New Calculator to try

[VapnJunkie]

I have a couple more questions...I tried to find these option myself, but had no luck.
Is there a way to edit the "Category" and "Manufacture" list?
ie...I create a category named "concentrate" but what to delete it or rename it to "Stone"
Also with manufactures... I need to delete and rename some.
Finally, what are the benefits of using the "Folder Name" tab when updating a ingredient? and how does it work?
I apologies for all the questions, but I want to be efficient and know everything about this calculator.

Thanks,
VapnJunkie

 

[IDJoel]

Sorry for the late reply.....You answered my question perfectly. I kinda had a idea how it worked, but once I sat down to make a recipe into a base/stone I started to get confused. With your in-depth tutorial and the added diagrams to help one follow along really helps.
Thank you so much...I am sure many other will find this tutorial very helpful

No worries! Glad to see folks with lives outside of vaping and forums. I'm pleased you found it helpful. I was happy to do it. So many good folks have helped me along my own journey; it makes me feel good to think I am able to assist someone else along the way.

Thanks for taking the time to say so.

Best wishes!

 

[IDJoel]

Is there a way to edit the "Category" and "Manufacture" list?
ie...I create a category named "concentrate" but what to delete it or rename it to "Stone"
Also with manufactures... I need to delete and rename some.

Re Categories: These will auto delete when there is nothing assigned to them. Unfortunately I am not aware of any way to change (rename/reassign) these as a group. I believe you will have to change these individually.

Re Manufacturers: These you can create/delete/rename as a group. Open the "Ingredients" tab from the main screen and select the "Manufacturers" tab. There you will see a window that looks like this:

Because you are becoming familiar with the program I thing you will find it pretty straight forward from here. If not, just sing out, and we will do our best to help you.

I will mention a quick note on the "Aliases" box. I found this useful when I was importing recipes. If you have a manufacturer like TFA that is frequently referred to by multiple names; you can enter a string of other names the manufacturer might be called (or alias) For TFA I might use: "TFA, TPA, the flavorer's apprentice, the perfumer's apprentice, flavor apprentice, perfumer apprentice" (with commas separating aliases). Then, when you import new recipes, it will look for any of those variants and assign them all to TFA. No more 6 listings for RY4 Double!

One caution on this. I don't know if this is case (or punctuation) sensitive. Now that "Fa" (Flavorer's apprentice) is starting to be used by some vendors, and gaining some usage with the on-line communities, to differentiate from "FA" (Flavour Art) be aware of potential unwanted merges. Maybe @HotRod19579, or someone else, could clarify.

what are the benefits of using the "Folder Name" tab when updating a ingredient? and how does it work?

"Folder Name" is to ingredients; as "Category" is to recipes. It is a way to organize your ingredients into groups like "tobaccos" or "creams" or "fruits."

Then to use: follow Tools>Options>Ingredient Defaults and check the box labeled "Display ingredients by category":

(which really aught to be "folder name" as it has nothing to do with recipe "categories"). That way, when you are manually entering an ingredient into a recipe (either new, or swapping an existing ingredient) it will display them in your assigned groups.

I found this most helpful when I am out of something and I want to see what I have in my inventory that might be a worthy substitute. It is also easy to turn on/off simply by checking/unchecking the box.

Please don't ask me about the recipe "Category" feature as I have no clue how to use this. I have looked and I can't find any way to search, sort, or display using this (the recipe category) as the value.
I do believe there are some who are using this to organize new recipes into to-do lists ("make next," "make soon," "make someday," "make for the holidays" kind of sorting/ranking) instead of the usual "fruits, desserts, tobaccos" categories but I can't figure out how they are then displaying that info. Perhaps someone else can enlighten both of us.

I apologies for all the questions, but I want to be efficient and know everything about this calculator.

Don't apologize. HotRod started this thread to communicate news about the program, take feedback, and help each other get the most out of a terrific piece of software. Sadly, HotRod can't be here 24/7 so you get second-stringers like me trying to help. If you can put up with me... I can certainly put up with you!

 

[VapnJunkie]

Re Categories: These will auto delete when there is nothing assigned to them. Unfortunately I am not aware of any way to change (rename/reassign) these as a group. I believe you will have to change these individually.

Re Manufacturers: These you can create/delete/rename as a group. Open the "Ingredients" tab from the main screen and select the "Manufacturers" tab. There you will see a window that looks like this:
View attachment 620203

Because you are becoming familiar with the program I thing you will find it pretty straight forward from here. If not, just sing out, and we will do our best to help you.

I will mention a quick note on the "Aliases" box. I found this useful when I was importing recipes. If you have a manufacturer like TFA that is frequently referred to by multiple names; you can enter a string of other names the manufacturer might be called (or alias) For TFA I might use: "TFA, TPA, the flavorer's apprentice, the perfumer's apprentice, flavor apprentice, perfumer apprentice" (with commas separating aliases). Then, when you import new recipes, it will look for any of those variants and assign them all to TFA. No more 6 listings for RY4 Double!

