The Education Master 1994 (4th Edition)/EDUCATIONS_MASTER_4TH_EDITION.bin/files/foodtion/mealmstr/readme!

Text File | 1993-05-22 | 29KB | 581 lines

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                MEAL-MASTER README! File  --- Version 7.07
         ********************************************************

  This file contains some important information to help you get the most
  from Meal-Master. Please review this information before using the
  program.


  A NOTE ABOUT SHAREWARE
  ----------------------
  Meal-Master is distributed as "Shareware."  Shareware is not free
  software.  It is a distribution concept that allows a "try before you
  buy" evaluation period of the software.

  Any fee you may have paid to a shareware distribution service was for
  their service and materials only, and does not provide any compensation
  to the author.  After evaluation, you are legally required to either
  register the software you have with the author or discontinue using it.
  If you continue using the software then registration is not optional;
  it is payment for the software you have already received on a "try
  before you buy" basis.

  When registering Meal-Master, you also will receive the latest version,
  several utility programs, and a professionally typeset and bound 120+
  page User's Manual with full descriptions and examples of all
  Meal-Master features, including a complete index.  You will also
  receive a personal serial number for the program, which will record
  your registration, allow access to the additional Registered User
  features, and eliminate the request for registration from the title
  screen.

  To register, select the "R Registration" option from Meal-Master's main
  menu, then "O Order form".  Fill in the blanks, use your Print Screen
  key to print the filled-in form, and mail with check or money order for
  the amount indicated to Episoft Systems at the address shown on the
  program's initial title screen.

                    THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING SHAREWARE!


  INSTALLATION - REGISTERED VERSION
  ---------------------------------
  The Registered Master disk includes a program named "INSTALL".  Simply
  place the disk in your floppy drive, and type "A:INSTALL" (or
  "B:INSTALL" if using drive B:) at the DOS prompt and follow the on-
  screen prompts to install the program.  All existing recipe files will
  be preserved for use with the new software.


  INSTALLATION - EVALUATION VERSION
  ---------------------------------
  The evaluation version as prepared by Episoft is a single, self-
  extracting archive file, "MM7.EXE".  Simply type "MM7" at the DOS
  prompt and follow the on-screen instructions.  A different procedure

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  may be necessary if you received your copy from a shareware
  distributor, time share service, or BBS system rather than Episoft.

  (Note: the INSTALL program mentioned above is not included nor
  necessary for the Evaluation version.)


  PROGRAM REGISTRATION PROCESS
  ----------------------------
  When registering Meal-Master, you receive a personal serial number
  which must be entered into the program to activate its registered user
  features.  To enter your serial number, start on Meal-Master's main
  menu and select "R Registration Menu".  Then select "E Enter
  Registration Number", and enter your name and serial number EXACTLY as
  provided on the Registration Sticker in your Registered User's Package.
  The capitalization, spacing, and symbols must all be entered EXACTLY as
  shown on your Registration Sticker.

  Your registration information is recorded in a file named "MMREG.MMF".
  If you distribute copies of Meal-Master to other users, be sure NOT to
  include this file!  Your registration information is for your personal
  use only!  If you pass on a copy of Meal-Master for someone else to
  evaluate, be sure NOT to include your MMREG.MMF file.

  Record the information from your Registration Sticker in a safe place,
  like inside the cover of your User's Manual.  Should you wish to
  reinstall Meal-Master on a new machine, or if your program should ever
  need to be reloaded from the master disk, you will need this
  information to again enter your registration information.  (However,
  should you lose your registration number, Episoft can replace it.)


  THE SAMPLE DATABASE
  -------------------
  If you are using Meal-Master for the first time, and want to try it out
  without having to type in a bunch of your recipes, you can use the
  sample database provided.  From the Main menu, select "U Utilities"
  then "I Import" and specify "SAMPLE.TXT" for the file name.  On the
  next menu, select "M Mode: Automatic" then "S Start Importing".  The
  sample database of 35 recipes will be loaded into the program, and you
  can immediately begin trying the search, shopping list, index, and
  other features of Meal-Master.


  ADDENDUM/CHANGES TO THE PRINTED MANUAL
  --------------------------------------
  Registered users should make note of the following, which was a "last
  minute" program addition and did not make it into the printed User's
  Manual.

       A "/EMS" command line switch has been added.  Specifying "/EMS" on
       the command line when starting MM.EXE (or MMM.EXE) will cause MM
       to test for Expanded Memory.  If available and compatibile, MM
       will use this memory to store program overlays, which speeds up


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       some program operations and may free additional conventional
       memory for certain program operations..

