MASTERCOOK 15 - HALF PRICE--JULY ONLY (5 1/2 days remain!) (813 views)

I asked PamE (support mgr at Mastercook) to send me links showing what's new. She sent:

This article explains what’s new:

support.mastercook.com/hc/en-us/articles/216887486-What-s-New-in-MasterCook-15

This one explains what’s new in version 14:

support.mastercook.com/hc/en-us/articles/216887366-What-s-New-in-MasterCook-14-

To all: Anyone want to view the latest discussions at the Mastercook Discussion group or to join the group... read on.

I belong to the Mastercook Discussion group (a Yahoo email group) where MC management hangs out. All members can ask questions and get answers there...or if you prefer, privately mail support(from website). The group discussion is a great place to get all the latest news about Mastercook. To view discussions or to join, go to: groups.yahoo.com/group/Mastercook and subscribe from there. (PS: this group doesn't overwhelm you with email most months--if it gets super busy you can always go to site and switch to Digest that groups posts together and sends out once or twice a day.)


There is another way to join, just send an email to: mastercookdiscussion-subscribe@yahoogroups.com no subject or text needed...just the addressed email (from whichever email account you want to get email at)

The latest posts there have been from PamE at support. Things have changed greatly in the last few years. Used to be that recipe programs were something you ONLY installed on your computer. Mastercook is still that...but more. Nowadays people own all kinds of electronic devises...and they want all kinds of features...and some people want all kinds of ONLINE features. Professionals and institutions of many kinds are now using Mastercook and the entire scene has changed. So, the Mastercook people, after perfecting the desktop application, have been working with the pro's on the online stuff and that involves lots of new features. NUTRITION is a huge feature...and Mastercook always had it...but now the pros (dieticians, etc) want really involved nutritional analysis abilities--really, really involved and MC techs are intensely working on that and much more. (There is plenty already for us 'normal' folks online, speaking just for myself. But there will be much, much more once all the development is finished. See Pam's most recent posts.--she gives details.

As I understand it, even if you don't buy the Mastercook program itself, the online account can be purchased and used by any type of computer/devise. (That is my understanding from reading PamE's posts.)

The Mastercook program itself, the one we download on our computers...so far that is only for Windows. The big priorities come first (for all the pro users) and then, someday, a MAC version for computer will come.

Anyway, checkout the discussion group if interested.

PERSONALLY, here's what I've always thought about Mastercook: They have always sold it to the public for peanuts. I've seen it be this way for over 20 years. And the odd thing to me is: it's worth so much more! There is a learning curve, but there are so many people over at the discussion group ready and eager to help. Feel free to ask questions over there...even if you feel dumb doing it. There are no dumb questions and trust me, every one of us has had those same questions or stumbling blocks at one time or another!!

PS: The online account, I believe, is still FREE if you want to check it out. It only holds 25 recipes, however...but you can get an idea of what you can do, build your online shopping list, etc.

Catbatty

I'm glad that my post helped you, Testkitchen! Don't worry much about the install. It's pretty easy PLUS once you own the program, if you need to, you can always download again to any of your Windows computers. I've done it myself several times.
Be sure to turn off any virus program, like Norton, just for the few minutes you install MC. I use Norton and I just click on it's icon and tell it to turn off...and then, soon as I install, I turn it back on. (You have Windows 10?) I let my install do its thing, let it do 'default' stuff...like where it wants the program to install and where it wants to put the cookbooks. (Those are optional...in fact, you can keep your cookbooks anywhere.) It's just easy to let it decide.
I have never been a meal planner...not that I haven't wanted to be. But there is just the two of us and we live fairly spontaneously. I never know when HE will feel like cooking, which he does a lot.
But anyway, there is a built in Meal Planning feature. But you probably know about that already.
The program itself is going to look pretty similar to your older MC11, I think. (it's been awhile for me.) One new feature I like is that we can now, in Preferences, set the Recipe Edit window to larger fonts (up to 14pts). And of course, as always, the normal window (I forget what it's called) lets you change it to larger fonts and colors of each section, etc.
One thing I don't think you had earlier was .mz2 -- Say, for instance, that in the old days you wanted to email me a recipe that had a photo. You would have had to send the photo separately...and then on my end, I would have had to import the recipe and then go back and manually add the photo to the recipe. Newest MC's now have .mz2 export feature...meaning you can send the photo right along with the recipe...and all I have to do is click on the mz2 and it automatically imports the recipe AND the photo. Done. Goes right in perfectly...to my 'cookbook' of choice. PLUS, you now have the online account, which is a whole new world of things. Make shopping lists and view them on portable devise, etc.

I'm happy that you are excited to get back to doing things you enjoy. I'll send you some stuff privately soon as you tell me you are loaded up. (I have a zillion 'cookbooks' n stuff.)

Catbatty