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Diabetes Pilot Desktop: Using the Food Database

This section explains how to use the Diabetes Pilot Desktop food database. The food database provides reference information on thousands of foods. You can add your own foods to the database and customize it to meet your needs.

Accessing the Food Database

Finding Foods

Adding New Foods and Groups

Marking Foods as Favorites

Organizing the Database

Accessing the Food Database

The food database can be accessed in two different ways:

By selecting the "Food Database" page using the icons along the left side of the Diabetes Pilot window. This will display the food database and allow you to look up food information and do things like add, edit, and organize the foods and mark foods as favorites.
When you are building a new meal entry (see Food Records) the food database will be displayed. You cannot edit the food database while building a new meal entry.

Finding Foods

You can locate foods in the food database in several different ways:

Option 1: Browse through the foods by category.

To browse through the foods by category, click on the "Browse by Group" tab near the top of the listings. This displays an organized listing of the foods and groups. Food groups are indicated by a yellow folder icon. Foods are indicated by a black fork and knife icon or, if the food is marked as a favorite, by a "smiley" icon.

To open a group and see its contents, double click on the group's name or click on the small "+" icon next to the group name. To close a group double-click on the group name, or click on the "-" icon next to the group name. You can close all of the groups by clicking the "Collapse All" button at the bottom of the listings.

To select a food, click on the food's name.

Option 2: Search for foods by name.

To search for foods by name, click on the "Search by Name" tab near the top of the listings. This displays a box labeled "Search:" and a blank space for food listings. Enter a few letters of the food you are looking for on the "Search" line. The food database will be searched for what you enter. Any food or group containing your search letters will be displayed in the search box. You will usually have better results with the search feature if you enter just a few letters of a food name - this way, the food will appear in the results even if it is named a bit differently than you'd expect. This is a good way to find a food if you can't find it by browsing.

To select a food, click on it in the search result list.

Option 3: Display a list of the foods you have marked as favorites.

To do this, click on the "Favorites List" tab. A list of the foods that you've marked as favorites will be displayed. To select a food, click on it in the list.

See Marking Foods as Favorites for more information.

Adding New Foods and Groups

To add a new food or group to the food database, use the "Browse by Group" tab in the food database. Start by browsing to the location where you would like the new item added (see Finding Foods above). Select the group in which you would like to add the new item.

To add a new group, tap on the "New Group" button, enter a name for the new group, and press the enter key.

To add a new food, tap on the "New Food" button, enter a name for the new food, and press the enter key. Then, fill out the "Food Information" located on the right side of the screen, and click the "Save Changes" button.

Marking Foods as Favorites

When a food is marked as a favorite, it will appear in the "Favorites List" tab. It will also appear with a "smiley" icon next to it in the food database list. To mark a food as a favorite:

Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
Select the food (by tapping on it to highlight it)
Click the "Mark as Favorite" button.

To remove a food from the favorites list, select it and tap the "Mark as Favorite" button. The food will be removed from the favorites list.

Organizing and Customizing the Food Database

Several functions are available to help you organize and customize the food database.

To delete a food or group from the database:

Find the item in the database by using the "Browse by Group" tab (see Finding Foods above).
Select the item you'd like to delete.
Click the "Delete Item" button.

To move an item to another category:

Find the item in the database by using the "Browse by Group" tab (see Finding Foods above).
Locate the destination category.
Drag the item you'd like to move and drop on the new category.

To edit the name or data associated with a food or group:

Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
Select the item you'd like to edit.
Make the changes that you desire in the "Food Information" area.
Click the "Save Changes" button.

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