User Manual

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Recipes
• Tasks
• Categories
• Share and download
• Settings
• Contact us

• Introduction

  Cook Assistant is based on a simple fact: a recipe can be divided into individual tasks. Each task has a name, a description, an icon, and a time interval. A time interval is defined by a start time and an end time. Specifying this time interval allows to define simultaneous tasks.
  
  For example:
  Considering a recipe containing 2 tasks:
  - "Cut vegetables to small pieces" (lasting 10 minutes)
  - "Boil some water" (lasting 8 minutes)
  We would like to have these two tasks finishing at the same time, in order to put the vegetables when the water boils.
  
  We can execute these 2 tasks simultaneously if we set their time interval properly.
  We set the time interval of "Cut vegetables to small pieces" to 00:00:00 > 00:10:00 and the time interval of "Boil some water" to 00:02:00 > 00:10:00.
  The task "Cut vegetables to small pieces" will start first, and at 2 minutes (00:02:00) the task "Boil some water" will start. They will be simultaneous until 10 minutes (00:10:00), so that we can put our vegetables in the boiling water.
• Recipes
  

  • Create a recipe

    To create a recipe, press the "Create recipe" button. This will lead you to the recipe edition screen, which is explained in the next chapter.
    
  • Edit a recipe

    To edit a previously saved recipe, click it in the saved recipes list (don't click on its play button yet, it is explained in the next chapter). This will lead you to the recipe edition screen, which is divided in 2 parts: The recipe's general preferences (name, description, category, difficulty, cost, and image), and the recipe's tasks (see chapter Tasks).
    
    While editing your recipe, you can save it by pressing the "Save recipe and tasks" button, or cancel changes by pressing "Back".
  • Run a recipe

    To run a previously saved recipe, press its play button. A dialog appears, showing its description, and allowing to access the recipe run screen. We recommend to use the description field to list all the required ingredients for your recipe (it can be handy to have a checklist you can quickly consult in the supermarket).
    
    Notice: If your recipe doesn't contain at least one task, you won't be allowed to run it.
    By pressing the "Run" button, the following screen will appear, allowing you to run the recipe.
    
    The recipe's tasks list is shown, and for each task is displayed: when it should start, and when it should end.
    To run the recipe, press play. All tasks begin to countdown since their start time has been reached. When their end time is reached, the task disappears or stays with a finished state, according to the application settings (see chapter Settings).
    Clicking on a task will show its description. We recommend to set a simple name for the task, and put details in the description.
    
    Use pause and stop buttons to pause or stop the current recipe's run. Stopping will reset all task states.
    Notice: It is necessary to stop an already running recipe before quitting it. This prevents an accidental cancellation of the execution by pressing the "Back"
    
  • Delete a recipe

    To delete a previously saved recipe, execute a long press (a press and hold) on it. A prompt will allow you to confirm the deletion.
    
  • Share and download recipes

    To share a previously saved recipe, press the web button (on the bottom-right corner of the screen). This will lead you to the recipe sharing center (see chapter Share and download).
    
• Tasks
  A task is a step of a recipe. You can manage tasks when editing a recipe, and clicking on the "Tasks" tab.

  • Create a task

    To create a task, press the "Add task" button. A dialog will be displayed, allowing you to edit it (explained in the next chapter).
    
  • Edit a task

    To edit a previously saved task, click it in the tasks list. An edition dialog will appear, allowing you to set the task's name, description, start time, end time, and icon.
    
    Notice: The name is mandatory, and the start time must be before the end time.
  • Delete a task

    To delete a previously saved task, execute a long press (a press and hold) on it. A prompt will allow you to confirm the deletion.
    
• Categories
  Categories are recipe containers, and allow you to organize your recipes the way you want. You can manage categories by pressing the "Menu" button and then "Manage categories" when on recipes list.
  
  

  • Create a category

    To create a category, press the "Create category" button. A dialog will be displayed, allowing you to edit it (explained in the next chapter).
    
  • Edit a category

    You can change the name of a category by clicking it in the categories list. Moreover, you can choose to display or not a category, by checking/unckecking it in the categories list. Hiding a category will hide all recipes contained by this category.
    
  • Delete a category

    To delete a previously saved category, execute a long press (a press and hold) on it. A prompt will allow you to confirm the deletion.
    
    Notice: There are 2 ways to delete a category: Delete the category only, or the category and all contained recipes. Ensure to choose the correct mode.
    
• Share and download
  The recipe sharing center provides 2 tabs: one for downloads, and one for shares (uploads).
  

  • Download a recipe

    To download a recipe, enter a name or a keyword for the recipe you are looking for. The list of matching recipes will be displayed, allowing you to preview any of them by clicking it. Then select the recipes you want to download, and press the "Download selected recipes" button.
    
  • Share a recipe

    You can share only the recipes you have created. To share a recipe, go to the second tab in the recipe sharing center: the recipes you have created will appear on the list, allowing you to preview any of them by clicking it. Select the recipes you want to share, and click on the "Upload selected recipes" button.
    
    Notice:In order to avoid spam, some basic validation is performed when sharing a recipe. To be shared, a recipe must contain: name, description, difficulty, cost, and tasks (at least 3).
    
  • Preview a recipe

    Each recipe can be previewed in the recipe sharing center. Just click on the recipe you want to preview, and a dialog will appear, showing some basic info about it.
    
    
• Settings
  Settings are general preferences for the application. You can access these settings by pressing the "Menu" button and then "Settings".
  There are 3 parameters which can be modified.
  

  • Hide finished tasks

    If checked, tasks reaching their end time will fade out from the list. This option can be very useful if you don't want to dirty your phone when cooking: tasks scroll down automatically (be careful to set time intervals properly, not to be late!). Checked by default.
    
  • Play a notification sound at task start time

    If checked, a notification sound will be played each time a task starts. Checked by default.
    
  • Auto-hide empty categories

    If checked, only categories containing at least one recipe will be visible. This setting overrides the visibility set in the categories menu. Checked by default.
    
  • Display background image

    If checked, the recipes list will be displayed using a colorful theme. Unchecked by default.
    
  • Landscape mode during recipe runs

    If checked, the screen orientation will be forced to landscape for recipe runs. Unchecked by default.
    

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