Recipe View

Introduction

The Recipe View page is your recipe's home page – a clean dashboard that provides an overview of your recipe and quick access to common actions. Think of it as the "info page" for your recipe.

Key purposes:

• View recipe summary and statistics at a glance
• Access quick actions (edit, produce, reports, properties, share, print)
• Inspect the ingredient list and review unsaved changes
• Rate your own recipe
• View and manage recipe cards
• Share your recipe with others
• Customize which sections are visible to match your workflow

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Page Structure Overview

The Recipe View page consists of several distinct sections, from top to bottom:

1. Action Icons – Share, Link, Print, Delete, and Customize View, in their own row at the top of the header
2. Header Section – Product image, recipe title, description, and quick stats
3. Edit Recipe Card – Opens the Recipe Editor
4. Ingredients Preview – Quick ingredient list with copy and diff features (tablet and desktop only)
5. Action Cards – Start Production, Reports, Properties, History, and Notes
6. Recipe Cards Section – View and manage your recipe cards

Tip: Most sections can be shown or hidden via the Customize View (⚙) icon in the header, so you can tailor the page to the workflows you use most.

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Header Section

Recipe Title and Description

Below the row of action icons you'll see:

• Product Image – A square image slot to the left of the title. Click it to open the Properties dialog, where you add or change the recipe's card image. Without an image, the slot shows an add-photo icon.
• Recipe Name – Large heading with your recipe title
• "Unsaved" Chip – An orange chip appears next to the title when your working copy has changes that haven't been saved back to the original recipe. When this chip is visible, the Ingredients section shows tabs to compare saved and working versions (see Ingredients Preview below)
• Description (if set) – Brief description you added in recipe properties

Tip: To edit the recipe name or description, click the product image or the Properties action card, or use the Properties dialog in the Recipe Editor.

Quick Stats

Statistics tiles provide key information about your recipe:

• Mix Weight – Total weight of the mix before evaporation (inclusions and infusions are not counted)
• Ingredients – Total number of ingredients in the recipe
• Category – Recipe category (Ice Cream, Gelato, Sorbet, etc.)
• Rating – Your personal rating of the recipe. Click the tile to open the rating dialog, where you rate Overall, Texture, Body, Taste, and Color. This tile appears only on your own recipes, and not when you work as a guest. See Recipe Ratings.

These stats update automatically when you edit the recipe.

Action Icons

Five icon buttons in a row at the top of the header provide quick access to sharing, printing, and page settings:

• Share (green) – Share recipe with the community (public sharing)
• Link (blue) – Generate a private share link
• Print – Pick a card and print it straight away
• Delete (red) – Delete or archive the recipe (depending on whether it has dependencies)
• Customize View (⚙) – Toggle which sections are visible on this page

The icons sit in their own row above the title on every screen size. On phones they get larger touch targets.

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Ingredients Preview

The Ingredients Preview shows your recipe's ingredients in a simple table with weight and percentage of total mix. It's a quick reference so you can see the recipe composition without opening the editor.

What it shows:

• Ingredient name
• Weight (grams)
• Percentage of total mix weight

Copy Ingredients

The copy icon in the top-right of the Ingredients section opens a menu with two options:

• Copy as text – Tab-separated plain text, ideal for pasting into notes, emails, or spreadsheets
• Copy as HTML table – A formatted table that pastes nicely into rich-text editors like Word, Gmail, or Outlook

Both formats include the recipe name, a row per ingredient with weight and percentage, and a total row.

Working Copy and Changes View

If you have an unsaved working copy (the "Unsaved" chip is visible next to the title), the Ingredients section switches to a tabbed view so you can compare versions:

• Saved – The ingredients as currently stored in the recipe
• Working Copy – The ingredients in your in-progress edit
• Changes – A diff table showing exactly what's changed:
  • Added ingredients (green)
  • Removed ingredients (red)
  • Modified weights with the delta in grams

A summary at the bottom of the Changes tab shows the total mix weight before and after, plus the overall change.

