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1. 112 or -113Q: I keep getting an error -112 when trying to install this program. Can anyone help me? A: Although the following Sierra FAQ refers to error -113, it is always possible it might be relevant for you as well: [Start] System needs 32-bit drivers The computer system is loading real-mode drivers. Real mode drivers are drivers that are intended for use with DOS. They are 16-bit drivers and work poorly with Windows 95 or 98. To see if the system is loading real-mode drivers: * Right click on the MY COMPUTER icon, choose PROPERTIES from the menu. * Click on the PERFORMANCE tab. * Under Performance Status, read the line called FILE SYSTEM * This line should read "32-BIT." If this line reads "Some drives are using MS-DOS compatibility mode" or "All drives are using MS-DOS compatibility mode," immediately contact the system or CD-ROM manufacturer to correct this system problem. * Once the computer system is loading 32-Bit drivers, the program should install without errors. [ Top of Page ] 2. Black Boxes Instead of ButtonsQ: I am seeing black boxes instead of buttons in the program. How can I fix this? A: I, too, have seen these. It usually happens when I am using the Edit Print Design screen that is resource intensive. I rebooted my computer and tried using the program by itself, with nothing else running in the background, and they went away. Check your system resources and see how low they are. Right click on My Computer and choose Properties. See the Performance tab. When I start seeing these black boxes my system resources are always very low. Reboot your computer to reset them. [ Top of Page ] 3. Cannot Hide Elements in a Print DesignQ: The directions and "recipe picture" still appear in the Classic Design even though HIDE ALL has been selected. Reason: Recipe Picture and Directions are not listed on the HIDE tab. How can I fix this? A: The fields comprising one direction step need to be highlighted, 'locked' together as group, and the group given the name 'Directions'. [ Top of Page ] 4. Cannot Load ImageDoes this describe your situation? After a power outage or reboot/reset/reboot experience you start MasterCook and the splash screen starts but aborts and next you see a blank screen with the same message repeating: Cannot Load Image Next time you try, it does it again! Here's a fix. Restart your computer and leave MasterCook alone. While using Windows Explorer or My Computer go to the MC TOOLS folder and look for a file called MC WORLD.MCW and delete it. (MasterCook will recreate this file when it starts back up.) This should fix the problem. Start MasterCook and see. If not, the next step would be to uninstall/reinstall. About MCWORLD.MCW. This file is similar to MasterCook 4's rocache. MCWORLD.MCW is the main file where MasterCook stores all its file locations such as cookbooks, tips files, collections, menus, etc. This file can be corrupted with someone just abruptly turning off the power or not shutting down properly. If a user has any type of FILE NOT FOUND you can either delete this file or go to the Tools Menu and select Refresh File List (If you are able to get into the program). [ Top of Page ] 5. Change Recipe Units Causes Program to CrashIf you use decimals instead of fractions (See the General tab of the Preferences.) for your ingredient amounts, you may see a bug that causes the program to crash when you go to convert the recipe units. A fellow program user writes, "I found where I use 3 decimal place values and convert from US measure to grams. If the value being converted is LESS than 1.000, the program crashes to the desktop if you try to convert it to grams. This is now acknowledged to be a bug and it will NOT be fixed or patched for MC8, so I assume we will have to wait for MC9. The work around is to do any such conversion manually or as follows. Switching to common fractions is unacceptable because of the rounding. If you are in need of doing such conversions, be careful and for anything that is less than 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon that you want to convert, increase the ingredient by a factor of 10 or 100, do the conversion and then move the decimal back. In other words, convert .500 teaspoon to 5.000 teaspoons, do the conversion to grams (assume this results in 2.000 grams) and move the decimal from 2.000 grams to make it 0.200 grams. While a kludge, it does the conversion for you and avoids the bug that causes the crash." [ Top of Page ] 6. Corrupt CookbooksDo you have a cookbook that won't open or crashes the program when you try to open it? Is it a favorite, irreplaceable cookbook (NOT one that you could easily recreate -- recipes collected from e-mail lists, etc.)? Send your cookbook file (*.mc2) as an attachment to an email message to MasterCook Help. If you could, it would help to ZIP the file first. However, if you are unsure how to do that then don't worry about it; just send the *.mc2 file. IMPORTANT: If the file is larger than 10 MB, please write to us for instructions in sending a file this large. Also, be sure your email spam filter accepts messages from MasterCook Help email address. It would also be helpful if you could give an estimated number of recipes that are inside the cookbook and the size of the cookbook file. The only things that will be recovered from the cookbook are just the recipes. Categories, cuisines, and other classifications will be lost. It is very important to keep your files backed up regularly! We don't know all the reasons that cookbooks become corrupt, but here are a few things that are almost certain to cause corruption: Generally cookbooks go corrupt when your computer runs out of system resources, and you allow Windows to close the program. This prevents the program from closing properly and oftentimes destroys the files. Never let Windows close MasterCook for you. Cancel out of that Windows prompt and go shutdown MasterCook yourself. Thankfully Windows XP doesn't have the limited system resource problem that earlier versions of Windows have. Hooray!! If you are importing recipes into your cookbook and have a crash while doing that, that can corrupt the file as well. This is also a very good reason to be sure you are importing CLEAN recipes (those that are formatted correctly for MasterCook). Oftentimes email programs add/remove lines or cause word-wrap where it is not wanted. If you don't edit them with a text editor before you import them, you are asking for trouble. The program can freeze if you import "corrupt" text files, resulting in a corrupt cookbook. Always import into a temp. cookbook, and if that goes well copy them to a permanent cookbook. MasterCook expects recipes to be in a certain format when importing. If you are not careful about what you import, it can crash the program. If your computer crashes while working on a cookbook (you run out of system resources (copying LOTS of recipes and pasting them into a different cookbook, etc.) to the point that crashes your computer; another program crashes taking your entire system with it; your computer gets unplugged, etc.), that can corrupt the file as well. If you rename the *.mc2 file (cookbook file) outside the program (i.e. using Windows Explorer), that can cause problems as well. Only rename the file while inside the program. Select your cookbook and right click and choose CUSTOMIZE COOKBOOK from that pop-up menu. Rename the book there. [ Top of Page ] 7. Corrupt IngredientsQ: I have corrupted ingredients in my ingredient file. When trying to delete them MasterCook crashes. A: If you ran a ScanDisk and had fragments, it could cause corruption like this. If you have a back-up copy of your MC Ingredients.ing file, then you will need to replace the one in your MC Tools folder on your computer. Just copy the MC Ingredients.ing file from the CD, replacing the one on your computer. After you have copied the file off the CD please sure make that you right click on the file you copied over and change the property from READ ONLY (indicated by a check mark). Having a read only ingredient list can cause a lot of problems within MasterCook. Apply this same changing READ ONLY properties to any file that you may copy off the CD. [ Top of Page ] 8. Display Fonts Not ShowingQ: When I try to change the font for Recipe Display some fonts are missing. Why? A: The first thought that comes to mind is that you may have too many fonts installed. As is known by many computer users who have experienced problems related to too many fonts or corrupted fonts, one of the first indicators of this problem is that some fonts 'disappear', in that the Windows registry no longer recognizes them as valid fonts. When a software application looks for a specific font in the \Windows\Fonts folder and can't find the correct font, the application will select a substitute font. If the application is forced to substitute a font, it is logical to assume that the text in certain text boxes may not be formatted correctly. Following is the text of a message from Technical Support that describes how to correct this problem: [Start] This text problem occurs when the \WINDOWS\FONTS folder has reached its limit, causing fonts to disappear from the system or to become corrupt. The Windows Fonts folder has a registry limit. Detailed information on this subject is available at the end of this page. The registry can only store a finite number of characters for the titles of every installed FONT. When this character limitation is reached, no new FONTS may be added to the registry. To check the size and number of files in the FONTS folder: - Open MY COMPUTER, the C:\ drive, and the WINDOWS directory. - Right click on the FONTS folder in the WINDOWS directory and choose PROPERTIES. - Record the SIZE and number of FILES in the FONTS Properties window. - If the Font folder is larger than 18 MB in size or contains more than 350-400 Fonts, the registry may have become corrupt. - Close the Properties windows and open the FONTS folder. - Highlight about 30 or more fonts and drag them to the Desktop. - Go to START, SHUTDOWN, and select "Restart" the computer. - After the computer restarts, try the program again. - If the fonts appear normally, the font folder is full. Follow the directions below to remove extra fonts. - If the fonts are still missing, the Registry has become corrupt. It will be necessary to remove excessive fonts from the system and to clean the registry. Follow the directions below for DELETING fonts. - To clean the registry, obtain a registry cleaning utility like REGCLEAN.EXE, which can be downloaded from http://www.shareware.com. Be sure to read the instructions that accompany this utility, as Sierra cannot be responsible for any adverse effects of a registry cleaning utility. For more assistance, contact the computer manufacturer or Microsoft. - Drag the fonts on the desktop back into the C:\WINDOWS\FONTS folder. To DELETE FONTS from the system: A good range of fonts to have on a system is 150 to 300 fonts. The font folder probably can hold more fonts, but if future products are installed, the registry may become full again. To delete excessive fonts: 1. Go to START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL, and open FONTS. 