       A new option has been added to the Maintenance menu to control
       whether quantity and unit of measure combinations are displayed.
       Pressing "1" on the Maintenance menu toggles this option between
       "Suppressed" and "Displayed as Entered".  When set to
       "Suppressed", items with quantity of "1" and a unit of "x" are
       displayed with blank quantity and unit, and items with a unit of
       "ea" are displayed with a blank unit.  (This menu item duplicates
       the function of the "/X" command line switch)


  FILES PROVIDED TO ALL USERS
  ---------------------------
  These files are distributed to users of both the Evaluation version and
  the Registered version of Meal-Master.

  MMQUICK.DOC For unregistered users, the MMQUICK.DOC file contains a
              short manual with enough information to get you started
              trying out Meal-Master.  Registered Users do not need to
              review this file, as this information is included in the
              120+ page printed manual supplied with their registered
              master disk.

  PRODIGY.DOC Provides information on using Meal-Master with the Prodigy
              (tm) service.  Many Meal-Master users are active on
              Prodigy's Food and Wine forum, and post recipes Exported
              from their Meal-Master database for others to capture and
              Import into their database.  This is a great way for family
              and friends to share recipes, as the electronic transfer
              requires no re-typing of the recipe by those receiving it.
              (Prodigy is a registered trademark of Prodigy Services,
              Inc.)

  IMPORTF.DOC Provides a specification of how a file must be formatted to
              Import into Meal-Master.  Although the Import function is
              designed to accept recipes that have actually been Exported
              from Meal-Master, many users are interested in using their
              Word Processors (and/or Meal-Master's built-in Import
              editor) to reformat recipes from other sources into a
              format that Meal-Master will Import.  This file gives the
              "rules" which a file must follow for it to import properly.

  MM.EXE      The main Meal-Master program file.

  README!     The file you are now reading.

  MM707.DES   A short description file used when posting Meal-Master on
              electronic bulletin board systems for distribution.

  CONVERT.EXE Utility program to convert CompuChef (tm), Micro Cookbook
              (tm), and Micro Kitchen Companion (tm) files for Import
              into Meal-Master.  (CompuChef is a registered trademark of
              Hillstepper Software, Micro Cookbook is a reg. trademark of

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              Virtual Combinatics, Micro Kitchen Companion is a
              registered trademark of Craftsbury Software, Inc.)

  SAMPLE.TXT  Sample Meal-Master Database, in Meal-Master Export format.
              To use these recipes with Meal-Master, start Meal-Master
              and access the "U Utilities" screen.  Select "I Import",
              and enter "SAMPLE.TXT" as the file name.  On the next menu,
              select "Mode: Automatic", then "S Start Importing".  This
              will load the contents of the sample file into the Meal-
              Master database.

  *.MMP       Assorted printer driver files.


  FILES PROVIDED TO REGISTERED USERS ONLY
  ---------------------------------------
  The following files are "bonus" programs for Registered Users only.
  They will not execute without a personal registration code provided by
  Episoft to Registered Users, so are not typically distributed to
  unregistered users in order to save file size and downloading costs.

  CHGCAT.EXE  Utility program to manipulate category names in the
              database.  This program will scan all recipes, collecting
              and organizing all category names.  Each unique category is
              listed, along with information about how many recipes
              contain that category and whether it is on your personal
              category table or not.  A new category name can be
              specified for any of the existing categories, and the
              update will be applied throughout the database.

  MMSTAT.EXE  Utility program to analyze database usage.  This program
              reports statistics about how many recipes are in the
              database, maximums and averages of ingredient and direction
              usage per recipe, and remaining capacity based on current
              averages and available disk space.

  MMCOLOR.EXE Utility program to set custom colors.  Meal-Master allows
              background and foreground colors to be selected for Normal,
              Medium Intensity, High Intensity, and reverse video.

  TITLES.EXE  Utility program to mass update the format of recipe titles
              throughout the database.  Especially when importing recipes
              from multiple sources, some titles will be in all capital
              letters, some in all lower case letters, and some in a
              mixture.  This utility lets you pick the way you want your
              titles to be stored, and updates the entire database using
              that style.

  MMM.EXE     Menu "shell" program.  This program provides an integrated
              menu from which the Meal-Master main program and all the
              utility programs can be accessed with a single keystroke,
              rather than exiting and starting each program from the DOS
              prompt.