Tip: The Copy Ingredients menu follows whichever tab is active, so you can copy either the saved version or the working copy depending on what you need.

Mobile Note: On phones (screens up to 768 px wide) the ingredients preview is not shown, even when it is switched on in Customize View. Open the recipe on a tablet or computer, or use the Recipe Editor, to see the ingredient list.

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Action Cards

Action cards provide quick access to the most common recipe operations. Each card shows an icon, title, description, and arrow indicating it's clickable. Edit Recipe has its own card directly below the header; the other cards follow below the ingredients preview. You can toggle which of the other cards appear via the Customize View icon.

Edit Recipe Card (Blue)

Purpose: Opens the Recipe Editor for detailed editing

What it does:

• Takes you to the Recipe Editor page
• Loads the recipe with all editing tools available
• Creates a temporary working copy for safe editing

When to use: Any time you need to modify ingredients, adjust weights, balance the recipe, or make changes to the formulation.

Always visible, directly below the header – cannot be hidden.

Start Production Card (Green)

Purpose: Opens production mode with ingredient checklist

What it does:

• Takes you to the Produce page
• Shows all ingredients with checkboxes
• Allows batch scaling (1x, 2x, 3x, etc.)
• Logs production when you click Mark as produced

When to use: When you're ready to make the recipe and want to track ingredient usage or log production.

Learn More: See the Production System Guide for details about production tracking and logging.

Reports Card

Purpose: Generate and print recipe reports

What it does:

• Opens the report template dialog
• Lets you choose from available recipe report templates (recipe cards, labels, technical specs, etc.)
• Generates a printable or exportable output

When to use: When you need printable output from the recipe – labels for storage containers, technical spec sheets, production cards, or any custom template you've set up. See HTML Reports.

Formerly "Print Labels" — now handles any report template type.

Properties Card (Blue)

Purpose: Edit the recipe's details without opening the Recipe Editor

What it does: Opens the Properties dialog. At the top are the card image and the Recipe Name; a list on the left jumps between the sections:

• Organize – Category, tags, and collections. Click New collection to create one on the spot.
• Description & notes – Two tabs of up to 2,000 characters each: the Description (shown on the recipe and in Showcase) and the Technical Notes (for you and your team, not shown in Showcase).
• Instructions – The recipe's method. Click Add instructions or Edit instructions; the changes are stored when you press Save. See Recipe Instructions.
• Product images – The Card image (shown in Showcase and other public views) and an optional Detail image (replaces it in the Showcase detail view). Upload, paste from the clipboard, or remove each image.
• Production – External ID (SKU or product code), Best Before (days), Fixed Batch Size (warns before you plan the recipe at anything other than its base batch size), and Hidden (leaves the recipe out of recipe lists and pickers).

Click Save to apply your changes, or Cancel to discard them.

When to use: When you want to rename a recipe, change its category, add tags, organize it into collections, write its description or method, or add a product photo – without opening the full Recipe Editor.

History Card (Blue) – Premium

Purpose: View and restore previous recipe versions

What it does:

• Opens the Recipe History dialog
• Lists the saved versions with their date, what changed, and the total weight
• Lets you restore an earlier version, after showing what the restore would change

The card itself shows the version count and when the recipe was last changed (e.g., "3 version(s) · Last changed 2d ago"). If no versions have been recorded yet, it shows "No changes recorded yet".

When to use: When you've made changes you want to undo, or when you want to compare the current recipe with a previous version.

Premium feature: The History card appears only for Premium subscribers, and only on your own recipes.

Notes Card (Blue)

Purpose: Display the recipe's technical notes

What it does:

• Shows the recipe's Technical Notes
• Preserves line breaks so formatted notes stay readable

The Notes card is off by default. Turn it on in Customize View; it then appears whenever the recipe has notes. You edit the notes in Properties › Description & notes (the Technical Notes tab), or in the Recipe Editor's Description & Notes card.

Mobile Layout: On phones (up to 768 px wide) the action cards stack in one column below the Edit Recipe card, in this order: Properties, History, Notes, Start Production, Reports. On tablets they sit three to a row in the same order. On wider screens they appear in the order described above.

