MEAL INPUT WIZARD



  Back

DESCRIPTION:

The meal table input wizard helps you enter and modify rows in any meal table.  It can significantly reduce the time it takes to record meals.  To open this tool, click on the "Input Wizard" button at the bottom of any meal table.  By default, the wizard displays the contents of the currently selected row.  You can enter foods manually or search for them in every available database.  This includes previous journal entries, a built-in database with over 30,000 foods, the recipe database, and your own custom food database if you have created one.  This tool can remain open until you're done editing the meal table.  It is not necessary to close and reopen it for each table row.

Note:  For best results, always select table rows by clicking on the left-most cell.

When searching for foods, enter full or partial words separated by blank spaces.  Do not use quotes, commas or punctuation.  The order of search terms is irrelevant.  Usually the first three or four letters of each word is enough.  This means you can type "app" to find all foods containing "apple".  Use more words to narrow the search results.  For example, "apple" will generate more matches than a search for "apple raw skin".  When searching for fruits, vegetables and whole foods, we recommend adding the word, "raw" to narrow the results.  For example use "raw app" to quickly find apples. Searches are interactive.  As you type, a list of matches will appear in the "match list" below.  Matches are sorted in alphabetical order.

Searches are interactive.  As you type, a list of matches will appear in the "match list" below.  Matches are sorted in alphabetical order.  Search results from other journal tables are preceded by the word, "JOURNAL", results from the custom food database are preceded by the phrase, "CUSTOM FOOD", and matches in the recipe database begin with "RECIPE".  All other matches are from the built-in 30,000 food database.  Select any item in the list to display a selection of food weights (serving sizes) for that food.  The built-in database has more than 15,000 serving sizes.  Choose a weight to display the nutrients for the specified food below.  You can also specify your own weight in grams, using the box labeled, "custom" on the right.

Each time you select a match, its nutrients will be displayed in a new file tab at the bottom.  Up to 50 tabs can be open at the same time.  To copy the contents of any tab to the currently selected table row, select that tab then click "Apply".  To close a tab, use the close button in the upper right corner.  Nutrients from the current table row are always shown in a tab called, "Table Row".  If you close this tab, it will automatically be reopened when you go to a different table row.

The fields in each tab can be edited.  When a nutrient is not available, the corresponding text box will be left blank.  You can modify or fill in missing values without affecting the original data source.  Use the "Clear Tab" button to enter a new food from scratch.  For example, you may want to enter the contents of a new food label.  Anytime you enter a new food, or modify an existing one, you can add it to the custom foods database by clicking "Add To Custom Foods".  This can also be used to replace a food that already exists in this database.  You never have to enter the same food twice.  When adding foods to the custom foods database, you must specify a name and a weight in grams.  If you do not know the weight, we recommend entering a default value of 100.  Everything else is optional.  To view and edit the contents of the custom foods database, click on the "Edit Custom Foods" button.  This option is also available under the main Edit menu.  The built-in 30,000 food database cannot be edited.

Use the "Sum Result Tabs" button to add the nutrients in all of the open tabs together.  The result is shown in a new tab.  This feature is extremely useful when you cannot find a food in the database.  Since our database contains thousands of basic foods, you can look up each individual ingredient then add them together.  For example, if you cannot find a specific sandwich, you can look up components such as the type of lettuce, tomato, cheese and bread.  In one click, you can add these together.  Then in a second click, you can add this as a new food to the custom foods database.  The new food will immediately appear in searches above.

Some Faster Ways to Enter Meals

In the future, another way to save time is to use the favorites list on the right side of the meal table.  It lets you drag and drop a food and all of its nutrients directly into the table, in one step.  Drag and drop one or multiple foods at the same time.  The favorites list is created automatically and updated after each save.  You can also create pre-defined meals (programs).  By saving a list of meal table rows under a specific name, you can enter those foods again in one mouse click.  For more information, see the help section titled, "Predefine Meals (Programs)" under "Special Tools".  Since most people regularly eat the same foods, these two methods are faster than the input wizard.


FIELDS & BUTTONS:

Search  Specifies the food that you want to find nutrients for.  Searches are performed against a 30,000 food database, your own custom food database (if you have created one), previously entered meals, and the recipe database.  To narrow the list of choices, make your search more specific by including more search words.  Enter full or partial words, separated by a blank spaces.  For more results, try entering a single word or the first three letters.
Select Match Specifies a list of matches for the food you searched for.  Search results are displayed in alphabetical order.  Select any item from the list to display a list of food weights (serving sizes) for that item in weight menu below.  Each search result will indicate the database it originated from.  Results from other journal meal tables are preceded by the word, "JOURNAL" and results from the custom food database are preceded by the phrase "CUSTOM FOOD DATABASE".  All other matches are from the built-in 30,000 food database.
Specify Weight Specifies a list of food weights (serving sizes) for the item you selected in the list above.  Select a weight to display the nutrients for that item.
Custom Specifies whether or not to use a custom weight when determining the quantity each nutrient in the food selected.  The custom weight must be entered in grams using the box on the right.  Uncheck this item to use the default serving size for the selected food.
 
Table Row Specifies the major nutrients from the selected table row.  Each search will appear in its own tab to the right of this.  A maximum of ten nutrient tabs can be open at the same time. 
Add To Custom Foods  Adds the food in the selected tab to the custom foods database.  You must specify the food weight in grams.  The new food will immediately appear in searches, so you never have to manually enter it again.
Clear Tab Clears the contents of the selected tab.  This does not remove tabs.  To remove a tab, use the close button in the upper right corner.
Sum Result Tabs  Sums the nutrients in all of the open tabs and displays the result in a new tab.  This feature is extremely useful when you cannot find a food in the database.  Since our database contains thousands of basic foods, you can look up each individual ingredient then add them together.  Enter a name for this new food, then in one click, you can add it to the custom foods database.  It will immediately be visible in searches above.
Edit Custom Foods  Opens a tool to edit the custom foods database.  This editor can also be opened from the main Edit menu.
Apply  Copies information from the selected tab to the selected meal table row.