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  DIRECTORY OF THE REGISTERED MASTER DISK
  ---------------------------------------
  The registered master disk contains an installation program, two
  archive files containing all the Meal-Master files, and a small utility
  used by the installation program.  Each file is described below.

  INSTALL.EXE Meal-Master installation program.  Place the master disk in
              drive "A:" and type "A:Install" (or "B:Install" if using
              your B: drive) at the DOS prompt to start installation.

  MMDC.UTL    Decompression utility used by the INSTALL program.

  MM7P.ZIP    Archive containing "MM.EXE", "README!", and assorted
              printer driver files.  Will be automatically expanded by
              the INSTALL program, or you may expand it manually if you
              have a utility program for ZIP format files.

  MM7U.ZIP    Archive containing Meal-Master utility, documentation, and
              sample database files.  Will be automatically expanded by
              the INSTALL program, or you may expand it manually if you
              have a utility program for ZIP format files.


  CAUTIONS/COMMON PROBLEMS
  ------------------------
  If you use the EMM386.SYS memory manager with its NOEMS option, and you
  run Meal-Master under Microsoft Windows, and you specify the "/EMS"
  switch when starting MM.EXE, then you may receive a "violated system
  integrity" message.  There are four ways to correct this problem:
  1) Do not specify the /EMS switch when starting Meal-Master, OR 2)
  Remove the NOEMS option from the EMM386.SYS line in your CONFIG.SYS
  file, OR 3) Create a PIF file for MM and specify zero for the "EMS
  Limit" and "XMS Limit" entries, OR 4) Buy a third-party memory manager
  such as QuarterDeck's QEMM (which will not only fix this problem, but
  provide much better memory management capabilities than EMM386 does!).

  Some monochrome displays driven by color adapter circuitry
  (particularly prevalent on inexpensive laptop machines) often do not
  provide sufficient gray scale contrast to differentiate between the
  text colors used by the unregistered version of Meal-Master.  If you
  encounter this problem with the unregistered version, try using the DOS
  command "Mode BW80" immediately before running Meal-Master (the MODE
  command is found in the DOS directory).  Registered users can use the
  MMCOLOR program to set the specific color combinations that work best
  on their machine.

  You must have the file CONFIG.SYS in the root directory of your boot
  disk, and it must contain the statement FILES=xx, where xx is a number
  that is at least 15.  If this file is missing, does not contain the
  FILES= statement, or specifies a value less than 15, Meal-Master may
  not perform all functions.  If you are using any sort of "task
  switching" software, such as Microsoft Windows or the task switching
  utility provided with DOS 5, a minimum of 30 is recommended.



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  The PARM.MMF and CATFILE.MMF files created by some very old versions of
  Meal-Master are occassionally incompatible with a newer version.  If
  you receive a "runtime error" when trying to start MM, try deleting
  these files and then restarting the program.  This will initialize new
  files that are compatible with the current version.

  Sight-impaired users with speech-synthesis equipment should start MM
  with the "/C" and "/T" switches.  The "/C" switch will route all screen
  output through normal BIOS services, where speech systhesis software
  can intercept them.  The "/T" switch (or "D" option on the
  Maintenance/Setup menu) will cause unit of measure "t" (teaspoon) to be
  displayed as "ts", and "T" (tablespoon) to be displayed as "tb".  This
  eliminates the ambiguity that exists when using "T" and "t" with a
  speech synthesis device.


  VERSION 7 RELEASE HISTORY
  -------------------------
  7.00  -  Initial release of version 7.  See below for details.
  7.01  -  Corrects a problem with the "Special: MMMMM" export format
           used to exchange recipes on BBS "echo" systems
  7.02  -  Adds support to the CONVERT.EXE program for the "Micro Kitchen
           Companion - Windows Edition v1.3 and v1.4" products.
  7.03  -  Corrects a problem when exporting with "Decimal Fractions" set
           on the Maintenance menu.

           Adds a blank line between exported recipes and repositions
           the "Title:", "Categories:", and "Servings:" lines one
           column right to help formatting on certain time share
           services.

           Adds support to the CONVERT.EXE program for the "Micro
           Kitchen Companion for DOS - Version 6.0" product.

  7.04  -  Previous versions always tested for and used EMS memory if
           present.  Version 7.04 will only attempt to use EMS if the
           "/EMS" command line switch is specified.

           The MMSTAT program would sometimes report disk space available
           as "-1" instead of the actual value. This has been corrected.

