Sync and offline editing
iOS
Android
Web
Works offline
Your recipes live on each device rather than only on a server. Editing writes to the
local copy first and syncs when it can, so the app shows what you typed immediately
and keeps working with no network at all.
-
Concurrent edits both survive. Two people editing the same
recipe on two phones in a dead zone each keep their changes; there is no conflict
dialog to resolve.
-
Photos are attached before they upload. A recipe references a
photo the moment it is taken and the upload queues behind it, so another member
may see the photo arrive slightly later than the recipe.
-
Deletes are soft. A delete racing an edit keeps both: the recipe
lands in the trash carrying the edit.
Import recipes
Web — bulk files and URLsMobile — URL or photo
Bring existing recipes in from files, photos or links. Platewell groups the sources
into an import session so you can leave and come back, then files each finished recipe
into your household's import collection.
| Kind |
What you can give it |
How it is read |
| Image |
png, jpg, webp, avif, heic |
A photo of a page, read on the server |
| URL |
A webpage, image or PDF link |
Published recipe data when the site has it, otherwise read from the page |
| Web page |
html, htm, xhtml |
A page saved from your browser, pictures and all |
| PDF |
pdf |
Read and structured on the server |
| Document |
docx, odt |
Word and OpenDocument, read on the server with the photos inside them |
| JSON |
json, jsonld |
schema.org Recipe, parsed on the device |
| Text |
txt, md |
Read and structured on the server |
-
Duplicate detection. Each incoming recipe is compared against
your library on title, ingredients and instructions. Close matches to existing recipes are
marked as duplicate and skipped, with a link to the recipe it matched. You can always Force
Import to load it in anyway.
-
Destination collection. Imports land in Main by default; owners
and editors can point them at any collection in Settings.
-
Images come along. Pictures referenced by the source are saved
as normal recipe photos. You can always snap a photo of the dish and attach it to the recipe.
-
Tags from the source. Keywords, category and cuisine fields in
schema.org data all become tags.
Search
WebMobileWorks offline
Type a word or a phrase and results appear as you go — there is nothing to submit. The
index is on the device, so search is as fast with no signal as with one.
-
What it looks at. Title, description, ingredients, instruction
steps, tags, notes, and both the source URL and source text.
-
Ranked, not just matched. Relevance ranking rather than
substring matching, with title matches boosted. Prefixes work, and small typos
still find the recipe.
-
Where it lives. The top bar on web, the recipes list on mobile,
and the schedule's Add recipe pickers.
Schedule
WebiOSAndroidWorks offline
The household meal plan. Each scheduled recipe is a cook date, so one recipe can be
planned for many days and one day can hold many recipes.
-
Calendar view. A month grid with one cell per day. Days with
recipes are emphasized, today is highlighted, days outside the month are dimmed.
-
List view. A week-by-week agenda. Past days with nothing planned
read “No menu”; future ones offer Add recipe.
-
Both at once on web. Calendar on top, week list below. On mobile
they are a toggle, and the list scrolls endlessly in both directions from the
current week.
-
Open a day to see its menu, add a recipe by searching, or remove
one. Arrow keys move a month on web, T jumps to today, and mobile
swipes between months.
Collections
WebMobileWorks offline
Collections are the main way to organise recipes — think of one as a recipe book,
shared with the household. Every household has a Main collection of recipes, and of course you can add more as you see fit.
- Can add more collections and import recipes directly into the collection.
- Main navigation allows you to view all recipes in a collection, sorted alphabetically.
- A recipe can exist in multiple collections.
Tags
WebMobileWorks offline
Free-form labels — weeknight, vegetarian,
slow cooker — and a second axis for browsing alongside collections. Tags
are tidied when they are saved: whitespace collapsed, empties dropped, duplicates
merged case-insensitively, and the list sorted.
| Tag display |
Shows as |
| Lowercase (default) |
slow cooker |
| Title case |
Slow Cooker |
| As imported |
however it was typed or imported |
-
A household setting. Owners and editors choose the casing and it
syncs to everyone. It changes how tags look, never what is stored — filtering and
search stay case-insensitive either way.
-
Where they show up. Your top eight tags in the web sidebar, up
to two on each recipe card, and all of them as chips on the recipe itself.
Favourites
WebMobileWorks offline
A personal shortcut list for the recipes you keep coming back to. Each member has
their own — favourites are not shared with the household.
-
Star it on the recipe. The star in the action row adds and
removes; the filled star on a card is an indicator only.
-
Most recent first. Favourites in the web sidebar, or the star
tab on mobile, listed in the order you starred them.
-
Anyone can favourite, including viewers who cannot change
household content.
Sharing
WebMobile
Share a recipe or a whole collection as an expiring link. The link opens a preview
page anyone can read, with a Save to my recipes action that copies it into their own
household — they pick which household, and can name a new collection for it.
-
A copy, not a live link. Edits you make afterwards do not change
their copy, and theirs do not change yours.
-
Collections share as they stand. A collection share includes the
recipes in it at the moment you create the link.
-
Mobile uses the system share sheet to send the link, with the
default expiry.
Keyboard shortcuts
Web onlyMobile uses gestures instead
Single keys, or one modifier, for the three things you repeat all day: finding a
recipe, stepping through results, and moving around the schedule. Every shortcut has a
visible button that does the same thing — the keyboard is the faster path, never the
only one.
| Key |
Does |
Where |
| Ctrl K / Cmd K |
Focus the search bar and select what is in it |
Anywhere, even mid-edit |
| / |
Focus the search bar and select what is in it |
Anywhere outside a field |
| Esc or U |
Back to the list the recipe was opened from |
A recipe opened from a list |
| ← / K and → / J |
Previous and next recipe |
A recipe opened from a list that pages |
| ← / K and → / J |
Previous and next photo |
Photo lightbox, when there are several |
| ← and → |
Previous and next month |
Schedule |
| T |
Jump to the current month |
Schedule |
| Enter or Space |
Open a day |
A focused day cell |
| Esc |
Close the dialog, drawer or lightbox |
Any overlay |
| Enter |
Submit the field |
Single-field forms |
They stay out of the way. No single-letter shortcut fires while you
are typing in a field, and none navigates out from under an open dialog — there
Esc belongs to the dialog.