How to use the food sign-up

How do I sign up to bring something?

1. Find the item. Scroll, or type in the Search items or people box.
2. Tap I’ll bring next to it. (Tapping the item’s name works too.)
3. Type your name in Your name. It’s the only box you must fill in.
4. If you like, fill in How much? and Note (for example “gluten free”).
5. Tap Sign me up.

You’ll see “Thanks, your name! You’re bringing item.” The item gets a green tick, with your name under it. The page remembers your name for next time.

Changed your mind? Tap Cancel or the X.

What if it isn’t on the list?

You can add it yourself.

1. Tap the green + Add something not on the list button at the bottom of the screen.
2. Type what you’re bringing in Item.
3. Pick a Category (the section it goes in, for example Drinks).
4. Nothing fits? Choose + New category… at the end of the Category list. Then type a name in New category name, for example “Desserts”.
5. Want to show what it is? Tap + Add a photo or link, then Add a photo and pick or take a picture, and paste a web address into Link. Both are optional.
6. Type your name. Add How much? and a Note if you like.
7. Tap Sign me up.

Your item joins the list with a small added label. If it was already on the list, you’re simply signed up for it.

A new section shows up for everyone right away, with its own button next to the other sections. If a section with that name already exists, your item simply goes there.

Other ways to start: tap + Add something else at the end of a section, or search for the item and tap Add “what you typed” when nothing matches.

What are the pictures and links on some items?

They show what to bring. A small picture and a link sit under the item’s name.

• Tap the picture to see it big. From there, tap I’ll bring this (or + Me too) to sign up, or Close.
• Tap the link (for example “example.com”) to open that web page, such as a recipe or a shop, in a new tab. The list stays open in its own tab.

You can add a picture and a link to something you add (see What if it isn’t on the list?). The organizer looks after the pictures on the list’s own items.

Everyone with the link to this page can see the pictures. Your phone makes the picture smaller before sending it, and leaves out the location that phone cameras store in photos. Turned the wrong way? Tap Rotate before you save.

Can two people bring the same thing?

Yes. Taken items have a green tick and a + Me too button.

1. Tap + Me too next to the item.
2. The window shows who is already bringing it, for example “Already bringing: Maria (2 bags)”.
3. Type your name and, if you like, how much.
4. Tap Sign me up.

Tip: Don’t tap someone else’s name to join them. That opens their sign-up.

How do I change my amount or note?

1. Find your name under the item. On the phone you signed up with, it has a You label.
2. Tap your name. Edit sign-up opens.
3. Change How much? or Note (or fix your name).
4. Tap Save. You’ll see “Saved changes to item.”

Don’t tap I’ll bring or + Me too again to change an amount. That adds a second sign-up.

How do I remove my sign-up?

1. Tap your name under the item. (On the People tab, tap the item under your name instead.)
2. Tap the red Remove button.
3. You’ll see “Removed item” and an Undo button.
4. Mistake? Tap Undo within a few seconds.

An item with the added label leaves the list when its last sign-up is removed. If it was the last thing in a section someone made, that section goes too. Undo brings them back.

Does it say “This was added by name. Remove it anyway?” Then this phone doesn’t know the sign-up is yours. