A Step-by-Step Getting Started Guide from DVO

Welcome to the large family of Cook'n users. Thank you for selecting Cook'n - we hope our product and service will earn your trust.

Now that Cook’n is running on your computer, let's walk through some basic steps together to get you started. We will cover the following topics in this guide:

A.	Downloading the Latest Version
B.	Using On-Line Help
C.	Opening a Recipe
D.	Searching the Recipe Database
E.	Creating a Cookbook
F.	Entering a Recipe
G.	Browsing Recipe Photos
H.	Making a Shopping List & Analyzing Nutritional Values
I.	Creating Meals
J.	Creating a Menu
K.	Back Up/Restore
L.	Importing & Exporting Cookbooks
M.	Troubleshooting
N.	Technical Support

A. Downloading the Latest Version
We periodically provide online updates to the Cook'n software.  These enhancements are available to download for free off the Internet! To download the latest version update:

1.	Connect to the Internet.
2.	Run Cook'n.
3.	Click the Internet menu, and choose Update Cook'n.

Follow the onscreen instructions, and the software will automatically go to the correct location on the Internet and download the latest version. When finished, it will ask you to close Cook’n and the update will be installed.

B. Using the On-line Help System
In the following sections you’ll learn a little bit about the basic features of Cook’n. To learn more about these and other features, click the Help button on the tool bar. The Help window will describe the screen you’re currently viewing, and allow you to find information about all of the Cook’n features in more detail than this Getting Started Guide. 

C. Opening a Recipe
1.	Click Recipes on the tool bar.
2.	Select the Cookbook and Chapter you want, then double-click one of the recipes listed in the Recipes list.
3.	The Recipe Window has three tabs along the top. One is for viewing only, the other is for editing, and the last displays a picture (if available) of the finished dish.

D. Searching the Recipe Database
Cook'n provides a powerful “recipe browser” that allows you to organize your recipes, and find recipes that use the ingredients you have on hand.

1.	Click Recipes on the tool bar. You’ll now see the Cookbooks, Chapters and Recipe windows for easy browsing.
2.	Click in the text box under Search by Keyword and type “chicken and rice” or whatever ingredients you have on hand.
3.	Press <Enter> or click the Search button and Cook'n will list the recipes that have all of those ingredients.

E. Creating a Cookbook
You can use Cook'n to organize your entire recipe collection. To create your own cookbook:

1.	Click Recipes on the tool bar.
2.	Click the New button above the Cookbooks list.
3.	Type “Jones Family Recipes” (or whatever you want to call your cookbook).
4.	Click Save, then click Close on the tool bar and your new cookbook will be listed in the Cookbooks section.

F. Entering a Recipe
You can enter as many recipes into Cook’n as you like. Following is an example of how to enter a recipe in Cook’n:

1.	Click Recipes on the tool bar.
2.	Click the “Jones Family Recipes” book that we created in the previous section.
3.	Click the New button above the Chapter list and type “Desserts”.
4.	Click Save, then Close on the tool bar.
5.	Now that we have a chapter to put our recipe in, click the New button above the Recipe list.
6.	Let's enter part of an Apple Strudel recipe that serves 10. Type “10” in the Serving Size window and click OK.
7.	Type the name of the recipe, “Apple Strudel” in the Name field and press <Tab>.
8.	Type “My first recipe” in the Description field and press <Tab>.
9.	This recipe calls for 3 cups of apples, peeled, cored, and sliced so type “3” in the Quantity field and press <Tab>.
10.	Type “c” for “cup” in the Unit field and press <Tab> twice.
11.	Type “ap” and “apple” will appear in the Ingredient field. Press <Tab>.
12.	Type “peeled, cored, and thinly sliced” in the Ingredient Info field and press <Tab> and <Enter>.
13.	Type “1/2” for the next ingredient and press <Tab>.
14.	Type “te” for "teaspoon" and press <Tab> twice.
15.	Type “va ex” for vanilla extract and press <Tab> and <Enter>. You get the idea...now let's jump to the instructions.
16.	Click inside the white box at the bottom of the Recipe Window. This is where you would type in the instructions for preparation. When you are done, click Save and Close on the tool bar. 

NOTE: Hold down the <Alt> key and type 0176 on the keypad to get the degree symbol (°). You must use the numbers on the keypad, NOT the numbers above the letter keys. 

G. Browsing Recipe Photos
Sometimes choosing a meal for dinner is a matter of flipping through a cookbook to find something that looks good.  You can do the same with Cook'n. NOTE: Because the sources for our recipes vary, not all Cook’n CDs have photos.

1.	Click Recipes on the tool bar to display the Recipe Bookshelf Window.
2.	Click the down arrow next to “Browse Recipes by” and choose “Photo”, and Cook'n will list all the recipes that have photos.
3.	Open a recipe on the list and click the Picture tab. Now click the Next>> button to see the next recipe photo. Continue clicking this button until you find a dish that looks good enough to eat!

H. Making a Shopping List & Nutritional Analysis
Cook'n will automatically add up all the ingredients in your menu and convert them from recipe units (teaspoons, tablespoons, cups) to package units you buy at the store (ounces, pounds).  It then organizes them into groups to simplify your grocery shopping.

In addition, Cook’n also analyzes the nutritional information for all of the ingredients and produces a nutritional analysis of the menu.

1.	Open a recipe or menu plan.
2.	Click the List button on the toolbar.
3.	Make any adjustments you want in the Settings Window that appears, then click OK.

Cook’n will make a shopping list and analyze the nutritional value for the recipe or menu. Use the scroll bars in the center section of the shopping list to see all the information.