2. Delete fonts by highlighting each font and selecting DELETE from the FILE menu. NOTE: You can select several fonts at one time by holding down the SHIFT key while clicking on the font name. Be careful not delete Windows system fonts like ARIAL or COURIER. To obtain a list of these fonts, contact Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com. NOTE: Never delete a file listed in red in the \Windows\Fonts folder because it is a system font. 3. If necessary run a registry cleaning utility (see above). To REINSTALL FONTS: Fonts may be downloaded from Internet sites like http://www.microsoft.com or may be reinstalled from the CD-ROM. DETAILED INFORMATION ON FONTS FROM MICROSOFT: The following is an excerpt from the Windows 95 help files, on this subject. Microsoft Windows 95/98 SUMMARY You can install a maximum of approximately 1000 TrueType fonts in Windows 95. The exact number of True Type fonts you can install varies, depending upon the length of the True Type font names and filenames. MORE INFORMATION Installed TrueType fonts are listed in the registry and in the Graphics Device Interface (GDI). The Registry All font files are registered under a single key in the registry, and a registry key can not exceed 64K. If font names average 20 characters in length and font filenames average 10 characters in length, the maximum number of TrueType fonts you can install falls between 1000 and 1500. If a TrueType font file is located in a folder other than the Fonts or the System folder, the full path to the font is included in the registry, using up more space in the key and reducing the number of fonts you can install. The GDI The GDI contains an internal list of fonts, with 10K reserved for font filenames. If font filenames average 10 characters in length, the maximum number of TrueType fonts you can install is approximately 1000. You can use all installed TrueType fonts simultaneously and you can print them in the same document. Note that the Windows 95 Resource Kit incorrectly states that there is no limit to the number of True Type fonts you can install in Windows 95. Contact Microsoft for additional assistance with the Fonts folder at http://www.microsoft.com. [ Top of Page ] 9. Error 52 During BackupPROBLEM: I tried to backup my recipe file to a computer on our home network and got "error 52 during backup." I double-checked and made sure that I had access to the directory, which I do. I backed it up to this hard drive without problem. What's going on? SOLUTION: Someone else reported this error a little while back, and she was also trying to back up over a network. It turned out she need to map the drive. You might try this. Otherwise, please note that you can't back-up to a CD-R/CD-RW disk from this program. You need to back-up to a folder on your computer and use your CD writing software to copy that folder to a CD-R/CD-RW disk. Furthermore, if you are logged on to Windows XP with a limited user account, you will have limited powers. Limited powers don't generally allow you to edit files either. Make sure you use the program while logged on to Windows XP with an administrator account. [ Top of Page ] 10. Error in populateimporttree. Error = type mismatch.Q: The other problem I am having is the error message when I want to backup my files. it says, "Error in populateimporttree. Error = type mismatch. How can I fix this easily? I merged MC 6.2 into MC8. A: Did you uninstall the program or just delete folders from your hard drive uninstalling that way? This error will happen if you didn't get a complete program uninstallation, i.e. you still have registry keys hanging about. I saw this error message, too. So, I know exactly what you are talking about. I fixed it by deleting a registry entry in the Windows Registry. What you need to do to get rid of the error is delete this folder from your Windows Registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ValuSoft\MasterCook\6.2 The Backup and Merge program is thinking you still have version 6.2 installed because it sees it in the Windows Registry because of the registry key being left behind after uninstalling. It's trying to populate its screen and can't because the program is no longer installed. This is what the error message is telling you. Once it is completely removed, it will no longer give you that error message. I went into the Registry and completely deleted the "6.2" folder that is inside the "MasterCook" folder which is inside the "ValuSoft" folder which is inside the "SOFTWARE" folder, which is inside the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" folder in the Windows Registry. I DON'T RECOMMEND YOU MESS WITH THE REGISTRY unless you are sure about what you are doing. Otherwise, you could cause your entire computer to quit functioning if you do something you ought not do. Do you have a friend and/or relative who is good with computers and could help you with your Windows Registry? Otherwise, if you install MasterCook without using the included installer, chances are the Registry entries did not get created properly. The Merge utility uses the Registry keys to determine what previous MasterCook titles are installed on the computer. If it can't find the Registry keys for those MasterCook products, the Merge utility won't work correctly. [ Top of Page ] 11. Getting Kicked out of MasterCook When Trying to Edit Print DesignQ: My system is NT. When I first used MasterCook I could edit the print design. For some reason now I can't. It kicks me out of MasterCook. What should I do? A: I figured it out! The paper selection in Print/Publish Recipes was on "custom", so the page numbers would show. The paper selection was on "letter", and it would kick me out every time I tried to edit the design. I went back to Print/Publish Recipes and changed paper to "letter". Went into design edit and changed paper to "custom". Then I went back into Print/Publish Recipes and changed it to "custom". Now it works. [ Top of Page ] 12. How Can I Keep Windows From Crashing?The following article was copied from PC World some time ago and contains some very useful information with regard to maintaining your computer at peak performance level. ***** Question: Windows crashes with the regularity of the tides, usually when I haven't saved anything to disk for a while. How do I make it more stable? Answer: Windows crashes happen -- that's just the nature of the