This is a simple and elegant grocery list application for your iPhone. My goal for this was to make it as simple as possible while still being useful.
The application comes with plenty of built-in items and groups to get you started.
There are two modes of operation: "Make List", which you use at home, and "Go Shopping", which you use while you are at the store.
Tap an item to toggle it on or off the current shopping list (in Make List mode), or in and out of your shopping cart (in Go Shopping mode).
It is very difficult to accidentally hide or remove an item that you still need to get. You can easily undo an accidental tap by simply tapping the item again.
Setup:
Make List:
Go Shopping:
This application has two basic modes of operation: Make List and Go Shopping. You can switch between these modes using the tab bar at the bottom of the screen.
Make List mode is used to select items for your shopping list. It is also where you can edit and create new items and groups of items, and order those groups to appear on your shopping list the way you like.
Go Shopping mode is used to check those items off the list as you shop. The icon for this tab on the tab bar shows a red "badge" indicating the number of items on your shopping list you have left to obtain.
To put an item on your shopping list, select it from an item list in Make List mode. If the item you need does not exist, you can create it from any item list.
The item list shows either all items, or those items in a selected group. Each item can be in one of three states: 1) On List, 2) In Cart, and 3) "limbo" (the default state).
Tap an item to toggle it between limbo and on the shopping list. Items already in your shopping cart cannot be moved out of this state from here. Use the Checkout button in Go Shopping mode to clear items out of your shopping cart.
You can change the group you are viewing by hitting the Groups button (on the left side of the navigation bar at the top) and selecting a different group.
You can also create a new item by hitting the [+] button on the right side of the navigation bar.
Item information can be edited by tapping the (>) detail button on any limbo item. You cannot edit the information about items that are on the shopping list or in the cart.
If you'd like set the quantity you need of a particular item, use the (+) icon on the right side of any item in the shopping list. Each press adds one to the quantity indicator.
It's a little too easy, unfortunately, to miss the (>) or (+) item buttons and accidentally toggle the item on/off the shopping list. Just hit the item again to put it back and try again. It takes a little practice.
This is where you can set the name for an item, and mark which groups it is in, or delete the item.
Tap the name field to bring up the keyboard to type the name. Hit Save or Cancel on the navigation bar at the top to confirm or undo your editing, respectively.
Tap each group you'd like the item to show up in. An item can be in any number of groups, or in none. Each group an item is in will show up in the shopping list (in Go Shopping mode), if the item is selected for the shopping list. For example, if an item that is in three groups is selected for the shopping list, it will appear three times in different locations on the shopping list.
Tap the Delete button to remove the item altogether. You will get a confirmation message to help prevent accidental deletes.
When you are done editing the item, tap the "back" button on the left of the navigation bar at the top. (The button shows the name of the group you were in when you hit the [+] (add item) or (>) (edit info) button.)
This list shows all the groupings for your grocery items. The "All Items" group is always at the top, and cannot be moved or deleted.
Tap a group to reveal the list of items in that group.
Tap the Edit button to go into editing mode, which allows you to delete and reorder the groups.
Tap the [+] button to add a new group.
This is where you set the name for the new group.
Tap the name field to bring up the keyboard to type the name, if it is not already showing. NOTE: Group names cannot currently be edited after they are created, so make sure you type the name correctly. You can always delete and re-create a group if you do misspell it, but that is admittedly inconvenient.
Hit Save or Cancel on the navigation bar at the top to confirm or undo the creation of the group, respectively.
TIP: To help reduce the amount of navigation needed to find items, create groups for items commonly purchased at the same time, but not necessarily in the same location in your grocery store, such as items needed for a particular recipe or event. Some examples: "Spaghetti Dinner", "Picnics & Cookouts", "Christmas Party", "Wine and Cheese Tasting".
If you keep these kinds of groups at the bottom of the group list, then all the items in them will be checked off by the time you get through your grocery store, and you won't even notice these groups are there (theoretically, anyway - you'll have to experiment to see suits you best).
When you hit the Edit button in the Groups list, the list enters edit mode. Delete icons appear to the left of the group names, and reordering icons appear on the far right side.
Tap a delete icon to start deleting a group. Tap the "Delete" button that appears to confirm the delete, or anywhere else to cancel the delete.
To move a group, tap and hold down on its reordering icon, then drag the group to the new location. This is a key aspect of the application, as the ordering of this list will determine the ordering of the groups shown in Go Shopping mode. You will want to organize your groups to be in the same order as they are in your actual grocery store. Be sure to put purely organizational groups at the bottom (see the TIP in the "New Group" section).
When you are finished deleting and reordering groups, tap the Done button to exit editing mode.
Use the Go Shopping mode when you are at the grocery store. This list is ordered by group (in the same order as the Groups list in Make List mode), then alphabetically within each group.
Tap each item as you put them in your shopping cart to mark them "in cart". If you tap an item accidentally, tap it again to toggle it back. As you mark items off your list, the red badge on the Go Shopping tab bar icon will be updated to reflect how many items are left to get.
Tap the "Hide Cart" button to hide all items on your shopping list that you have marked as in your cart. This cleans up the list, showing you only what you have left to go get.
If you have already hidden all the items in your cart, the button changes from "Hide Cart" to "Show All". Tap the "Show All" button to reveal all the items on the shopping list, including the items in your cart. Use this to verify the items in your real shopping cart. (The button automatically switches back to "Hide Cart".)
When you are done shopping, tap the Checkout button to reset your list.
If there are still items on your shopping list that are not in your cart, you will be asked whether you want to clear the entire list, or just the items you are purchasing.
It is probably best to use this function when you get home, so you can verify as you unpack your groceries that the items you checked off were really the ones you purchased (in case you accidentally checked off an item you didn't purchase). If that happened, you can tap the mis-checked item to put it back on the shopping list. Use the "Clear Cart Items" checkout option to keep the un-purchased items on the shopping list.
A red "badge" appears on the application icon showing how many items are on your shopping list, reminding you if need to go to the store.
Two reasons: 1) To get you in the habit of verifying your purchases from the Go Shopping mode, where you can't accidentally put an item into the "limbo" state, and 2) To get you used to using the Checkout button, which makes an internal "receipt" of your shopping trip. This receipt information will be used in later versions of the application for you to get reports on your shopping activity.
Nope, but it's a good idea. Maybe next version, if I can figure a way to keep it simple.
Good heavens, no. Think how that would appear in the Go Shopping mode. Ugly, ugly, ugly.
Because those items are in multiple VISIBLE groups, which is an entirely valid thing to do. If you don't like seeing them in multiple groups in the shopping list, edit the item info for those items so they are only in one VISIBLE group.
Wouldn't THAT be cool? Sorry, not yet.
Sorry, not yet.
Sorry, not yet.
Yes, amazingly. Create a new group. Give it the name "Reset, please." with that EXACT spelling and punctuation (note the comma, period, and lowercase "p"), but without the quotes. Hit the Save button, and the existing database will be deleted. Exit the application and restart it. WARNING: This will delete any items or groups you have created, so do this only in an "emergency".
If you have a problem or question that was not addressed in this web page, you can contact me at iPhoneBreadAndMilk@gmail.com. The subject line of your email must be "Bread and Milk support", or else my spam filter will discard it. Also, I will probably not reply if the answer to your question is already on this page, so please read the page first. Ideas for improvements are welcome, but again, I will probably not be able to reply to them. Thanks.
Bread & Milk is available on the iTunes App Store here.
© 2008 Jim Holloway