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Recipe Cards Section

The Recipe Cards section displays all available recipe cards for this recipe, including both recipe-specific cards and global template cards.

What Are Recipe Cards?

Recipe cards are customizable, printable, and shareable versions of your recipe. You can create multiple cards for different purposes:

• Social media cards – With beautiful images and descriptions
• Technical spec sheets – With calculated data and no fluff
• Production cards – With ingredients and instructions
• Nutrition labels – With detailed nutritional information

Card Types Displayed

You'll see two types of cards in this section:

• Recipe-Specific Cards (blue "Recipe" badge) – Cards created specifically for this recipe
• Global Cards (green "Global" badge) – Reusable template cards that work with any recipe

Card Information

Each card tile shows:

• Card Name – The title of the card
• Type Badge – "Global" (green) or "Recipe" (blue)
• Share Indicator – Share icon appears if the card is publicly shared
• Created Date – When the card was created
• View Button – Click to view the card

Working with Recipe Cards

Viewing a Card:

• Click anywhere on a card tile (or click the "View" button)
• Opens the card in view mode
• Shows the full formatted card

Managing Cards:

• Click the "Manage cards" button (top-right of section)
• Opens the Card Manager page
• Create new cards, edit, copy, or import cards, or delete cards

Empty State: If you haven't created any cards yet, you'll see a message with a button to manage cards.

Learn More: See the Recipe Cards Guide for complete information about creating, customizing, and sharing recipe cards.

Shared Card Indicators

Cards that have been publicly shared show a small green share icon next to their badge. This indicates the card has an active public share link that others can access.

Mobile Layout: On phones the card tiles stack one per row. On wider screens they sit two or three to a row.

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Sharing Your Recipe

Community Sharing (Green Share Icon)

Purpose: Share your recipe publicly with the Ice Cream Calc community

How to use:

1. Click the Share icon (green) in the header
2. If this is your first time sharing, the Set Up Sharing Profile dialog asks for the display name shown next to your shared recipes
3. The Share Recipe dialog opens. The Title and Description are filled in from the recipe; change them if you like (title up to 100 characters, description up to 500)
4. Add or change the photo in the image tile. The image you choose is also saved to the recipe as its product image when you share
5. Click Share Recipe to publish
6. Your recipe appears on the Explore page for others to discover

Already shared? A recipe has one community share. Clicking the Share icon again opens the same dialog as Edit Shared Recipe, with the share's views, downloads, average rating, and number of ratings. Click Update Share to save a new title or description and republish the recipe as it is now.

What gets shared:

• Recipe category and tags (from recipe properties)
• The title, description, and image from the share dialog
• Complete ingredient list and calculated data
• The recipe's chart and its instructions
• Your sharing profile display name as the creator

The share is a copy of the recipe at the moment you share it: later edits do not change it until you click Update Share. Technical notes are not shared.

Benefits:

• Share your creations with the community
• Get star ratings from other users
• Build your reputation as a recipe creator
• Help others learn ice cream making

Private Link Sharing (Blue Link Icon)

Purpose: Generate a secure private link to share with specific people

How to use:

1. Click the Link icon (blue) in the header
2. The Share via Private Link dialog explains how private links work
3. Click Generate Share Link
4. Click Copy Link to copy the unique URL (or Open Link to check it)
5. Share the link via email, messaging, or any channel

Private links show your sharing profile name, so you need a sharing profile (display name) first. If you have never shared a recipe, set one up on the Account page under Sharing Profile. Each click on Generate Share Link creates a new link.

What recipients see:

• Clean recipe page marked "Private Share", with your display name
• The description, category, tags, and recipe stats
• The ingredient names (without weights) and the chart name
• The recipe's instructions, if it has any
• A Clone Recipe button that saves a copy to their own recipes (they need to sign in or create an account)

Benefits:

• Share privately without publishing to the community
• No recipient account required to view
• Secure unique URLs
• Track how many times the link is viewed

Note: Private links remain private – they don't appear in the Explore page or search results. You see their view counts, and can revoke them, on the My Shares page under Private Share Links.