  7.05  -  With large databases and small available memory, the title
           index would sometimes cause a system lockup.  This has been
           corrected.

  7.06  -  The "/x" command line switch did not affect listings as
           described in the manual.  This has been corrected.

           The time on the main menu was displayed as "AM" between Noon
           and 12:59pm.  This has been corrected.

           The export screen now displays the number of recipes currently
           in the database.

           The CONVERT program sometimes dropped the first character of

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           some continuation lines when converting CompuChef (tm)
           recipes.  This has been corrected.

           The CHGCAT program would sometimes fill the screen with
           garbage when jumping to a particular entry.  Also, when the
           filepath was changed some erroneous entrys occassionally
           appeared at the top of the list.  These have been corrected.

           The "mixed" capitalization logic in the TITLES program has
           been refined; words like "of", "and", "with", and so forth
           are now excluded from capitalization.  Also, words which
           follow a special character, like a hyphen or parenthesis, are
           capitalized correctly.

  7.07  -  The Import feature has been made more "tolerant" of
           formatting errors caused by the GEnie (tm) and Aladdin (tm)
           sofware.  MM will recognize and automatically correct the
           most common of these errors, so that recipes will import
           correctly without user intervention.  (GEnie and Aladdin
           are trademarks of the General Electric Corporation)

           The display or suppression of "1 x" and "ea" items can now be
           controlled by an option on the Maintenance menu, in addition
           to the "/X" command line switch previously available.

           The registration number entry screen contained an error
           which has been corrected.  Unfortunately, this will cause
           previous serial numbers to be invalid with this release.
           If you are a registered user of Meal-Master version 7 and
           your existing serial number does not work with this release,
           please contact Episoft at 206-338-4586 for a new serial.
           (NOTE: This phone number is for Serial Number support to
           Registered users only!

           When using a "range export", recipes that had been flagged
           for deletion were included in the output file.  This will
           no longer be the case; however, if desired a recipe that
           is flagged for delete can still be exported individually.

           Several aesthetic changes and minor bug fixes.


  CHANGES IN VERSION 7.00
  -----------------------
  The following is a list of the major changes in version 7 of Meal-
  Master, as compared to version 6.41 released in January 1992.

  A new install program replaces the old procedure of DOS copy commands,
  making installation easier.

  Ingredient entry and editing is now done on a "Fill in the blanks"
  entry form.  The previous requirements to press "I" before each new
  ingredient and to press F1 to edit each ingredient have been
  eliminated.


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  All ingredients in a recipe can be simulaneously converted from Metric
  to English, or from English to Metric, with a single command.  These
  conversions had to be done one ingredient at a time in previous
  versions.

  The Quantity and Unit of Measure fields can now be blank.  Existing
  ingredients with "1 x" designation are automatically displayed with
  blank quantity and unit.  Lengthy ingredient names can now be entered
  by using a "continuation" line.

  The "x" unit of measure, previously combined with a quantity of 1 for
  "as required", now has a new meaning when used with a quantity greater
  than 1: "per serving".  This is especially useful for tracking
  nutritional information, since items such as "300 x Calories" or "10 x
  grams fat" can be entered in the ingredient section.  Several recipes
  (a meal, or a day's meals, for example) can then be marked, and the
  "shopping list" function will add together the per-serving nutritional
  information for total meal or total day's intake.

  Several new units of measure have been added:  lg (large), md (medium),
  sm (small), ct (carton), sl (slice) and bn (bunch) are now allowed.
  Units have been resequenced on the pop-up list to place all English
  units together, and all Metric units together.

  An all-new directions editor has been added, with word processing
  commands including insert/overtype modes, word left, word right,
  reformat, etc.

  After performing a search, listed recipes can now be highlighted using
  arrow keys.  Pressing Enter views the highlighted recipe, "M" marks it,
  "E" exports it, "P" prints it, and so forth.  There is no need to enter
  the recipe number!

  The "dual-column" ingredient format can now be sequenced in a "down-
  then-across" method as well as the "across-then-down" method.
  Previously, the "across-then-down" format meant that the first
  ingredient was in the left column, then the second in the right column,
  the third in the left column, and so forth; causing a "zig-zag" effect
  that many users did not like.  With the "down-then-across" format, the
  first half of the ingredients are listed downward in the left column,
  then the second half are listed downward in the right column.

  Category Selection has been improved.  Selecting from the pop-up list
  can be done with up/down/left/right arrow keys, and typing a character
  "jumps" to the first category that begins with that character.