One caution on this. I don't know if this is case (or punctuation) sensitive. Now that "Fa" (Flavorer's apprentice) is starting to be used by some vendors, and gaining some usage with the on-line communities, to differentiate from "FA" (Flavour Art) be aware of potential unwanted merges. Maybe @HotRod19579, or someone else, could clarify.

"Folder Name" is to ingredients; as "Category" is to recipes. It is a way to organize your ingredients into groups like "tobaccos" or "creams" or "fruits."

Then to use: follow Tools>Options>Ingredient Defaults and check the box labeled "Display ingredients by category":
View attachment 620215
(which really aught to be "folder name" as it has nothing to do with recipe "categories"). That way, when you are manually entering an ingredient into a recipe (either new, or swapping an existing ingredient) it will display them in your assigned groups.

I found this most helpful when I am out of something and I want to see what I have in my inventory that might be a worthy substitute. It is also easy to turn on/off simply by checking/unchecking the box.

Please don't ask me about the recipe "Category" feature as I have no clue how to use this. I have looked and I can't find any way to search, sort, or display using this (the recipe category) as the value.
I do believe there are some who are using this to organize new recipes into to-do lists ("make next," "make soon," "make someday," "make for the holidays" kind of sorting/ranking) instead of the usual "fruits, desserts, tobaccos" categories but I can't figure out how they are then displaying that info. Perhaps someone else can enlighten both of us.


Don't apologize. HotRod started this thread to communicate news about the program, take feedback, and help each other get the most out of a terrific piece of software. Sadly, HotRod can't be here 24/7 so you get second-stringers like me trying to help. If you can put up with me... I can certainly put up with you!

Thank you so much for your help...HotRod has done an amazing job with this calc....so impressed!
Thanks for sharing how the folders worked....wished I would have know that when I developed my own in Excel. Took me hours to add each flavor to the spreadsheet (500) and counting ...here is a screen shot.
Whats nice about using a Excel spreed sheet.... is I can separate flavors by categories, manufactures, vendors, size, cost, or even by name...with a couple clicks....ie. Cream, Strawberry, ect. it will just show me anything with the word "cream" in it. Pretty handy at times.
Have a great weekend....

 

[IDJoel]

Thank you so much for your help...

You are most welcome. Again; entirely my pleasure.

HotRod has done an amazing job with this calc....so impressed!

Yes he has! No intended guilt trip to you, or anyone else reading, and HotRod will never plug it himself, but... if you have the desire/found value... he has provided a means to donate to the "cause" under the "Help" tab. `nough said.

.wished I would have know that when I developed my own in Excel. Took me hours to add each flavor to the spreadsheet (500) and counting ...here is a screen shot.

Holy Crow! What time that must have taken! Awful pretty though.

In a genuine effort to help you find what works best for you, and proof "I ain't schillin'" for HotRod blush, another ECF member (@Scubabatdan ) also has developed a very well-respected calculator that can be found in the DIY stickies (@HotRod19579 when are you going to get anointed with "Sticky" status? You're long overdue! Admins! You listening?!?) or here. It might be more up your alley as it is Excel based without a shell (?).

Right before I found HotRod's offering I read all the praise for Dan's work and checked it out. I soon felt that I was W A Y out of my element ( I can fumble stumble around Excel but calling me a novice is MUCH too generous). But for someone who wants flexibility, and the ability to manipulate the data, and doesn't want/need the pretty GUI interface, this could be a winner. Me... I need the extra visual hand-holding.

I can't give you a feature-for-feature comparison, as I wasn't able to go anywhere near that deep, but you may choose to check it out.

Have a great weekend....

Thank you! You too my friend.

 

[Hoggy]

I will mention a quick note on the "Aliases" box. I found this useful when I was importing recipes. If you have a manufacturer like TFA that is frequently referred to by multiple names; you can enter a string of other names the manufacturer might be called (or alias) For TFA I might use: "TFA, TPA, the flavorer's apprentice, the perfumer's apprentice, flavor apprentice, perfumer apprentice" (with commas separating aliases). Then, when you import new recipes, it will look for any of those variants and assign them all to TFA. No more 6 listings for RY4 Double!

One caution on this. I don't know if this is case (or punctuation) sensitive. Now that "Fa" (Flavorer's apprentice) is starting to be used by some vendors, and gaining some usage with the on-line communities, to differentiate from "FA" (Flavour Art) be aware of potential unwanted merges. Maybe @HotRod19579, or someone else, could clarify.

I'd like to know about the case & punctuation sensitivity, myself. I don't like importing precisely because it seems hit & miss on catching the variations. It would be nice if it allowed one to change the ingredient manually, before adding a hodgpodge of duplicate ingredients automatically.

Please don't ask me about the recipe "Category" feature as I have no clue how to use this. I have looked and I can't find any way to search, sort, or display using this (the recipe category) as the value.
I do believe there are some who are using this to organize new recipes into to-do lists ("make next," "make soon," "make someday," "make for the holidays" kind of sorting/ranking) instead of the usual "fruits, desserts, tobaccos" categories but I can't figure out how they are then displaying that info. Perhaps someone else can enlighten both of us.

Directly above the "Recipes" dropdown, there should be a blue bar labelled "Filter recipes By".. You likely have on the right side of that, a button with 2 down arrows. Make sure you only click on the BUTTON - it doesn't open by single/double-clicking the bar. And there, you can select the categories to show.

 

[IDJoel]

It would be nice if it allowed one to change the ingredient manually, before adding a hodgpodge of duplicate ingredients automatically.

I think that is what the "aliases" are supposed to help prevent. Are you talking about another layer? Something like a "Is this correct? Yes/No" dialog with an " apply to this one only/ apply to all" option? Maybe with an on-screen list of the program's current interpretation of the imports?

Directly above the "Recipes" dropdown, there should be a blue bar labelled "Filter recipes By".. You likely have on the right side of that, a button with 2 down arrows. Make sure you only click on the BUTTON - it doesn't open by single/double-clicking the bar. And there, you can select the categories to show.

Oh man!!! If it was a legless snail it would have bit me! Thank you @Hoggy ! I guess that's why the ex called me clueless...

 

[Hoggy]

I think that is what the "aliases" are supposed to help prevent.

That's what I thought too, and maybe it does, or is supposed to.. But when I last attempted importing, it didn't seem to abide by the aliases all that much - IIRC. Hence I stopped importing because of the new-ingredient mess that would get created - which is hard to spot when one has many ingredients.

Are you talking about another layer? Something like a "Is this correct? Yes/No" dialog with an " apply to this one only/ apply to all" option? Maybe with an on-screen list of the program's current interpretation of the imports?

Like maybe a new dialog box with all the listed ingredients in the import, allowing one to select the 'proper' ingredient names if it doesn't detect it automatically. (They would all still show, though -- with dropdowns, for instance.)


.... And yes, this program is amazing! When I came across it, it was like a vaper made a program - that read my mind.

<shameless feature request>
It would also be great if the program remembered all the various window sizes & positions - between updates.

 

[Burnie]

Question? I just finished updating all my ingredients with price and quantity in stock, etc. I can print a list of my ingredients on hand with the quantity, is there a way to see the value of my inventory? With all I have in stock for mixing I was just wondering how much Value ($$$) it was worth.

 

[IDJoel]

Question? I just finished updating all my ingredients with price and quantity in stock, etc. I can print a list of my ingredients on hand with the quantity, is there a way to see the value of my inventory? With all I have in stock for mixing I was just wondering how much Value ($$$) it was worth.

I am not aware of a feature that provides a sum total for inventory value. Frankly; I don't want to know. I am still trying to live in the fantasy world that my "hobby" is cheaper than smoking. ☺

 

[Burnie]

I am not aware of a feature that provides a sum total for inventory value. Frankly; I don't want to know. I am still trying to live in the fantasy world that my "hobby" is cheaper than smoking. ☺

I hear ya on that, but I was still wondering what the total was. If I could export my ingredients to excel, then it would be a simple matter of adding a total column to the spread sheet to compute the values (cost per ml times inventory on hand). But the only thing it will export are recipes and not ingredients.

 

[IDJoel]

That's what I thought too, and maybe it does, or is supposed to.. But when I last attempted importing, it didn't seem to abide by the aliases all that much - IIRC. Hence I stopped importing because of the new-ingredient mess that would get created - which is hard to spot when one has many ingredients.

Odd. When I imported all of my juice-me-up files (of which I had a stupid amount of duplicate ingredients) the program filtered the results flawlessly. I did "carpet bomb" the potential variants AND didn't have crossover threats like FA vs. Fa but I don't recall having to go back and "correct" much if any at all.

Like maybe a new dialog box with all the listed ingredients in the import, allowing one to select the 'proper' ingredient names if it doesn't detect it automatically. (They would all still show, though -- with dropdowns, for instance.)

I agree that a detailed conformation screen with a line-by-line approve/edit/deny/approve all/deny all would be spiffy.

It would also be great if the program remembered all the various window sizes & positions - between updates.

