Recipe step misalignment can make comparing recipes with different mix orders difficult. Uncountable’s Recipe Step Alignment feature resolves this by allowing users to align how workflows are displayed on the Enter pages.
This feature automatically aligns recipes to a common baseline by matching ingredient IDs and fills in gaps with blank cells. It’s particularly useful for teams managing complex workflows, such as in the paint and coatings industry, where mix order is standard.
Recipe Step Alignment Example
Imagine a scenario in the coatings industry where two recipes share the same ingredients but list them in slightly different orders due to mix order preferences.
When displayed together on the Enter Recipe page, the misaligned steps result in inconsistent formatting.
By enabling recipe step alignment, the mix order steps are reorganized to match ingredient IDs across recipes. Any missing steps are filled with blank rows to maintain consistency, creating a cleaner and more intuitive comparison:
Configuring Step Alignment
To modify the alignment of workflow steps, follow these instructions:
Step 1: Open the Recipe Workflow Step Alignment Sidepanel
Open the Recipe Workflow Step Alignment sidepanel by searching for “Step Alignment Configuration” in the Search Action bar.
Step 2: Configure Alignment
First, set your Workflow Step Alignment, which configures the alignment of workflow steps. The recommended configuration is:
- Workflow Step Alignment Configuration:
- Algorithm: Needleman-Wunsch
- Alignment Direction: Left
- Alignment Attributes: Workflow Step Name
Next, set your Recipe Step Alignment, which configures the alignment of mix order steps. The recommended configuration is:
- Recipe Step Alignment Configuration (mix order):
- Algorithm: Needleman-Wunsch
- Alignment Direction: Left
- Alignment Attributes: Ingredient IDs
This setup ensures that the workflow steps of all recipes in view align with the leftmost recipe, based on ingredient IDs.
Step 3: Preview Changes
Use the Alignment Preview to see how recipes will look once the alignment is applied.
Step 4: Apply Alignment
Once satisfied with the configuration, use the buttons at the bottom of the sidepanel to apply the alignment. Click “Apply Alignment” to apply the alignment to the recipes currently in view. To set the configured alignment as the default for all users working within the schema, select “Apply Global Default Alignment” from the button menu.
Alternatively, you can click “Remove Alignment” to remove the alignment from the recipes in view. The button menu also allows you to selectively remove the workflow step alignment, recipe step alignment, or global default alignment.
Note: Admins can share this configuration across all users in a schema within the Apply Alignment button dropdown menu.