Learn More: See Sharing for everything about community shares, private links, and My Shares.

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Printing the Recipe

Print Icon

Purpose: Print the recipe on a recipe card

How to use:

1. Click the Print icon in the header
2. A picker lists Default Print, your global cards, and this recipe's own cards
3. Click one. It prints at once: the card opens and your browser's print dialog appears. There is no layout step
4. Print, or choose "Save as PDF" in the print dialog
5. Click Back to return to Recipe View

Default Print is a quick card built from the recipe: your logo (if you've uploaded one), the description, your default data chips, the ingredients with percentages, the instructions, the allergens, and the technical notes.

When you pick one of your saved cards, the app prints a temporary copy of it for this recipe, so the card itself does not change.

For other printable outputs: Use the Reports action card instead – it lets you choose from any available report template (labels, spec sheets, custom templates, etc.).

Tip: Create different recipe cards for different printing purposes (quick reference, detailed instructions, technical specs, etc.).

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Deleting a Recipe

Delete Icon (Red)

Purpose: Delete or archive the recipe

Before deleting, the app checks whether the recipe is in use by production logs, production plans, recipe sets, sales orders, or product definitions. The behaviour depends on what it finds.

If there are no dependencies

1. Click the Delete icon (red) in the header
2. A confirmation dialog appears
3. Click "Delete" to permanently remove the recipe

If there are dependencies

1. Click the Delete icon (red) in the header
2. The Cannot Delete Recipe dialog lists what uses the recipe (for example, "3 production logs (12.0kg total produced)" or "1 recipe set")
3. Click Archive Instead. The recipe is marked Hidden: it disappears from your recipe list and pickers, but all history and references are preserved
4. To find it again, open the filters on the Recipes page and turn on Show hidden. To make it visible again, turn off Hidden in Properties › Production, or select it on the Recipes page and use Hide to show it

Why this matters: Production history, plans, orders, and other business data reference recipes by ID. Archiving instead of deleting protects that history while removing the recipe from your everyday view.

What gets deleted (when no dependencies):

• The recipe itself
• All recipe-specific cards
• Temporary working copy (if editing)

Ingredients you made from this recipe stay, as ordinary ingredients. A community share of the recipe is a separate copy and stays published; remove it on My Shares if you want it gone.

⚠️ Warning: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. If in doubt, archive instead – or use "Save As" in the Recipe Editor to make a backup before deleting.

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Customize View

The Customize View (⚙) icon opens the Customize Recipe View dialog, where you can toggle which sections appear on the Recipe View page. Your preferences are saved per user, so the page stays the way you like it across sessions.

Toggleable sections:

• Start Production – Show/hide the green production action card
• Reports – Show/hide the Reports action card
• Properties – Show/hide the Properties action card
• History – Show/hide the History card (Premium only; the switch is disabled on the free plan)
• Recipe Cards – Show/hide the Recipe Cards section
• Ingredients – Show/hide the Ingredients Preview section (never shown on phones)
• Notes – Show/hide the Notes card (off by default; the card appears only when the recipe has technical notes)

Always visible: The Edit Recipe card, the header, and the action icons cannot be hidden.

Typical setups:

• Production-focused: Hide Ingredients and Properties to keep the page minimal; show Start Production and Reports prominently
• Formulation-focused: Show Ingredients (with the diff view for working copies) and hide Reports and Production
• Minimal: Hide everything optional and just use the Edit Recipe card to jump straight to the editor

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Navigation Tips

Getting to Recipe View

There are several ways to access the Recipe View page:

• From the Recipes list: Click any recipe name
• From the Recipe Editor: Click the "View" button
• From URL: Navigate to /recipe/{id}/view

Quick Actions

• Need to edit? Click "Edit Recipe" card → Recipe Editor
• Ready to produce? Click "Start Production" card → Produce page
• Need a report? Click "Reports" card → Report template dialog
• Change metadata? Click "Properties" card (or the product image) → Properties dialog
• Want to rate it? Click the "Rating" tile → Rating dialog
• Want to share? Click Share or Link icon → Sharing options
• Need a recipe card? Click "Manage cards" button → Card Manager

