The short answer is Yes! The auto-update of items and recipes is very valuable, but it's important to understand how this works so as a user you can understand the power it offers as well as it’s limitations.
Changes to Items in Local Item Database:
When any value of an Item is changed and then Saved, ALL Active Recipes and Menus that has that Item copied to it will automatically be updated to reflect the edits made.
After you make your changes and press Save, before these updates are applied, you will see a confirmation message that says: “The changes you have made will automatically update to all Recipes and Menus that uses this Item. If you don’t wish for this to happen, select Cancel.”
- Apply: Updates instances on menus using Special Case of Find/Replace.
- Cancel: Returns to the Recipe edit screen with changes unsaved, continue editing.
Recipes marked as “Inactive” will NOT be included in the automatic update of the Item information.
Changes to Recipes:
Any time any information on a Recipe is changed, that change is automatically propagated to all “in scope” instances on menus. If 1) any of the Recipe fields that are to be changed are tagged as “Important” AND 2) the Recipe is either used on past menus OR used in Inactive Recipes, then the Archival Process is also initiated.
In Scope Instances
Whenever a Recipe is changed (either Immediately or upon Save), you will be asked from which date on your menus they would like the change to be implemented. The current behavior is all future instances (“tomorrow”), but the user should be able to select any future date.
Archival Process
The purpose of the archival process is to create a copy of any Recipe that happened to be used on a Menu in the past to act as a historical record. During an audit, a school may need to view that Menu and any Items and Recipes that were used on it. If the user desires to change a Recipe that has already been used, then CNCentral will automatically archive the Original Recipe to save along with the Menu Plan. The steps to be initiated when this is triggered is as follows:
- New Recipe created as a copy of the Original Recipe
- Original Recipe marked as Inactive
- New Recipe has the requested change applied to its values
- Find & Replace occurs to replace “in-scope” instances of Old Recipe with New Recipe
Important and Unimportant Fields
All fields that are included on the menu plan DB record must be treated as Important. By default, all fields are treated as Important impact a menu plan. The fields that do not trigger an archival process include the following:
- Yield (although if the ingredient quantities are changed, then an update is triggered)
- HACCP Category
- Directions & Notes
- Image
- Meal Kit Recipient Notes
Update Timing & “Immediate” Recipe Changes
The update process is triggered anytime the values in the database are updated, and the update occurs in the backend. This is triggered whenever “Save” is pressed, as well as anytime the Recipe values are updated immediately after being changed (they cannot be undone by the user when they press “Cancel”). Here is a list of fields which trigger an immediate update:
- Recipe Name
- Ingredients (add, delete, or edit Recipe Quantity)
- Manual Override state
- Yield
- Recipe Category
- Paired Meal Kits
The current behavior does not notify the user that these updates are being applied to the menu.