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I'm curious as to why sometimes when I try to add a recipe that is already in the library from an online source I don't get a direct link to the recipe and other times I do. Sometimes I just get a message that the blog is already in the database so I then have to search for the recipe. It's not consistent.

Jane helped me with this problem.  I tried to input via my "add to EYB" bookmarklet, and kept getting the "it's already in your bookshelf" response.  I ended up closing that response, opening my blog list in my account, finding the blog, then doing a search [which means I have to have the exact recipe title] and then clicking the recipe open to add my own bookmark of "potential"...whew. 

My unsolveable prolem was when I could not find a particular recipe  with a blog search - even though the recipe showed up in full color on the blog.  Turns out, not every recipe [this happens on the Simply Recipes wonderful blog most often, BTW] was indexed on any given day.  Some recipes turn up indexed later and become easy to add.  So, for now, some blogs work well, some do not always work well.  I also wish there was more consistency in the linked responses.

There are a few different things that can happen when you try to add a recipe with the bookmarklet, so I can understand why it can feel inconsistent, but let me try to explain why each of the various things occur -- and if you still have any more questions, do let me know!

1. You get this message: "You cannot add this recipe as it is from a blog that is already being indexed by EYB. If you have added this blog to your Bookshelf it will be automatically added."

We currently have 68 indexed blogs, so in order to avoid recipe duplication, we routinely index the new recipes from these blogs and do not allow members to also add them using the bookmarklet. Every recipe from these blogs should be indexed and available in the EYB library. However it does take a few days for newly posted recipes to get indexed, so this message may pop up for new recipes that have not yet been indexed. You can add an entire blog to your bookshelf and all newly indexed recipes are automaticlly added to your shelf, OR you can add individual recipes to your shelf. If a recipe is new and is not indexed yet, please know that it will be indexed shortly. However, if you find a recipe on one of these blogs that is older than week or so at most, there is a good chance that it was accidentally missed. (Some recipes on Food52 are an exception, since we only index the recipes that are tested such as Genius Recipes, Community Picks & Contest Winners -- for all other indexed blogs, every single recipe should be a part of the recipe index). If you get this message for an older recipe from an indexed blog that was missed, please email me at [email protected] and I will make sure to add it.

2. You get the message: "We don’t link to recipe aggregator sites, please go to original recipe and try again."

This happens if we have identified a site as an aggregator or user submitted recipe site since these types of sites often do not post original recipes. You can still have a recipe from one of these sites on your shelf if you wish by adding it as a Personal Recipe and including the URL. If you feel we may have misindentified a site as an aggregator/user-submitted site, email me at [email protected] and we can re-evaluate.

3. The EYB entry for that recipe pops up.

If this happens, you are in luck! The recipe has already been indexed and all you need to do is click "+Bookshelf" to add the recipe to your shelf. This should happen for all recipes we already have indexed, including those from our regularly indexed blogs discussed in #1 above. However, this happens only if the URL you tried to add with the bookmarklet is an exact match to an online recipe already in the library. URLs can vary slightly for countless reasons, so sometimes the URL you tried to add may not register a match in the EYB library. For example, all 3 of the following URLs lead to the same exact recipe, but only the first one is actually in the EYB library:

http://www.seriouseats.c...s-recipe-balaboosta.html

http://www.seriouseats.c...laboosta.html?ref=search

http://www.seriouseats.c...tml?ref=excerpt_readmore

The URL you click on from an RSS feed or an email subscription can also be yet another variation of the main URL. 98% of the time, we have the simplest form of the URL in the library (ending in .html, without any of the extra "stuff" that can appear afterwards). So if it looks like you are trying to add one of those extended versions of the URL, it can be helpful to try to edit it down and try clicking on the bookmarklet again. In most cases, this will find the recipe if we do indeed have it in the library, and then you can add it to your shelf. 

4. The indexing form pops up.

 The URL you tried to add doesn't match anything in the EYB library, so you can index and submit the recipe. It will then appear on your shelf after it is proofread and approved, typically within 48 hours.

I hope this helps clarify why the bookmarklet works the way it does and I do apologize if there are ever delays getting the new blog recipes indexed and added to the library. Please do let us know if you are having any more problems or still have additional questions.

Robin -- Would you be able to tell me which blogs in particular you were having trouble with? Since writing my (long!) response, I think I have found at least 2 indexed blogs that are not functioning as they should in terms of having the recipe entry pop up when using the bookmarklet if they have already been indexed -- Eats Well With Others and Joy the Baker. Please let me know if there are any others. All the above advice still should hold true, but there seems to be at least these two that need to be looked at further.