Why do changes to a copied menu item affect the original item?

• Why do changes to a copied menu item affect the original item?
• I made a change to a menu item that I copied, but the price on the original item changed too. Why did that happen?
• How do I make modifiers independent of a menu so I can change them just on one of my menus?

If you create a copy of a menu group, you will end up with a new version of the group, but all of the associated menu items within that group are linked to the original menu items. That means if you change the price of an item in the copied menu, the price of the item in the original menu will change as well.

If you mean to create a totally independent version of a menu group, item, or modifier, you're looking to make a deep copy. Take care when creating deep copies -- these will show up as separate lines in your reporting, and will create duplicates in your item database. If you're trying to copy menu groups to edit pricing, consider using menu-specific pricing.

To learn more about menu-specific pricing, see Build Happy Hour Menus With Menu-Specific Pricing.

To learn more about the difference between a copy and a deep copy, and when to use each, see Reuse or Copy Menu Groups, Items, and Modifiers.