I. Creating Meals
In addition to inputting recipes into Cook’n, you can also create Meals. A meal is just a combination of food items and recipes.  You create meals in Cook’n the same way you create recipes, but instead of adding individual ingredients, you add entire recipes as well.  Here’s an example of how to create a meal:
1.	Click Recipes on the tool bar and create a new Cookbook called “Our Family Meals” or something similar.
2.	Now create a new Chapter in that Cookbook called “Dinner Meals”.
3.	Let's create a ham meal that serves 6, and includes a ham recipe, a potato recipe and milk. Click the New button above the Recipe list, and type “6” and click OK in the Servings Window.
4.	Type the name of the meal, “Ham Meal”, and press <Tab>.
4.	Type "My First meal" in the Description field and press <Tab>.
5.	Now, let's add some recipes to this meal.  Click the Add Recipe button to bring up the Recipe Bookshelf Window. Select the cookbook and chapter you want to browse.
6.	Find a nice ham recipe and double-click it.  This adds the recipe to your meal.
7.	Click the Add Recipe button again.
8.	Browse the cookbooks and chapters until you find a potato recipe that looks good, and double-click it. 
9.	Now let's say you just want to add ½ gallon of milk to this meal.  Type 1/2 in the Quantity field, “gal” in the Unit field (for gallon) and "mil" in the Ingredient field until “milk” appears, then <Tab>.
10.	Get the idea?  When you are done, click Save and Close, and you’ve created your first meal in Cook’n!

J. Creating a Menu
You can combine meals and recipes in Cook’n to make a Week Menu.  To create a menu:

1.	Click Menus on the tool bar.
2.	Click <new menu> at the bottom of the Menus list.
3.	Give this menu a name (ie; “Jane's Menu #1”) and click OK.
4.	Click the check box next to List Recipes in This Book and find the meals cookbook you created in section I. Creating Meals.  
5.	Find the Ham meal you created in section I and drag it to Sunday and drop it.  Continue dragging and dropping meals and recipes until your menu is complete.

Congratulations!  You’ve now created a menu. From this menu you can now generate a shopping list and nutritional analysis, and you can even combine week menus into monthly or yearly menus by clicking the Planner button.

K. Back Up/Restore
It is a good practice to backup your database periodically to protect your valuable recipe collection from corruption. It takes less than a minute to perform this task, and Cook’n will backup the entire program for you. To perform a backup:

1.	Click the File menu and choose Backup.
2.	Choose a location for the backup file (your harddrive, floppy disk, Zip disk, etc). Type in a name for the file and click Save. It's that easy!

If a problem occurs that requires you to reinstall the Cook’n program, you can Restore the program using the backup file you created. To Restore your Cook’n data from a backup:

1.	Click the File menu and choose Restore.
2.	Navigate to your backup file (it will have a ‘.ck9’ file extension), select it and click Open. Cook’n will be restored to the way it was when the backup file was created.

NOTE: When you perform a Restore, Cook’n replaces ALL your existing data with the information saved in the backup file, so use caution! 

L.  Importing & Exporting Cookbooks
To backup just one cookbook rather than the entire program, select the cookbook you want to export, then click File>Export>Cook’n Recipe File. Choose a location and type a name for the file, then click Save. This will create a backup of just the selected cookbook and all its recipes (your personal recipe collection for example), and creates a much smaller file than a complete backup. Exported cookbook files have a ‘.dvo’ file extension, and can be used to share recipes with other Cook’n users, or to transfer recipes from one computer to another on a floppy disk.

To import a cookbook file, click File>Import>Cook’n Recipe File and then locate the file and select it. Cook’n will import the cookbook and all its recipes from that file.

M. Troubleshooting
Following are some common questions/problems that arise when installing and running Cook’n. For a complete troubleshooting list, please visit the Support page at www.dvo.com.
Problems Updating Cook’n 
When performing an internet update, Cook’n first downloads an update file, then when the download is complete a message appears asking you to close the program. When you close the program, Cook’n initializes the update that was downloaded. However, in some instances, Cook’n may appear to “freeze up” while downloading an internet update. If this happens, try the following:

1.	Wait 1-3 minutes to see if a “Download Complete” message appears. Check the task bar at the bottom of your screen to see if the “Download Complete” message is hidden behind another window. If you see the “Download Complete” window listed on the task bar, click on it to make it visible on the screen. Then follow the directions in the window to complete the update process. 
2.	If no “Download Complete” window appears after waiting 1-3 minutes, AND if the progress counter has stopped incrementing, then the update process may be frozen. To complete the update:
a.	Press the CTRL-ALT-DELETE keys once to bring up the Close Program/Task Manager window. Find Cook’n on the list of applications and shut it down using the End Task button.
b.	Once Cook’n has been closed down completely, go to your C: drive and open the Cook’n folder, then find a file in the Cook’n folder called “install.exe”. Double-click on this file and the update will be initialized. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the update.
Program starts but is minimized on Task Bar
Users of Windows XP or 2000 may occasionally find that when they start Cook'n, the program starts but is minimized on the task bar at the bottom of the screen. To get the program up on the screen, right-click on the minimized program and choose Maximize.

N. Technical Support
If you’re unable to find the answers to your problems in this guide or on our website, please email or call us and we will be happy to help you.

  Email:	support@dvo.com
  Web:		www.dvo.com
  Phone:	1-801-492-1290

Our support lines are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time every business day, Monday through Friday. When you call, please have your program version and Windows operating system version information available.