Accessing and Using the Food Menu Designer
The Food Menu Designer is a tool used to design the layout, flow, and product selection menus that will appear in the Point of Success Order program. These menus will be used to take orders for customers and charge them for the items they select. To access the Food Menu Designer, click the 'Tools' menu from the main screen. This will bring up the tools screen. In the bottom right corner of this screen is the heading 'Other Tools.' The first item under this heading is 'Design your food menu for taking orders.' Click the underlined blue hyperlink text 'food menu' to access the Food Menu Designer.
There are two modes that the Food Menu Designer can be in: Run mode and Design mode. The Food Menu Designer starts in Design mode by default. Click the Run button or the Design button or press [F9] to change modes.
Run Mode
Run mode allows the user to navigate through the menu using the menu tree navigation on the left panel and the menu buttons on the right panel. The buttons act as they would in Order Entry. No editing, additions, or changes can be made to any of the menus in Run mode. However, structure manipulation can be performed using the menu tree navigation in the left panel while in Run mode. To make menu changes, the designer must be switched from Run mode to Design mode.
Menu Tree Navigation
While in Run mode in the Food Menu Designer, the menu navigation tree on the left panel is active. Using this menu, the user can navigate the structure of the menu that has been designed. In addition to navigation, this tree can be used to manage the location and manipulate the flow of the menus and items that have been created. The drag and drop feature allows page sorting and menu item redistribution. Unwanted pages can be dragged to the 'Recycle Bin' if they are no longer needed.
Use the Expand All button to display the entire tree including all viewable items within the menu structure. Use the Collapse All buttons to display only the main items of the menu tree.
Menu Navigation
While in Run mode, the flow of the menus and items can be tested. The buttons on the right panel which are used in the POS ordering software are active and act as they would in production mode. Click a button to see how it will act and where it will lead to determine if it has been set up correctly.
Design Mode
In Run mode and in Design mode in the Food Menu Designer, the left panel (tree navigation) is always active. The alignment and component tools are affixed atop the menu designer. They are available in Design mode to be able to set up and arrange menu buttons.
Clicking the desired button on the Component tool bar to select a button type (described below).
After clicking a button type, place the cursor arrow at the spot where the button should be placed on the menu. Don't worry if the button is not in the exact spot where it will finally be placed. Once a button has been placed it can be moved and aligned to look good. After defining the properties of the newly placed button and saving those properties, move or re-size the button to the desired size and location. To delete a button you have placed in the menu designer, select the button by clicking it in Design mode (it will get "handles" on the four corners) and press CTRL+Delete on the keyboard.
When a button is placed, its properties window automatically appears. This window contains the Caption (button text), product association (if applicable), button sizing tools, and 'About Information.' About Information is content that will be displayed during order entry when the 'About' button is pressed at the bottom of the screen. Ingredients, special instructions, or warnings are most typically contained in the 'About Information' of a button.
Use the Enable check box to enable or disable the button.
Menu Button
A Menu button is typically a very general category through which the user accesses detailed items to be chosen. For example, a general Menu Button title might be 'Pizza" and when pressed, this button leads the user to another screen filled with a more detailed list of items relating to the general or main category displayed on the button. The structure can take many forms but for this example, the structure might look like this:
The 'Pizza' button does not have a product attached to it so it simply passes the user to the next screen which presents more specific choices from which to select. Menu buttons are not 'terminating' objects which means that once pressed, they advance the user to additional screens containing additional items. To delete a button you have placed in the menu designer, select the button by clicking it in Design mode and pressCTRL+Delete key on the keyboard.
Menu Button Properties
To access a Menu Button's Properties window, double click the button or right-click the button and select 'Properties' in design mode within the Food Menu Designer. In this window there are two tabs: Main and About Information. This window contains the Caption (button text), product association (if applicable), button sizing tools, and 'About Information.' About Information is content that will be displayed during order entry when the 'About' button is pressed at the bottom of the screen. Ingredients, special instructions, or warnings are most typically contained in the 'About Information' of a button.
If a Menu Button has a Product saved in the Product field, that product is associated to the Menu Button. During order entry, the information stored in the associated product will be reflected on the order ticket when it is pressed. This information includes Receipt Description and Price. The chosen item will also print in the Prep Location designated in the associated product.
Note: If a Menu Button has Include Items associated with it, the Menu Item MUST have a product filled in to work properly.
Item Button
An Item Button is a terminating button. This button is used when the item being selected during ordering needs no modification and can be ordered as is. Modification is defined as additional specifications that further define an item or specify items to be included with the item. Because an Item Button is a terminating button it cannot be used in connection with a List Button or an Include Button. To delete a button you have placed in the menu designer, select the button by clicking it in Design mode and press CTRL+Delete key on the keyboard.
