Sorting and Searching for Information

Many ‘lookup’ screens in MenuLink Client display long lists of information, such as lists of employees, menu items, or raw material items. You can use the scroll bar to the right of the screen to scroll through the list of items. MenuLink Client also has several tools you can use to find the specific information you are looking for.

Sorting Displayed Information

The following example shows a sample Recipes – Menu Items screen. By default, this screen displays information sorted alphabetically by menu item name. You can change the order in which information is displayed by clicking on the column headers. For example, you can:

•	Click the ‘Menu Item Name’ column header to display menu items in reverse alphabetical order. Click the header again to return to alphabetical order.

•	Click the ‘Category’ column header to display menu items sorted by Category (categories are sorted in alphabetical order). Click the header again to sort by reverse alphabetical order.

•	Click the ‘Item ID’ column header to display menu items sorted by Menu Item ID in ascending (least to greatest) order. Click the header again to sort by descending order.

Note: When sorting on column headers, you may need to use the scroll bar to return the display to the top of the list.

 

The Recipes – Menu Items screen displays menu items in alphabetical order.
Click the Menu Item Name header to display menu items in reverse alphabetical order.
Click the Category header to sort by Categories in alphabetical order.
Click the Menu Item ID header to sort by Menu Item ID number

 

 

Searching for Information

You can search for a specific word or number by using the search function.

Locate information using the Search option.

To Search for Information:

1.	Select a search field from Search drop-down list.

Note: MenuLink Client only searches records that are in the list, even if the list is a result of another search. For example, if you search for ‘chicken,’ and then perform another search, the second search only looks through the items from the first search. To refresh the list to include all items, click Show All.

The drop-down list contains the column header names.

2.	Enter the information you are looking for in the ‘for’ field and click Search.

MenuLink Client has searched for menu item names containing the word ‘chicken’

3.	If necessary, repeat step 2 to narrow your search further. MenuLink Client only searches the displayed list. To refresh the list to include all items, click Show All.

4.	To select an item, click anywhere in the item’s row.

5.	Click Lookup to view menu ingredient details.

 

Viewing and Printing Reports and Worksheets

This section describes, in general, how to select, preview, and print a report or worksheet in MenuLink Client. Report/worksheet samples and options are discussed throughout this guide in their relevant sections.

Note: To simplify the following instructions, the term ‘report’ is used. The same view/print directions apply to worksheets.

Each switchboard in MenuLink Client has a Reports button. The Reports button provides access to the reports and worksheets that MenuLink has developed for the Inventory System and Labor System. The reports available from each individual switchboard (e.g., Inventory, Purchasing, Sales, etc.), are the reports associated with that particular switchboard.

When you select a report, an entry screen often appears requesting more information before generating the report. The requested information is based on the specific report you selected. For example, daily reports ask for a specific date. Other reports may ask for a date range or other information. After you enter the requested information, the report is generated and previewed on screen.

To access Food Cost or Labor reports, do the following:

1.	Click Reports. The report selection screen appears which lists all the available reports applicable for the switchboard.

Choose a report from the list. Scroll down if necessary.

2.	Select the desired report name by clicking on it.

3.	Double-clicking on a report name previews the report.

4.	Click one of the following buttons:

	Preview the report on-screen before printing it. This option also gives you access to additional view and export options.
	Send the report directly to the printer without previewing the report.

 

 

5.

If the Report Parameters Setup screen appears, enter the requested information as necessary. For example, select the time frame (Day, Date Range, Week, etc.) and enter the desired date or period and week. Be sure to enter requested information on all tabs in the screen (Time Frame and Sites in the following example).

6.

Click OK.

If Preview was selected, the report appears on screen.

If Print was selected, the report is sent to the printer.

 

7.	If you chose to preview the report, several options are available on the toolbar.

a)	Parameters allows you to change report parameters and regenerate the report.

b)	Save allows you to save the report to your computer in PDF, Excel, Text, Rich Text or HTML format.

c)	Email allows you to send the report via email.

d)	Font allows you to change the font, font style and font size used.