Chain Mode & Chains in QSR & Delivery

Description: Chain Mode allows you to build menus effectively in QSR & Delivery. A “Chain” is a grouping of choices and buttons. When a menu button is clicked, the software immediately “chains” to another page of options. For example, Salads often “chain” to their Dressing choices. Create a new Chain and manage Chain Mode with the instructions below.

1. Create a New Chain
2. Set Up a Forced Chain
3. Chain Editing Options
4. The "Do Not Use Me" Chain \ Software Freezing

For more information on creating or managing a menu, visit the Menu Building section of the site.

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Create a New Chain

1. To create a new chain, log in to the system and navigate to Admin > Config Tools > Menu and select Chain Mode on the menu build screen.
2. Once you are in Chain mode, the button will now say Menu Mode allowing you to toggle back and forth between them.
   
3. In Chain mode, you will see a drop-down list with all of the current chains. Scroll down using the drop-down box and select New Chain from that list.
4. This will prompt you to enter the name of a chain (if you make a mistake, you can always change it later). Continuing with our original example with the Salad Dressings, we will call this chain “Salads” and press Save to proceed.
5. The next screen will have the new chain displayed in the drop-down box, no screen categories (because we’re in Chain Mode), and then a blank list of items on the right-hand side.

The next step is adding several new menu items/modifiers to populate this chain.

Add Choices to the Chain

We will make four new menu items “Ranch,” “Italian,” “Vinaigrette” and “No Dressing." Each of these will be set to have no price, and the group will be a modifier.

Next, you will need to drag each of these four options we just created onto the menu on the right, essentially placing them into this chain. Once all options have been added to the chain, we have successfully completed building our chain and can proceed to link it to a menu item.

Link Chain to Menu Item(s)

1. Select the Exit button at the top to close the Menu Build screen, and then re-access this screen by pressing Menu. The reason we must do this is to reload all of the new chains we created on the Menu Screen. Otherwise, it will not show up when we attempt to attach it to a menu item.
2. Once we re-access the Menu Build screen, we will automatically be in Menu Mode. Now, select one of the Salad menu buttons we want to add the chain to.
3. Once you select the item, it will bring you to the Item Details screen. Set Goto Chain # to the new Salads chain we just created, which will be at the very bottom of the chain list since it was the last one created.
   
4. Select Close at the top-right of the Item Details screen for this item to save the changes we made.
5. Make the same change to the Goto Chain # on all Salads on the menu requiring a choice of dressing.

Set Up a Forced Chain

Forced Entries on a chain set a selection requirement when that Chain is used. The forced entry itself is controlled at the item level, so the same chain can be used for other purposes without forcing a requirement. 

Chain Editing Options

1. To duplicate a chain, log in to the system and navigate to Admin > Config Tools > Menu, and select Chain Mode on the menu build screen.
2. Once you are in Chain mode, the button will now say Menu Mode allowing you to toggle back and forth between them.
   
3. In Chain mode, you will see a drop-down list with all of the current chains. Select the chain you wish to duplicate.
4. Once selected, right-click to be given the options to change the chain name, delete the chain, or duplicate it.
   

Duplicate a Chain

Select Duplicate Chain to be prompted to enter the name of the new chain to be created. Duplicating Chains are useful when you need multiple chains with the exact same (or very similar) items in them, but need different items to use different chains. It’s also helpful if the majority of items offered on one chain will be similar to that of another, saving you time from building the entire chain from scratch.

Rename a Chain

Select Change Name to rename the chain you have selected, then enter the new name of the chain. This is helpful for programming purposes if a mistake was made or if that chain is being used for a different reason now.

Delete a Chain

Select Delete Chain to remove the chain completely from the system. This is helpful for unnecessary or unwanted chains which may no longer have use. Once a chain has been deleted, it cannot be restored. Any item which was using the deleted chain will no longer reference that chain and will not go to that chain anymore without needing to manually adjust the items.

The "Do Not Use Me" Chain \ Software Freezing

The software can freeze during an order due to an item being set up with the “Do Not Use Me” chain. This chain should never be used on an item and will lead to the software freezing during the order process. If you see the software locking up during an order, here are some simple steps to take to ensure the “Do Not Use Me” chain is not selected.

1. Log in to the system and navigate to Admin > Config Tools > Menu.
2. Select Menu Editing > Edit Menu Items to access the menu items spreadsheet.
3. Look for the "DO NOT USE ME" chain under the Chain column.
4. Replace that chain with an appropriate chain for that item.
   • If no chain is needed, select the blank/empty option
5. Return to the Order Entry screen.