Question for OneNote Users

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BobH
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Question for OneNote Users

Post by BobH »

I created a template in OneNote for recipes. Ingredients are entered into a table and below the table are cooking instructions, number of servings, credits for sources, etc. The ingredients table is in the image below. Basically the 1st and 3rd columns are quantities and the 2nd and 4th are descriptors defining them. For example the 2nd and 4th might say 'teaspoons red pepper flakes' or whole chicken.

Because it is not uncommon to increase or decrease recipes, I was wondering if it would somehow be possible to tell the OneNote table to multiply the quantity columns (first and third) to increase or decrease quantities of ingredients.

I found an article that says that calculations are possible, but I'm not smart enough to understand how to use the functions. I'm hoping someone with more OneNote experience than I have can help me out. I realize that I might be making the problem a nail because my only tool is a hammer and that there might be other, better apps for doing this; but I've got a pretty big file of recipes that work very well in OneNote. The quantity manipulation is something that would be nice to have but is not critical because I can, of course, adjust quantities as I prepare dishes. I'm simply trying to see if there are things I might learn about OneNote to spiff things up a bit.
example.GIF
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kdock
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Re: Question for OneNote Users

Post by kdock »

Hi BobH (I've never asked, but I assume the "H" is silent. :innocent:)

The best I could make out with OneNote calculations is that they occur exactly where they appear. Also, while you and I write out our recipes in 1/4 C, 1/2 T, the calculation function will accept it and multiply it, but render it in decimal form.

I could find no way to type a number (like "2" if you want to double your recipe) and have all the designated numbers change. What I tried was this:
OneNote Calculation.png
A couple of things to note: It did calculate, but only after I physically hit the "=" sign. This means that if I want to double the recipe, I have to change the "1" to a "2" in every calculation. Which I did here:
OneNote recalculate.png
In order to make the first amount recalculate, I had to delete the "=" and type it in again; otherwise it wouldn't recalculate. Bummer.

I love OneNote and use it for all kinds of things. And I hear Excel folk shouting from here about how easy this would be in that program. Even Word would do a better job of recalculation than OneNote. The calculation function was undoubtedly added to OneNote for classes where on-the-fly calculations are more convenient than opening the calculator and pasting the answer.

Maybe someone has greater mastery of what one can tease out of OneNote than I have.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. Kim
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HansV
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Re: Question for OneNote Users

Post by HansV »

kdock wrote:And I hear Excel folk shouting from here about how easy this would be in that program.
Yes, I would use Excel for this. Its formulas are recalculated automatically, and Excel can display numbers as fractions if desired.
Best wishes,
Hans

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BobH
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Re: Question for OneNote Users

Post by BobH »

Thank you, Kim! :chocciebar:

I got about the same results that you did when I tried to make OneNote do the calculations.

I was fully prepared to hear that I should be using Excel or some other app designed specifically for keeping track of recipes. I find OneNote much friendlier in terms of format control and organization and makes sharing so easy. The multiplier was really just an idea but not a deal breaker. And, I'm too lazy to reformat the recipes I already have in OneNote for use with another app.

:cheers: :chocciebar: :thankyou:
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kdock
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Re: Question for OneNote Users

Post by kdock »

I'm not much of an Excel aficionado myself. I am much more comfortable in Word with a dollop of macros.

For the fun of it, I created a fictitious recipe for potato salad in OneNote. Very easy to format, easy to search for using OneNote's search, easy to turn a OneNote notebook into a recipe book. They're easy to move around. And you won't forget how to multiply or divide if you have to increase or decrease a recipe in your head.
Recipe in OneNote.png
Then I copied and pasted into Word. Better calculation opportunities and no changes in format. But you lose the notebook advantages.
Recipe copied to Word.png
Then, just for more fun, I copied and pasted to Excel. It looks good, but required a certain amount of reformatting. And I never got to the formulas necessary to do calculation.
Recipe copied to Excel.png
All in all, I think it's a great decision to keep them in OneNote. Even if you have to use a calculator and make your own shopping list. :laugh:

Kim
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BobH
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Re: Question for OneNote Users

Post by BobH »

:fanfare: :fanfare: :fanfare: :fanfare: :fanfare: :fanfare:
:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

Very well done, Kim! I think you demonstrated why I thought OneNote is a better platform for my collection. While I'm comfortable in Word - having used it since the '80s, I found the ease of aggregating, formatting, storing and accessing recipes in OneNote was a compelling argument. As you said, it's very easy to do mental arithmetic for recipe changes.

I really like your choice of font and font size. You have a much better eye for style and effect than I do.

:chocciebar: :chocciebar: :chocciebar: :chocciebar:
:wine: :wine: :wine: :wine: :wine: :wine: :wine:
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