TheRecipeManager allows you to import MasterCook (mxp and mx2) formatted recipes. Many programs, including MasterCook, allow you to export recipes from them, saving them in a text file with a .mxp or .mx2 extension. These text files can be dropped on TheRecipeManager to import the recipes they contain.
Note: The importing of MasterCook formatted recipes will not include pictures you have attached to the recipes.
Importing is done by simply dropping the MasterCook file on the recipe list of the recipe browser or by using Import>Recipe File.... Any recipe items that cannot be parsed are pasted into the Background field so you can then put them where you want.
After the recipes have been imported they will be highlighted. So you can modify them at this point if you wish.
MasterCook and some other formats have a single 'category' element that can contain zero or more values. So a MasterCook recipe might contain three category names. TheRecipeManager recipes provide for a single Category name, a single Type name, and multiple Classification names. So to map MasterCook to RecipeManager, we look for matches between the MasterCook category values and the currently defined Categories and Types in RecipeManager. Matches are mapped accordingly, and any MasterCook category values that are not matched will become Classifications in TRM. If those Classifications already exist, they're mapped, and if they don't exist, they're added automatically.
Prior to importing a large number of recipes, we recommend that you run a backup.
Troubleshooting Imports
The main problem with importing Mastercook recipes is the format that they have been exported in. If you have problems then please try the following steps, with the caveat that some versions of MasterCook might be arranged differently:
1. Open the desired cookbook file in MasterCook.
2. Select the bold-faced 'All Recipes' line at the top of the list
3. Type 'command + A' to Select All
4. Choose 'Export Recipes...' in the 'File' menu
5. Enter the name for the saved export file and choose the folder where it is to be saved
6. Choose either the 'Mac format' or the 'MXP/Universal format' radio button (either will work)
7. Click the 'Export' button and you're done.
The program will import either of these formats. You'll see some slight differences - for example, an ingredient might look like this with
one format:
Pizza sauce for dipping
while the other format results in
Pizza sauce -- for dipping
This is due to the way MasterCook exports, not the way TheRecipeManager imports.