beast. Here are some of the most common causes of Windows crashes, along with measures you can take to reduce the likelihood that your system will plummet to a fiery death. Out of resources: Windows stores some vital information in the two 64KB sections of RAM called resources. When they get filled up -- usually when you run a lot of programs at once or keep your computer on for days at a time -- Windows becomes unstable. To limit the frequency of your crashes, don't load unnecessary programs, and reboot your computer every day. For more about resources, see http://www.pcworld.com/hereshow/article.asp?aid=11372 Windows 9x retains Windows 3.x's system resource structure--two 64KB sections of memory that are set aside for specific jobs. The GDI (Graphics Device Interface) resources section stores fonts, bitmaps, and such for on-screen display. When applications run, portions of the User resources section go to their menu lists, window logistics, and other information. The more crowded either section gets, the more unstable Windows becomes. Every program you open grabs some system resources, but some programs don't properly relinquish them once they've been closed. As you repeatedly enter, use, exit, and reenter apps, the amount of available resources continuously decreases. The only reliable way to free up resources is to restart Windows. Windows 9x comes with a tool for monitoring system resources. To access it, insert the Windows CD-ROM and click Add/Remove Software. In the resulting dialog box, click the Windows Setup tab. In the Components list, double-click Accessories (Windows 95) or System Tools (Windows 98). Then scroll down, locate, and check System Resource Meter. To run Resource Meter, click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Resource Meter, and the meter will appear as a tray icon. Hover the pointer over that icon to see current resource levels or double-click it to keep the numbers on screen while you work. The User and GDI halves are independent and a lack of either can wreak havoc, so Resource Meter takes the percentage free of the smaller half and reports that as the percent of free system resources (see first line on the Resource Meter). Video drivers: When the code controlling your display gets confused, it takes everything down with it. If you're getting video-specific error messages frequently, check your graphics board vendor's Web site for a more up-to-date driver. Corrupted registry: This one's likely to happen when you install an application. Windows backs up the Registry regularly, but if you've been living with the crashes for more than a few days, you're unlikely to have a backup that will help. Windows 98 comes with a tool that might fix the problem: Exit Windows to the DOS prompt. At the prompt, type scanreg/fix, press <Enter> and cross your fingers. Visit http://www.pcworld.com/jun99/windowstips for more about how to fix Registry problems. Viruses: If something that used to work is suddenly giving you trouble, you just might have caught some malicious code. Make sure your antivirus software is up to date. If you don't normally ask it to check all files when you start up your computer, perform an all-file check at least once a week. Mismatched system files: Installation programs can replace existing Windows .dll files. You've probably seen a dialog box during a software installation that said the program has found a later version of a file on your hard disk than the one it is installing. If you chose to install the earlier version, programs expecting the original .dlls can get confused and bring down the house. A less severe solution comes in commercial "undo" packages such as Wild File's GoBack and Kiss Software's Undo & Recover Toolbox, which help you recover from faulty installations. Bad applications: Sometimes an application will do something it shouldn't -- such as use a piece of RAM reserved for another program -- with potentially drastic results. Windows keeps an eye out for such behavior and, in theory at least, closes the gap before it can crash Windows. But it doesn't always work that way. If Windows regularly crashes when you use a particular app, check the application vendor's site for bug reports. Hardware: Bad memory, dying power supplies, overheated processors, poorly connected cables, or badly seated boards are all capable of destabilizing your operating system. If nothing else solves your problems, unplug and then open your computer. Excessive dust can cause overheating, so you might try using a small vacuum cleaner or compressed air blower (made specifically for PCs) to clean it up. [Always remember to touch something metal - to get rid of any static - before touching anything inside your computer.] Also check to make sure the cables and boards are connected properly. If you continue to experience frequent crashes, take your computer to your service vendor for a professional checkup. If nothing else works and the crashing becomes intolerable, maybe it's time to wipe out and reinstall Windows. For details on how to do this, check out http://www.pcworld.com/sept99/answers [ Top of Page ] 13. Invalid Page Fault in Module RTCDLL.DLLQ: I double click on the MasterCook icon, and the MasterCook screen comes up. I can click on any picture except the cookbooks, and it will come up. Every time I click on cookbooks I get the following message: MasterCook caused an invalid page fault in module RTCDLL.DLL at 015f:3076afa8. I can do a search and pull up recipes. What happened, and how do I correct it? A: This person refreshed their list of files (select Refresh File List from the Tools Menu or press the F5 key while in the Cookbook Browser), and it solved their problem. [ Top of Page ] 14. Invalid Page Fault While Changing Recipe Title CasesIf MasterCook has trouble or gives us a page fault error when trying to convert recipe titles to title case (see: Customize Cookbook > Recipes Tab), MasterCook might be trying to capitalize a symbol, which has no title case. Also one symbol isn't the same in the two standards: ANSI and ASCII. What looks like an n with a tilda on your system may look like a spoked degree sign on someone else's. This is why we advise people not to use symbols when sharing with others who may have different operating systems and character sets. They aren't reliable. [ Top of Page ] 15. Jenny Craig PicturesQ: When I open cookbooks from Jenny Craig in MasterCook 5.x/6.x it corrupts the picture files. Can anybody help? A: This same thing happened to me and others. This only happens with this product - Jenny Craig. The actual picture data is in a different format than that in other products. The only work-around we have come up with is to take a screen shot (of the picture in version 4.0) and crop the recipe picture and then add it to your version 5.x or 6.x cookbook. Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns, Sierra is not able to provide these photos on its website in a new format. Post a message on the e-mail list or message board and see if someone will share pictures that they have captured screenshots of, and then you can add these pictures to your version 5.x or 6.x cookbook. [ Top of Page ] 16. Mcmeal~1.DLL is Not a Valid Previous VersionQ: I ran mc51updt.exe to install patch 5.01. I got the following message: C:/SierrMaster~1/Program/Mcmeal~1.DLL is not a valid previous version & could not be upgraded. Now when I try to print a recipe, I get the following message: Unable to create Service: 'CSel'-'Publish' Am I going to have to re-install MasterCook 5.0? A: The DLL is corrupt, so you will need to backup your cookbooks and ingredient file, if you edited it, and any other files you created, and then reinstall MasterCook 5.0 and the patch. Make sure all programs are shut down including virus scanners first. [ Top of Page ] 17. Not Enough Disk SpaceQ: When I try to open a New Recipe, I get a message that tells me "Not enough space on disk. Remove unnecessary files...." I have several GB of hard drive space free. How can this problem be corrected? A: Are you trying to create a new recipe in a cookbook that is stored on your CD? If so, you will get this error. You will need to create a new cookbook and add recipes to it. You cannot add recipes to cookbooks that are stored on the CD. [ Top of Page ] 18. Only Able to View Contents ScreenQ: MasterCook is sending me back to the main screen and not letting me back into the program again. This is the third time now. All patches are on. All installation has been done with virus scans off. MC World.mcw has been deleted as instructed. I have refreshed the file list. There is no error message about failure to load. Any suggestions? A: I had the same problem this morning. I was putting some cookbooks in. You will find you have put a cookbook in that has one of the following problems. 1. The spelling and/or spacing is changed from the file name. The easiest way to find the problem book is to remove the last batch you put in and put them in one at a time and refresh. When you get to the problem one it will act up. If you are putting them in one at a time take the last one out and refresh again. You may have to shut it down all the way to correct the problem and restart the computer. I had to after each one to find the culprit. I hope this helps you! Follow-up: It worked! Thank you SO much! It was easy to suss out which "cookbook" was the problem. The wonderful part was after moving it out of MasterCook, I didn't have to uninstall, etc. All that was necessary was closing MasterCook. It opened again beautifully. [ Top of Page ] 19. Opening Dictionary FileQ: When I attempted a spellcheck I received the following error messages: error opening dictionary file d:/sierra/mastercook5/program/userdic.tlx, and the same again for ssceam.tlx, ssceam2.clx and mcdict.clx. The files are at their respective path names. Any ideas? A: I would recommend you back up your files and reinstall. [ Top of Page ] 20. Palette Window TroublesQ: When I attempt to click on the Palette button there's no response. Visually the button appears to go in and out. My computer meets all of the necessary requirements. A: Sometimes you move the Palette window off the screen and close down the program. When you use the program the next time the Palette seems to have disappeared. It is there but it is shoved off the screen and you can't see the title bar to grab it and move it back onto the screen. There are several things you can try. First I would recommend you cascade or tile your windows for the programs that you have opened. Right-click on a blank space of the task bar along the bottom of your computer and choose cascade or tile, then resize the windows. All preferences for MasterCook are stored in the MSTRCOOK.INI file such a Window sizes, placements, etc. For the palette in Edit Design that is also stored in the preference file. The MASTERCOOK.INI file is stored in the Program folder inside the MasterCook 5 or MasterCook 6 folder. Find this file and load it in a plain text editor such as NOTEPAD and find the following: Show Palette=0 This will be located under the header [Publishing Layout] Delete those 3 lines Save out the file and reload MasterCook. You will then have to turn the palette back on but it should be back on the MasterCook window. This problem has been addressed in ValuSoft's version 6.2 program. In the Edit Print Design window, if you drag the Palette so that the Palette window is more than half way off the screen, when you go elsewhere in the program and return you will find that it moved the Palette back into the screen. Now that's very cool!! [ Top of Page ] 21. Photo on CD But They Don't ShowQ: I installed SierraHome's MasterCook 6.0 Betty Crocker and left the pictures on the CD (Typical Installation). However, when I try to view the pictures in Betty Crocker's Best Christmas Cookbook, I cannot see them even though the CD is in the drive. How can I view them? A: The MASTERCOOK.INI file needs to be edited under [PicturePacks]. The line says this: PicturePack2=Betty Crocker Best Christmas Cookbook. It should say this instead: PicturePack2=Betty Crocker's Best Christmas Cookbook. Notice the difference in the name of this file. It needs the 's added. 