A safe bulk update workflow

This is the sequence to follow for any bulk change worth doing carefully. It exists because two things in Fenómenus are unforgiving: deletion is permanent, and menu items keep no revision history.

The short version

Export → copy → edit → rehearse → import → compare → order → verify.

1. Export first

Download the Excel export for the menu type and save it with the date in the file name. This is the only record of the previous state.

Keep it until the change has been verified in public, and keep the last verified export permanently as the team's reference.

2. Work on a copy

Never edit the file you are keeping as the "before" copy. Duplicate it and work on the duplicate.

3. Edit deliberately

• One menu type, one category, one purpose per batch.
• Calculate in a working column, then paste as values.
• Round on purpose.
• Delete the rows you are not changing.
• Delete the category column.
• Check titles: trimmed, consistent, taken from the export.
• Check prices: plain values, empty where a format is not offered.

4. Predict the result

Write down the two numbers you expect: items created, items updated. This turns the confirmation message into a check instead of a notification.

5. Rehearse with three rows

Paste three rows — one that should update, one that should create, one with an empty price cell — and save. Confirm:

• the update kept the values you left blank;
• the creation is published, in the right category, at the end;
• the counts match.

That validates column order, title matching and empty-cell behavior in one step.

6. Import the batch

Choose the category, paste, check the table on screen, save, and read the counts. If they do not match your prediction, stop and investigate before importing anything else.

7. Compare exports

Export again and compare against the "before" file. This is where unintended changes become visible — a shifted column, a moved category, a duplicate.

8. Restore the order

Newly created items are appended, and matched items are moved to the end. Re-order the affected sections on All items, and remember the sequence: import first, order second.

9. Complete the items

Descriptions, photos, allergens and featured marks are not imported. Work through the new items on their own screens before the menu is considered finished — allergens especially, since imported items arrive untagged and published.

10. Verify in public

• Read the affected section signed out, on a phone.
• Check every published language.
• Confirm Uncategorized Items is empty.
• Purge the site's page cache or CDN if an old version persists.
• Regenerate any PDF in circulation.

When to do it

Outside service. Imported items are created published, so the live menu changes as soon as you save. If the menu must not change yet, import and then draft the items immediately.

The one habit that matters most

Take the export before the change. Everything else in this workflow is recoverable if you have it, and nothing is if you do not.