Item Button Properties
To access an Item Button's Properties window, double click the button or right-click the button and select 'Properties' in design mode within the Food Menu Designer. In this window there are two tabs: Main and About Information. This window contains the Caption (button text), product association (if applicable), button sizing tools, and 'About Information.' About Information is content that will be displayed during order entry when the 'About' button is pressed at the bottom of the screen. Ingredients, special instructions, or warnings are most typically contained in the 'About Information' of a button.
List Button
List Buttons are used on a terminating path in the menu to designate a specific item to be added to the ticket that can be chosen from a list. For example, if there are flavors of soft drinks that the restaurant offers, those can be included in a list and display when the List Button is pressed which contains that list. The pre-defined list of available items for that button display and the operator can select from any one of the items on the list. To delete a button you have placed in the menu designer, select the button by clicking it in Design mode and press CTRL+Delete key on the keyboard.
List Button Properties
To access a List Button's Properties window, double click the button or right-click the button and select 'Properties' in design mode within the Food Menu Designer. In this window there are two tabs: Main and About Information. On the Main tab, this window contains the Caption (button text), Allow Partial Portions check box, Allow Multiple Portions check box, Selection Required check box, and button sizing tools.
Caption - This is the text that will appear on the button. Since this is button text, one or two words should be used and they should be easily recognized to ensure navigation ease during order entry.
Allow Partial Portions check box - This sets a property that allows this item to be included with the whole, half, or quarter setting when ordering a pizza. Use this when an item can be put on a half or a quarter of a pizza.
Allow Multiple Portions check box - This allows this item to be doubled if extra amounts of the item are desired.
Selection Required - This forces an item to be selected. The user cannot exit a screen without selecting an item on the list if this box is checked. When the Selection Required check box is checked, the button turns yellow indicating that a selection is required.
Selection List - This is a list of the items that can be selected after pressing this button. The text from the list will replace the caption of the button once an item has been selected from the list. To change the selection, simply press the button again and the list will reappear. Choose a different item and it will replace the current item on the button caption and on the order ticket.
Button Sizing Adjustment Tools - These settings display and determine the position of a button in relation to the top and left sides of the screen and the dimensions of a button in pixels. In addition to dragging a button to a location or selecting the button and dragging the handles to resize it, these settings can make microscopic adjustments to the size and position of a button.
About Information
On the 'About Information' tab, content is stored that will be displayed during order entry when the 'About' button is pressed at the bottom of the screen. Ingredients, special instructions, or warnings are most typically contained in the 'About Information' of a button.
Include Button
Include Buttons are typically used when ingredients are to be included/excluded during preparation of a food item. Preparation of those food products would include/exclude the items indicated as modifiers to a menu item on a ticket. To delete a button you have placed in the menu designer, select the button by clicking it in Design mode and press the CTRL+Delete key on the keyboard.
Include Button Properties
To access an Include Button's Properties window, double click the button or right-click the button and select 'Properties' in design mode within the Food Menu Designer. In this window there are two tabs: Main and About Information. On the Main tab, this window contains the Caption (button text), Allow Partial Portions check box, Allow Multiple Portions check box, Normally Included check box, and button sizing tools.
Caption - This is the text that will appear on the button. Since this is button text, one or two words should be used and they should be easily recognized to ensure navigation ease during order entry.
Allow Partial Portions - This sets a property that allows this item to be included with the whole, half, or quarter setting when ordering a pizza. Use this when an item can be put on a half or a quarter of a pizza.
Allow Multiple Portions - This allows this item to be doubled if extra amounts of the item are desired.
Normally Included - This check box is used if there is a special item chosen that has ingredients that are normally included during the preparation of this item. To set this item, check the Normally Included box. This automatically turns the item green indicating that it is to be included with the chosen menu item. If this ingredient or specification is not desired during order entry, the user presses the green button and it turns red and adds the word 'NO' to the caption. For example, if the Include Button were green (indicating that it is Normally Included) and had the word 'Mustard' on it and the operator pressed it, it would turn red and read 'No Mustard.'
Button Sizing Adjustment Tools - These settings display and determine the position of a button in relation to the top and left sides of the screen and the dimensions of a button in pixels. In addition to dragging a button to a location or selecting the button and dragging the handles to resize it, these settings can make microscopic adjustments to the size and position of a button.
About Information
On the 'About Information' tab, content is stored that will be displayed during order entry when the 'About' button is pressed at the bottom of the screen. Ingredients, special instructions, or warnings are most typically contained in the 'About Information' of a button.