1. CLOSE MasterCook. I tried the rest of the cookbooks on that CD. These ones below need their lines edited in the MASTERCOOK.INI file as well and need a 's added: Betty Crocker's Best Christmas Cookbook To fix the About Betty Crocker — Your Best Friend in the Kitchen, you will need to copy the name of the file on the CD and paste it in the INI file. The INI file doesn't show the emdash properly. To fix the Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook, you can add a new PicturePack line to the MASTERCOOK.INI file. Copy one of the previous lines and then pasted it at the end of the others and give it the next number in the sequence. Then edit that line to read the Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook. Make sure the Count at the top of this section of the INI file is the same as the number of PicturePacks you have listed. Be sure to do this when the program isn't running and don't forget to delete the MC World file before you start the program back up again. [ Top of Page ] 22. PocketPC Locks UpAll the recipes are stored within the RecipeDat file on the PDA. That file is found within the MY DOCUMENTS folder on the PDA. It sounds like it became corrupted by importing a problem recipe. Leave your PDA disconnected from the computer. Delete that RecipeDat file from the PDA. (This gets rid of all the recipes within the MC program on the PDA.) Synch your PDA with your computer so that it will remove the RecipeDat file from your PocketPC folder on your computer, so that it won't be put back on your PDA. Now you are ready to import recipes from the MasterCook program on your computer to the PDA and start all over. It could be that you have a problem recipe causing the trouble. There is at least one recipe in the American Lamb book that causes problems for the PocketPC-type devices. It's the Denver Ribs recipe in the American Lamb book that comes with version 8. We had a previous discussion about it on this list back in October. See this post: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MastercookDiscussion/message/4581 I located the Denver Ribs recipe as the problem child by importing recipes in batches. Once I caused the PDA to quit responding, I know the last batch I imported contained the problem recipe. I deleted the RecipeDat file from the PDA, as I explained above, and then imported half of the previous batch and then half of that, etc. to figure out which exact recipe was the cause. You could do the same to figure out which recipe is causing you troubles. [ Top of Page ] 23. Procedure Entry PointPROBLEM: After applying Windows XP Service Pack 2, when you launch MasterCook you receive an error message that states in part: "The procedure entry point [xyz] could not be located in the dynamic link library rtcDll.dll." SOLUTION: MasterCook needs to use its own version of a file installed by SP2. To solve this, you need to create a file instructing XP to use the local (MC) version of that file when running MC. NOTE that you are creating a blank file with nothing inside it. Having such a file with the required filename, within the proper folder, is sufficient. 1. With MasterCook closed, open NOTEPAD to a blank window. 2. Without typing anything in the window, use File > Save. 3. In the Save In box at the top of the save window, direct the computer to the Program folder where your MasterCook.exe file is located. If you chose the default installation path, that location is: * For MC 5: C:\Sierra\MasterCook 5\Program 4. In the File Name box, type (or copy and paste) this name: MasterCook.exe.local 5. Click the Save button. You should now have a file named MasterCook.exe.local in the same folder as your MasterCook.exe file. (The new file should not have a *.txt extension.) If you prefer, you can create the blank file with the required filename and save it elsewhere on your computer. Then use Windows Explorer or My Computer to drag and drop it inside your MC's Program folder. If you are not comfortable using either method, ask a computer-savvy friend to help you. [ Top of Page ] 24. Recipe Edit Doesn't Work and Can't Add New RecipeOne person complains, "When I try to open a recipe in Edit View (any recipe), the program closes. It opens in Display View with no problem." Another one complains that they can't create a new recipe in any cookbook, even one that they newly created, without the program closing. The solution is to make sure the non-Unicode programs language is English within the computer's regional settings. Open the Windows Control Panel. Open the Regional and Language Options. Select the Regional Options tab. Make sure the system is set for English (United States). Select the Advanced tab. Make sure English (United States) is selected as the language version for non-Unicode programs, too. Restart your computer and give the program another try. [ Top of Page ] 25. Shopping List Navigation Button Quits FunctioningQ: We just had a terrible thing happen. While in shopping list, the message that an illegal action had been taken and that it was shutting down. We can't find the reason and can't open the shopping cell now. We have spent weeks getting this up and running - the pantry lists etc. HELP! We have not run into this before and hopefully it can be remedied soon. Please help ASAP. What I mean is that when Shopping is clicked on, no lists appear. I can neither add, delete or view lists that have been made. It is "closed" to me. When I