While syncing my cookbooks and recipes, it started deleting them from MasterCook on my computer. How do I fix this?
As soon as you have a syncing problem, the first thing you should do is immediately go to the My Account screen in My MasterCook Manager on the computer and press the Logout button. So please do that if you haven't done so already.
Next, you can either contact us immediately, so we can help you step by step or you can follow the instructions below. If you contact us, please confirm that you have pressed the Logout button as explained above.
There are some things that will cause this problem:
- You have duplicate online cookbooks, so they will not be able to sync properly until that is carefully fixed exactly as explained below.
- You have duplicate cookbooks on the computer, and that is confusing the program. One example, you have a cookbook on your desktop that you open from the desktop. It's best to not open cookbooks from the computer. Instead always start up MasterCook. Open a cookbook from its Cookbooks screen only. This way you are only opening the cookbook that the program is using and not some other copy of the cookbook somewhere else on the computer).
- There are a number of things that can cause a duplicate online cookbook to be created. Something on your computer could have temporarily caused syncing to be halted, so it couldn't reach the original online cookbook, so it created a new one and is syncing with that one instead.
INVESTIGATE THE CAUSE
Make sure you are signed out of your account in My MasterCook Manager on the computer. See the text above in red.
1. DUPLICATE ONLINE COOKBOOKS?
Go to your online cookbooks web page here:
https://www.mastercook.com/app/Cookbook
Do you have more than one copy of that online cookbook with your recipes split between them? If so, this is causing the problem.
You need to carefully fix them as explained below. Scroll down to the section called FIXING DUPLICATE ONLINE COOKBOOKS and follow those instructions.
If this isn't the cause of the problem, then check the computer for duplicate copies of the cookbook by following these instructions below.
2. DUPLICATE COOKBOOKS ON THE COMPUTER?
What is the name of your cookbook that has this problem? Press and hold down the Windows logo key on your keyboard and press the letter E. This brings up the Windows File Explorer. Along the lower left side of the screen select This PC. Then in the upper right side of the screen in the Search box type in the name of this cookbook and search the entire computer for all files with that name. How many files does it find? Where are they located on the computer? Please send a screenshot showing these results to MasterCook Support, so we can give you proper instructions. To take a screenshot please follow these instructions:
https://www.howtogeek.com/226280/how-to-take-screenshots-in-windows-10/
FIXING DUPLICATE ONLINE COOKBOOKS
If the sync files on your computer become corrupted or can't connect with your original online cookbook and its recipes, it creates a duplicate online cookbook and syncs with it from this point on. So, you end up with two cookbooks with the same name online, and your recipes split between those two online cookbooks. It can only sync with one of them since MasterCook on the computer cannot handle duplicate cookbook names.
When this happens, the one on the computer is synced with the newest cookbook (the duplicate it created). You haven't lost your recipes yet. They are still ALL online within two online cookbooks by the same name. It's easy to correct. You don't lose any recipes. However, you must correct it exactly as explained below.
STEP 1
If you have not done so already, go to the My Account screen in My MasterCook Manager on the computer and press the Logout button. Do not log back into the My MasterCook Manager program on the computer until the very end of these instructions.
STEP 2
Then go to your online cookbooks web page here:
http://www.mastercook.com/app/Cookbook
Are your cookbooks and recipes online? Do you see any duplicate cookbook titles in that online cookbooks page? Duplicate online cookbooks will cause this problem.
STEP 3
Click on the Download link next to one of your online duplicate cookbooks. This downloads an .mz2 file to your computer. Do NOT open the file. Download it ONLY. (Keep a copy of it so you have a copy of your recipes.) If you have a large number of recipes, it can take awhile for it to start and finish downloading, so please be patient.
After you have downloaded your online cookbooks as files to the computer, open one of them. The computer should pass the file off to MasterCook on the computer, so it can use that file.
At this point MasterCook on the computer will ask to create a new cookbook in MasterCook on the computer. Give it a new name and do that. Do that for the other duplicate cookbook. Once you have both of these cookbooks in MasterCook, open the one that has the least amount of recipes. Select the recipe titles listed on the screen and copy the recipes. (Use the Select All and then Copy Recipes commands from the Edit menu.) Then open the other cookbook and paste them in there.
At this point you should have the new cookbook in MasterCook on the computer that has your combined recipes.
STEP 4
Backup your files in MasterCook as explained here:
https://support.mastercook.com/hc/en-us/articles/216889106
STEP 5
Then you can delete the older cookbooks that aren't working correctly. Delete them from the Cookbooks web page online. Delete the ones that are in MasterCook on the computer.
STEP 6
Then sign back into My MasterCook Manager and sync the new cookbook with your combined recipes to your MasterCook.com account. Hopefully this new cookbook will work better.
PREVENTION
- Please backup your files on a regular basis. See these instructions: https://support.mastercook.com/hc/en-us/articles/216889106
- Please always follow the numbered steps in this article when syncing from now on: https://support.mastercook.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005013146
The above article also lists things that will cause syncing problems, so please review those before you sync.
This article gives you in depth explanations of how syncing works and explains messages you will see during syncing, and have videos that demonstrate how it should work for you: https://support.mastercook.com/hc/en-us/articles/216898726
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