Afraid this is WAY down on my list of wishes, along with retaining the "pin to the task bar" between updates. Would it be nice? Sure. Is it more important than other changes/additions? Not by a long shot. But that is only me. It is like the desire to add a "right click" option instead of "having to" move the mouse/pointer ALL the way up to the tabs to do the same thing. Closer to perfect? Maybe. Seconds saved off my life? Not worth counting. I already spent more tapping this silly sentence out on my phone's microscopic keyboard.☺

 

[IDJoel]

I hear ya on that, but I was still wondering what the total was. If I could export my ingredients to excel, then it would be a simple matter of adding a total column to the spread sheet to compute the values (cost per ml times inventory on hand). But the only thing it will export are recipes and not ingredients.

My understanding (and please take this with the knowledge that I am NOT "computer" savvy); is that the entire program revolves around an Excel spreadsheet "core." There has been the subject of previous discussions as to default location (I don't remember) and Hotrod has made it fully exportable/copy-able so you can do what you want with it.

 

[Burnie]

My understanding (and please take this with the knowledge that I am NOT "computer" savvy); is that the entire program revolves around an Excel spreadsheet "core." There has been the subject of previous discussions as to default location (I don't remember) and Hotrod has made it fully exportable/copy-able so you can do what you want with it.

Well I can open it in Excel, Thanks. So I just copied the columns I wanted into another excel spreadsheet, input the math to figure the cost per ml of each of the ingredients, then another column to multiply that by the inventory level for a total cost of each ingredient, then totaled that column.


$537.6369

 

[penguiness]

Well I can open it in Excel, Thanks. So I just copied the columns I wanted into another excel spreadsheet, input the math to figure the cost per ml of each of the ingredients, then another column to multiply that by the inventory level for a total cost of each ingredient, then totaled that column.


$537.6369

Quite the eye opener, isn't it? I don't even want to look to see what my total is.

 

[Burnie]

Quite the eye opener, isn't it? I don't even want to look to see what my total is.

Yea, but I track everything, really scary sometimes, but I don't look often, and I NEVER tell the DW.

Since September 2013
Equipment Cost $4390.55
Ejuice/Supplies Cost $1988.25
Total Cost $6378.80

But I still saved a lot over smoking, $11,791.01 - $6378.80 = $5412.21 in savings, so really I am far ahead and have lots to show for it instead of ashes.

 

[Vacco]

Question.
I have been using this calculator for about a year on and off now and love it. Thanks Hot Rod 7 everyone that helps support such a great app. My long time question is when I select amount to make such as 10ml I end up with like 8ml. Not sure what is wrong but would anyone have an idea of where to start to find a corrective solution. I always wonder if I'm doing something wrong and the resulting flavors are off due to incorrect ingredient amounts.
Also this is my first post here and if this this question is in the wrong area please let me know.
Thanks

 

[Burnie]

Question.
I have been using this calculator for about a year on and off now and love it. Thanks Hot Rod 7 everyone that helps support such a great app. My long time question is when I select amount to make such as 10ml I end up with like 8ml. Not sure what is wrong but would anyone have an idea of where to start to find a corrective solution. I always wonder if I'm doing something wrong and the resulting flavors are off due to incorrect ingredient amounts.
Also this is my first post here and if this this question is in the wrong area please let me know.
Thanks

When you bring up a recipe look under the listing of "ML" to use, that is how much of each component you are adding, total all of the amounts, and it should add up to the amount you are making. If you are using a 10ml bottle and it is not full, it could be the bottle holds more than 10ml. Hope that helps.

Edit: Welcome to ECF

 

[Fozzy71]

Question.
I have been using this calculator for about a year on and off now and love it. Thanks Hot Rod 7 everyone that helps support such a great app. My long time question is when I select amount to make such as 10ml I end up with like 8ml. Not sure what is wrong but would anyone have an idea of where to start to find a corrective solution. I always wonder if I'm doing something wrong and the resulting flavors are off due to incorrect ingredient amounts.
Also this is my first post here and if this this question is in the wrong area please let me know.
Thanks

are you measuring by volume or weight? If the latter perhaps your SG values are off? If the former perhaps you aren't being accurate with how you measure the ingredient volumes?

 

[Vacco]

When you bring up a recipe look under the listing of "ML" to use, that is how much of each component you are adding, total all of the amounts, and it should add up to the amount you are making. If you are using a 10ml bottle and it is not full, it could be the bottle holds more than 10ml. Hope that helps.

Edit: Welcome to ECF

Thanks for the quick reply Burnie. I added the ML column and it does total 100% so then I tested your idea with a medical syringe to one of my 10 ml LDPE bottles and you were right! it was below the top. The bottle is actually 13ml. Ha who knew? Why would they do such a thing. (advertised as a 10ml bottle).

What got me thinking is when I started diy I was critical on the wights of pg/vg/flavoring. Then when after not using the calculator for a few months I updated the app to 8.0.0.4 and was adding new flavor ingredients. The app asked me to accept new weight values in the grams per ml column. I used to have 1.00 for all my flavors and the app prompted me to go to 1.038. should this be the correct value for all my flavor ingredients?