|
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 USDA
database containing more than 8,000 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.
To look up the nutrients in a food, enter one or more search words, then
click "Find" or press Enter. Enter full or partial
words, separated by a blank space. We recommend entering the
first three letters of each search word, and only using one or two
words. Do
not use quotes. Searches are not case sensitive. For a
broad list of matches, enter a single word like "red" (to find
a list of red wines) or the first three letters of a food name. To narrow the list of
results, make your searches more specific by using complete names or
adding additional search terms. For example, to look up the nutrients in an apple,
you can search for the word "apple". To make this search
more specific, try entering "apple raw skin" (with no quotes).
After every search, a list of
matches will appear in the "match list" drop-down menu 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 USDA food
database. Select any item in the list to display a selection of
food weights (serving sizes) for that food. The built-in USDA
database has nearly 14,000 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 look up a food, its nutrients are displayed in a new file
tab at the bottom. Up to ten tabs can be open at the same time. 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. To
copy the contents of any tab to the currently selected table row, select
that tab then click "Apply".
In any tab, all of the
description fields can be edited. When a food nutrient is not available, the corresponding text box for that nutrient 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.
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 USDA 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. To add foods, simply drag and drop them from the meal table
(in the opposite direction). For best results, click on the cell
containing the food name and drag it. You can also create pre-defined meal 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, "Meal Program Editor" 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 an 8000 food USDA database your own custom food
database if you have created one. To narrow the list of
choices, make your search more specific by including more search
words. Enter each word, separated by a blank space.
For more results, try entering a single word or part of a word.
|
| 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 USDA 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. |
| Find |
Searches
for the food specified in the "Search" field.
Results will appear in the "Select Match"
drop-down menu below. This is same as pressing
"Enter" in the "Search" field.
|
| Apply |
Copies
information from the selected tab to the selected meal table row.
|
|