *.mmp
  
  …will back up all the important files to your A: floppy drive.

How do I prepare recipes that are not in Meal-Master format for import?

• Use an editor that can save files in "plain ASCII", "DOS Text", or similar format
• Follow instructions in the Importf.doc file provided with Meal-Master

How do I separate groups of ingredients within a recipe?

• Use an Ingredient Heading line
• Enter an "H" in the quantity field, then enter the heading text in the ingredient name field

How do I download recipes from the internet?

• This depends on how the web site is designed, and what browser you are using. That makes this question a bit difficult for us to answer, because depending on the web site and your browser, the instructions will be a bit different. For the most specific information, review your web browser's help files, or contact the web site designer/owner for help. With that said, some general instructions follow. :)
• Recipe files are usuall a "link" on web pages, so that you can simply click on the link to download the file. Depending on how your browser works, you may need to right-click on the link, then select "save file" or "download file" or "save target" or some similar command; see your web browser's help file for more information.
• When downloading recipe files, it may be helpful to always place them into a specific directory, such as "c:\download", so you will be able to find them easily when importing. Again, depending on the browser, this may require you to right-click the link so that you can specify where to place the file on your hard drive.
• Often recipe files are compressed into a "Zip" file, to save download time and disk space at the web server. If the file you download ends in .ZIP, you will need some kind of "unzip" software to extract the recipes. Here are links to some companies and sites where you can find the more popular ZIP compression/extraction utilities:

WinZip, by Nico-Mak Computing
PkZip for Windows, by PKWare, Inc.
ZipMagic by Mijenix Corporation

How do I import recipes after downloading them?

• After downloading (and uncompressing, if necessary) as described above, you will have a plain text file. Start Meal-Master and use the "U-Utilities, I-Import" screen. When asked for the file name, be sure you give the full path & name of the file you downloaded. For example, if you downloaded to "c:\download\recipe.txt" then enter c:\download\recipe.txt as the Import file name.
• Remember that Meal-Master will only import files that are in Meal-Master format! Recipes that are not in Meal-Master format will need to be edited or converted before import. The "Convert.exe" program included with Meal-Master will convert several common recipe formats to Meal-Master format, and there are third-party utilities for converting other formats. See the Links to Recipes and Utilities sites to find utilities that work with Meal-Master.

How do I get the Search listing to display recipes in alphabetical order?

• Meal-Master does not currently provide this function itself.
• There are some third-party shareware/freeware utilities that will do this
• Check our Links to Recipes and Utilities sites

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