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Cookbooks turn recipes from your private library into a separate, ordered publication. A cookbook can also contain section pages, editorial writing, photographs, callouts, a table of contents, an index, and explicit page breaks.

Adding a recipe does not move or duplicate it in your recipe library. The cookbook stores its placement and publication-specific details, while the recipe remains available for ordinary use.

Create or reopen a cookbook

1. Open Cookbooks.
2. Enter a title and, optionally, a subtitle under New cookbook.
3. Select Create cookbook.
4. To continue an existing book, select its title from Your cookbooks.

Cookbook editing and PDF generation require cookbook access. During a closed beta, an eligible account can receive that access through the beta policy. A locked cookbook remains visible, and its completed editions remain available, but its source cannot be edited and new editions cannot be generated.

Understand the builder

The cookbook editor coordinates three views:

• Outline shows the semantic reading order of the book. Select an item to edit it, or use its drag handle to reorder it.
• Publication proof shows the exact paginated result. Pagination can change as you edit text, move content, change typography, or select another print size.
• Inspector contains the content, attribution, image framing, placement, and layout controls for the selected outline item. Select Book details in the Outline for publication-wide controls.

On smaller screens, use Outline, Proof, and Edit to move between those views. The selected content remains the same when you switch views.

Add recipes and book elements

To add one recipe, select it in Recipe to add, then select Add recipe. To add several recipes in an existing order, select Add collection, choose the recipes, and add the selection.

Use Add element for other publication material:

• Cover adds the book cover when one does not already exist.
• Section introduces a named part of the book.
• Editorial text contains prose and can also contain photographs or callouts in reading order.
• Photograph adds an independently placed image.
• Callout adds a note, tip, story, quotation, or warning treatment.
• Table of contents and Index generate entries and page references from the rendered book.
• Page break deliberately starts subsequent content on another page.

Select any outline item to edit it in the Inspector. The available fields depend on the item type. Recipe entries can have a recipe title override, headnote, contributor credit, and layout choices without changing the source recipe. Duplicate and delete actions apply only to the selected cookbook element.

Work with photographs

Open Cookbook media to upload JPEG, PNG, or WebP images and supply meaningful alternative text. Uploaded media belongs to this cookbook and does not become a recipe image automatically.

You can also upload while editing a cover or photograph in the Inspector. Select the image, choose its placement and alignment, and adjust its crop, focal point, and printed size. For an editorial photograph, place it inside the editorial flow and select text wrapping when surrounding prose should flow beside it.

The proof and final PDF use the same saved framing. Check the proof after cropping, especially when the source image is small or a full-page placement is selected.

Set book-wide design and print format

Select Book details in the Outline to edit the title, subtitle, author line, and description. The same Inspector provides bounded design controls for:

• physical paper-stock color simulated by the proof;
• accent color, typeface, and type sizes;
• single-column or continuous two-column recipe flow;
• page-number placement;
• trim size and crop marks.

Paper stock is not printed as page-filling colored ink. Choose the stock you intend to use, and the proof simulates that paper so you can judge ink contrast. The generated PDF retains a transparent page background.

Select the Cover in the Outline to set its image, crop, background and text colors, and title-block alignment. Cover controls affect the cover only; the title and subtitle text still come from Book details.

Design with AI

Design with AI requires an AI provider configured in Account Settings. Enter a concrete design brief describing the audience, visual character, readability, color, and printing intent you want.

Viandly sends the provider a bounded structural description, accepted design settings, print dimensions, content-type counts, recipe length ranges, and image dimensions. It does not send recipe text, ingredients, instructions, editorial prose, contributor details, image files, URLs, or storage paths for this design request.

When the proposal is ready:

1. Compare the current and proposed settings and read the reasoning and tradeoffs.
2. Select Preview proposal to render it temporarily in the exact proof.
3. Select Apply design to accept and save it, or reject it without changing the cookbook.
4. Enter focused guidance and select Request revision when the direction is useful but needs adjustment.

Previewing a proposal does not save it. Applying it is the explicit step that makes the proposed design authoritative.

Autosave and proof updates

Cookbook edits save after a short pause in typing. The toolbar reports Unsaved changes, Saving changes, or All changes saved. The proof then repaginates from the saved publication and tries to keep the selected item in view.

Actions that require current saved data, including edition generation, flush pending changes before continuing. The publication proof is still a working view: it is not a downloadable or shareable edition.

Proof diagnostics identify content or design that needs attention, such as unreadable contrast, small type, unavailable images, or unsuitable image resolution. Correct important findings before publishing.

Generate, download, and share an edition

Under Publish an edition, select Generate edition. Viandly checks the saved cookbook and queues background PDF typesetting. You can continue editing while that fixed snapshot is built.

When its status becomes Ready, the edition provides:

• Download for the generated PDF;
• Share for an expiring private link to that exact edition;
• edition facts such as generation date, page count, and file size.

An edition is immutable. Later recipe or cookbook edits do not alter an existing PDF or its private share links. Generate another edition when you want those changes represented in a new PDF.