click on various other options i.e., MasterCook, menu etc. all "open" and are there for me to use, see, edit etc. as usual. What suggestions do you have to help me access my lists in a program that obviously has a mind of its own. When I try to click on the Shopping button, it no longer brings up the program which has my lists etc. No matter how I try to get into the shopping/pantry window, I no longer can. When the "illegal etc." display came up and it also said it was shutting the operation down, I guess it meant it. Can you think of a way to reestablish access to the shopping lists/pantry other than through the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. I have also tried accessing it through menus etc. All other navigation bar items work fine. A: The last shopping list and/or pantry touched may have become corrupt. The shopping view opens to the last shopping list so it may be dying on the attempt. Using Explorer, you could look in the MC Tools folder for the most recently modified *.sl file and move it out of the folder temporarily. Then, hit the F5 key on your keyboard while in MasterCook (or select Refresh File List from the Tools Menu) and try to go to shopping. If that fails, repeat procedure removing the most recently modified *.pl. If that fails, repeat procedure removing ALL *.sl and *.pl files. If that fails, reinstall. Once you have success opening the shopping view, start replacing *.sl and *.pl files (hit F5 each time) until the problem child is found. The corrupted file will probably have to be deleted. [ Top of Page ] 26. This file is not refreshed!The PDA functionality has some limitations: I found out from ValuSoft that the program is designed to allow only 100 recipes on the PDA device. If you try to add more than this, you get the error message stating "Error!! This file is not refreshed!". The other PDA limitations are as follows: Furthermore, some recipes have ingredient rows that are a problem. Perhaps you imported one of these types of recipes recently, and it is actually the cause of your error message? Example, the Denver Ribs recipe in the American Lamb Board book is known to cause problems on import into a Pocket PC device (but not a Palm device). ValuSoft determined that the problem with this recipe is an empty coded row. If you export the recipe as v5 (and above) format from the MasterCook program on the computer and take a look at it with a plain text editor (open the MX2 file with Notepad/NoteTab), you will find an empty coded row: <IngR></IngR> (see line # 87 of the MX2 file while viewing in a text editor. There is a way to fix it so that it will no longer lock up the PDA on import. Open the recipe in MasterCook. Go to ingredient row 20 and delete it. This is the row right after "stock" in that recipe. Save the recipe. Now export it and import it into the PDA. It should work just fine now and NOT lock up the PDA. Since there are several things that may cause an error message, it necessary to know a few more details. How many recipes did you recently import into your PDA? Was it more than 100? How many shopping lists do you have on your PDA? How many rows on in each shopping list? [ Top of Page ] 27. Unable to Create New CookbookPROBLEM: When trying to create a new cookbook I receive an error message stating unable to create cookbook. SOLUTION: Typically this problem occurs for two reasons: 1. You are using the program under Windows XP with a limited user account. Try using the program with an administrator account. Did someone adjust your user settings for your logon name with WinXP? That would cause problems. Have you applied any recent Windows updates? It could have messed with a setting or two. Limited users are prevented from editing files, i.e. creating a new cookbook. Otherwise, do you think it is possible that you set the MasterCook folder and files as read-only, preventing anyone on your computer from editing files? Perhaps when you were renaming your cookbooks, you accidentally changed a permission setting for the folder? Did you rename the cookbooks while in MasterCook or while outside MasterCook? Does the "My Cookbook" cookbook work okay? Can you create a new recipe inside of it? 2. We've heard from non-USA users who have their computer's regional/language settings to something other than USA causing this problem. They adjusted their computer so that the regional/language settings are USA. That solved their problem when they couldn't create a new cookbook. [ Top of Page ] 28. Unable to create view: Cnts - openIf users encounter the message similar to the following: "Unable to create view: 'Cnts' - 'open'" it means that the MCReg.ini file has become corrupt or the install is corrupt (one or more DLLs missing). The MCReg.ini file registers all of the functional elements of the MasterCook application. If deleted, it will be re-created on application startup. A quick way to check if this is the problem: 1) Close the application. If the problem still occurs, the user should re-install. [ Top of Page ] 29. Unable to Save Character to 'ISO-8859-1' EncodingPROBLEM: I have been using the Web Import Tool in IE for some time, with no problems, until lately. I get the message: ERROR: UNABLE TO SAVE CHARACTER TO 'ISO-8859-1' ENCODING. It then goes to MC and says that there are no recipes in file. SOLUTION: The problem is NOT the web site. The problem is the specific web page. Not all web pages are created equally, even within the same web site. Somewhere on the web page is a character that isn't being translated properly. Edit the recipe from within the web import tool bar to fix it BEFORE you try to import into MasterCook. (See the EDIT links within the web import toolbar.) Some common things that cause problems are fractions that are symbols rather than three characters, i.e. 1/2. Other times the degree symbol on a web page doesn't translate properly. The directions