  New flexible Import feature.  Completely re-written, Import allows many
  new options and has a built-in editor.  When an import error occurs, it
  can be fixed "on the spot" or sent to an error file for later
  processing, so that the import can continue.  Recipes with duplicate
  titles can be skipped, or sent to a duplicate file for later review.
  Direction lines can optionally be reformatted automatically as part of
  the Import process.  Duplicate checking has been enhanced, and allows
  viewing of potential duplicates to ensure correct import action.


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  When exporting multiple recipes (marked or range), each recipe can be
  automatically written to a separate file.

  A new export format has been added which eliminates the hyphens in the
  header and footer; this provides compatibility with BBS systems that
  could not use hyphens.

  Indexes and Shopping lists can be printed to a DOS file.

  New options on the Title index allow creation of an index containing
  only marked recipes, and creation of an index without the alphabetic
  subtitle breaks.

  The current database path is shown on all major menu screens.  All
  menus have been updated for better consistency and ease of use.

  Printer handling has been greatly expanded.  Multiple setups can be
  created, stored, and switched between easily.  Printer command strings
  can now be up to 150 characters long, and both "setup" and "reset"
  strings are provided.

  A new Search option allows suppression of recipes flagged for deletion.
  Using this option, deleted recipes "disappear" immediately instead of
  waiting for the next Rebuild.

  The maximum number of marks has been increased from 250 to 350.

  The "Automark Search" has been improved.  There is now a "continuous"
  mode which allows all matching recipes to be marked without pressing
  enter as each page is displayed.

  New ingredient search options provide a "full word" search option, use
  of both "and" and "or" logic in the same search, and a negative search
  capability.  For example, searching for "chicken and cheese and -salt"
  would find only recipes containing both chicken and cheese, but no
  salt.  Searching for "beef or chicken and onions" would find only
  recipes that contained either beef or chicken, and also contained
  onions.

  In addition to the "string" search in titles, a "partial word" search
  can also now be used.  For example, typing "A.." as the Title Search
  criteria would display only recipes whose titles begin with "A".  This
  technique can also be used in the Category Search criteria, allowing a
  search for "Bread.." to find recipes with category names like "Bread",
  "Breads", and "Bread mach".

  New options on the Utility menu allow a category name to automatically
  be added to, or deleted from, all marked recipes throughout the
  database.

  DOS text files can now be viewed from the Utilities menu, without
  leaving Meal-Master.

  The "high ascii" characters can now be used throughout the program,
  providing foreign language accent characters, degree symbols, and other

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  symbols.  For example, pressing "248" on the numeric keypad while
  HOLDING DOWN the ALT key will generate a degree symbol.

  A new option on the Maintenance menu allows all measures entered as
  "t " to be displayed as "ts", and all those entered as "T " as "Tb".
  This option was previously available only as a command line switch.

  All reported "bugs" have been corrected.

  The manual has been rewritten, with over 120 pages of descriptions and
  helpful examples!


  CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
  --------------------------
  Version 7 is the result of suggestions from many users, and everyone
  who wrote to suggest new features deserves credit for this version!
  Special thanks go to the following people, who were especially helpful
  by not only providing many new ideas for the program, but also putting
  in many hours helping test the preliminary versions:

       Thanks to Barb Day, Jo Labrecque, Gaye Levy, Karen Mintzias,
       Dee Penrod, Elaine Radis, Ken Robie, Robbie Shelton, Terry Toedt
       and Jodi Welliver for all your help!


  LEGAL STUFF and LIMITED WARRANTY
  --------------------------------

  Meal-Master (tm) is a trademark of Episoft Systems and Scott Welliver.
  All rights are reserved.  Copying of the Evaluation version (without
  registered user utilities or a registration serial number) is allowed
  by not-for-profit organizations such as user groups.  Anyone wishing to
  distribute Meal-Master in a for-profit enterprise must contact Episoft
  Systems for permission.

  Episoft and Scott Welliver disclaim all warranties, either express or
  implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of
  merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to
  this software and any accompanying written materials.  This limited
  warranty gives you specific legal rights.  You may have others, which
  vary from state to state.

  In no event will Episoft or its suppliers be liable for any damages
  whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business
  profits, business reputation, business interruption, loss of business
  information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or
  inability to use this Episoft product, even if Episoft has been advised
  of the possibility of such damages.  Because some states do not allow
  the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or
  incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you.

  Wow, no wonder lawyers charge so much.

                        *** END OF README! FILE ***

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