MasterCook 22 Sync Manager – MasterCook Community

CAUTION: BEFORE YOU SYNC MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CURRENT BACKUP COPY OF YOUR MASTERCOOK FILES.

If you have a current subscription to MasterCook.com, you can sync your online content with MasterCook 22. Go to the Cookbooks screen. Select Sync Manager from the File menu in MasterCook 22. Then you can sign into your account at MasterCook.com so that MasterCook 22 can sync with it.

CONNECTION STATUS

Check the Status in the lower left corner of the Sync Manager. It should say Connected. If it says Offline, that means something on your computer is blocking the Sync Manager from using your internet connection. See this article for troubleshooting.

VIEWING CONTENT

Selecting a section on the left side of the Sync screen controls the files you see on the right side.

So, if you click on My Collection, you will see your cookbooks, menus, and meal plans.
If you click on MC Tools, you will see your other files, such as shopping lists, print design templates, etc.

Pay particular attention to the Status and Action columns. They tell you what the sync manager will do. If it says "remove" then it definitely will remove that item when you sync.

You can view the Sync Log tab for more details about individual recipes that are syncing.

NOTE: The amount of time it takes before it will start syncing after you have pressed the Sync Now button is entirely dependent on the number of recipes in the cookbook. A cookbook that has 100 recipes will have less of a delay to start syncing than a cookbook that has 1,000 recipes, for example. That is because it has to read all of the recipe titles to know which recipes need to be synced. The fewer recipe titles it has to read, the sooner it can get started syncing.

BEST PRACTICES

To ensure the best results when syncing, always do these two things:

When you are done syncing, go to the My Account screen in the Sync Manager and sign out of your online account.
Before you sign back in to sync again, Refresh MasterCook on the computer. Go to the Cookbooks screen. Select Refresh File List from the Tools menu.

ERROR MESSAGE EXPLANATIONS

WriteError -- This error means it was unable to sync your changes to online. This can happen if you are trying to sync a recipe or cookbook while you are viewing the recipe or cookbook in MasterCook. Go to the Cookbooks screen in MasterCook instead and then try syncing again. This error can also happen if you try to edit someone else's recipe in a group cookbook. You can only edit your own recipes in a group cookbook. This error also happens if a recipe takes too long to sync, so it is skipped. You simply need to sync again, so it can try again.

DependencyMissing -- This error means you are trying to sync a recipe that is incomplete. Look at the Sync Log tab to find out the recipe that is listed. This recipe has an embedded recipe that is missing in the cookbook. Add your embedded recipe to the cookbook to correct the missing recipe and try again.

ENCOUNTERING PROBLEMS

If you have problems syncing, go to the My Account screen in the Sync Manager and press the Logout button. Then contact MasterCook Support for help.

Before you sign into the Sync Manager, please make sure you have a backup copy of your MasterCook files on the computer. This way if something unexpected happens, you can use the Restore From Backup to recover your files.

Important things NOT to do:

Do not sync if you have not recently backed up your MasterCook files.
Do not sync if you do not see your cookbooks listed on the right side of the Sync screen in the Sync Manager. Logout and contact MasterCook Support for help.
Do not sync if you are having problems. Things will only get worse. Logout and contact MasterCook Support for help.
Do not sync if you have duplicate online cookbooks. If recipes disappear from MasterCook on the computer when you sync, it usually is because you have duplicate online cookbooks, and it can only sync with one of them. Logout and contact MasterCook Support for help. WARNING: Duplicate online cookbooks have to be carefully fixed, because normally when you delete a cookbook from online and sync, it will delete that cookbook from the computer to keep them in sync!

MINIMIZING VS. CLOSING THE PROGRAM

In the upper right corner of the Sync Manager, click on the X. This leaves the program running but minimizes the program to the Windows System Tray (the lower right corner of your computer where your volume, internet, and other icons are).

Right-click on the My MasterCook Sync Manager icon in the Windows System Tray and select Exit MasterCook Sync Manager. See the screenshot below. This will shut down the MasterCook Sync Manager, so it is no longer running on the computer.