and notes sections of the recipe seems to be more sensitive to the problem, so check those fields first. You might find the problem within those fields. [ Top of Page ] 30. Video Not AvailableQ: I just purchased the 5.0 version - my first MasterCook experience - and am trying to get everything loaded and running correctly. I've updated to 5.03 and have installed QuickTime 4.1. Each time I start MasterCook, I get, "Video not available - cannot find "vids:msvc" Decompressor. What is this and what to I do about it? The Video "vids:msvc" Decompressor problem happens when I first start the program. The Tip videos seem to work fine - although sometimes they're interrupted before finishing. I moved the splash screen as per a tip I saw here and the problem stopped but now I can't see the opening video - Oh well - it looks like everybody wants to turn it off anyway. I suspect it may have something to do with the new version of QuickTime I downloaded. A: Problem Solved! Tech Support got back to me and pointed out that the Windows multimedia video compressor was probably missing and told me how to find and install it. I did and now the splash screen works just fine. Problem: Video Tips (Only sound plays in tips) When playing a Video Tip, only the sound plays, and no pictures appear. Solution: Reinstall Video Compression. If the sound plays, but no pictures appear in when running the videos, reinstall Windows Video Compression: 1. Close any programs or windows that are currently open. [ Top of Page ] 31. Web Import Bar Doesn't WorkAfter installing MasterCook 8 (and newer versions) and you launch the Internet Explorer web browser there should be a MasterCook icon in your toolbar. If there isn't, it could be caused by several things. See below. 1. It won't appear until after you restart your computer after installing the program. So, restart your computer and see if that helps. 2. If you have customized your Internet Explorer toolbar at some point in the past, you may need to do that again to get the icon to appear in the bar. Right click on a blank area of your IE toolbar and choose CUSTOMIZE from the menu that pops up. From the left side of the screen find the icon for MASTERCOOK WEB IMPORT BAR. Select/highlight it and press the ADD button. Close out of the CUSTOMIZE window and look for the button on your toolbar. Otherwise, you can toggle the Import Bar off an on by selecting EXPLORER BAR > MASTERCOOK BAR from the View menu at the top of the IE web browser window. 3. The window can't work properly if your Internet security settings are set too high. I've just found that if I set my Internet Explorer security settings to HIGH (see the Internet Options command in the Tools menu), the Web Tool Bar won't work correctly. Perhaps you need to adjust your security settings in your web browser? Someone else recently reported a problem with this, too: "I had the MC icon in IE and could see the side panel. When I selected an item from the recipe and then clicked its related checkbox in the left (MC window), nothing happened. It was asleep. I changed my security settings from medium to medium-low and it worked. I have WinXP Pro, NO SP2, and still have MC 6 installed. Thought I would share my experience should anyone have this issue in the future." I also get an error message that appears at the top of the Web Tool Bar that says, "Your security settings do not allow Web sites to use ActiveX controls installed on your computer." Do you see any error message like this at the top of the MasterCook Web Tool bar in your web browser window? Perhaps you have something similar going on in that your current Internet Security settings are too high so it is not allowing the MasterCook Web Tool Bar to function correctly? It's blocking it? When it is working correctly, my Internet security settings are set at MEDIUM. Inside the Internet Options window, select the SECURITY tab. Press the CUSTOM LEVEL button at the bottom of that tab. In the drop-down list in the SECURITY SETTINGS window that appears, do you have HIGH or MEDIUM selected there? If I change that to HIGH (and then press that RESET button to make it apply the new setting), the Web Tool Bar is prevented from functioning properly. However, when I change it to MEDIUM (and then press that RESET button to make it apply the new setting), it will work correctly. ++++++ My MasterCook CD and Valu-Soft's website both state the minimum requirement for web integration is Internet Explorer 5.0 (not 6.0). I am currently using (by choice for reasons of my own) Internet Explorer 5.5. If I have browser security set on High for general surfing, then the following changes were necessary before the web import bar would fully function for me. From menu, select Tools, Internet Options, Security, Custom Level. Active X changes: Java script changes: 4. Check the MANAGE ADD-ONS window. From the Tools menu at the top of Internet Explorer select MANAGE ADD-ONS. Double check to see that the MasterCook Web Import Bar item is ENABLED. 5. If you are using a beta version of Internet Explorer 7, downloading the latest version of Internet Explorer 7 helped another user. Some have found it necessary to return to using Internet Explorer 6. 6. Some have found it necessary to use only ONE tab in IE 7 for things to function properly. 7. When the web import toolbar failed to recognize highlighted/selected text:
8. It could be the code used on the web page. Give another web page a try. 9. If the toolbar button disappears from the web browser all together, by chance did you (or anyone else using the computer) restore/reset the browser settings within the Options area of Internet Explorer? I suspect this is the cause of your problem. 10. If everything works on the bar except for the 'Save to MasterCook' button, please see the "Web Import Bar Doesn't 'Save to MasterCook'" FAQ within the Importing FAQs. [ Top of Page ] |