Back Navigation

A "Back" button appears at the top of the page. Where it takes you depends on how you arrived:

• From Recipes list: Back to Recipes
• From Home: Back to Home
• From Editor: Back to Recipes (default)

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Common Workflows

Quick Recipe Review

1. Open Recipe View page
2. Check quick stats (weight, ingredient count, category, rating)
3. Scan ingredients preview
4. Done – no editing needed

Review a Working Copy Before Committing

1. Make changes in the Recipe Editor (creates a working copy)
2. Return to Recipe View
3. The orange "Unsaved" chip appears next to the title
4. In the Ingredients section, switch to the Changes tab
5. Review added, removed, and modified ingredients with weight deltas
6. Commit or discard from the Recipe Editor

Generate a Report

1. Open Recipe View page
2. Click the Reports action card
3. Choose a template from the dialog
4. Configure and generate the report

Start Production

1. Open Recipe View page
2. Click "Start Production" card
3. Scale batch if needed (1x, 2x, etc.)
4. Check off ingredients as you add them
5. Click "Mark as produced"
6. If you haven't rated the recipe yet, a message offers Rate so you can record how it turned out

Share with a Friend

1. Open Recipe View page
2. Click the Link icon (blue)
3. Click "Generate Share Link"
4. Click "Copy Link"
5. Send the link via email or message

Copy Ingredients to Another App

1. Open Recipe View page
2. Click the copy icon in the top-right of the Ingredients section
3. Choose "Copy as text" or "Copy as HTML table"
4. Paste into your target app

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Tips and Best Practices

Use Recipe View as Your Recipe Hub

• Bookmark Recipe View pages for frequently-used recipes
• Start production directly from Recipe View (faster than navigating through the editor)
• Use Recipe View to show recipes to others (cleaner than the editor)

Tune the Layout to Your Workflow

• Use Customize View to hide sections you never use – the page gets shorter and faster to scan
• If you mostly produce existing recipes, keep Start Production and Reports visible and hide the rest
• If you mostly develop new recipes, keep Ingredients visible so you can review working-copy diffs

Organize with Recipe Cards

• Create multiple cards for different purposes (social, production, technical)
• Use global cards for consistent formatting across all recipes
• Share a recipe-specific card rather than the full recipe for targeted audiences

Working-Copy Hygiene

• If you see the "Unsaved" chip, check the Changes tab before starting production – production uses the saved recipe, not the working copy
• Discard or commit working copies regularly so they don't silently diverge from the saved recipe

Quick Access on Mobile

• Add Recipe View page to your home screen (works like an app)
• The Edit Recipe card is always the first card, right below the header
• Recipe cards stack one per row, so you can scroll through them easily

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Summary

The Recipe View page is your recipe's dashboard – a clean, organized view that provides:

• Quick Overview – Product image, stats, title, description, rating, and unsaved-changes indicator at a glance
• Fast Actions – Edit, Produce, Reports, Properties, History, and Notes with one click
• Ingredient Inspection – Copy to clipboard, or compare saved vs working copy with a diff view
• Card Management – View and access all your recipe cards
• Sharing Options – Community or private sharing
• Customizable Layout – Toggle sections on or off to match your workflow
• Mobile-Optimized – Works great on all devices

Remember:

• Use Recipe View for overview and quick actions
• Use Recipe Editor for detailed editing and balancing
• Use Customize View (⚙) to tailor the page to your workflow
• Navigate between View and Editor easily with View/Edit buttons

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Next Steps

Explore related topics:

• Recipe Editor Interface Guide – Master the detailed editing tools
• Recipe Cards Guide – Create and customize beautiful recipe cards
• Sharing – Community shares, private links, and My Shares
• Recipe Ratings – Rate your recipes and filter by rating
• Production System Guide – Track production and manage inventory
• Recipe Balancing Guide – Balance recipes to target properties

Happy ice cream making! 🍦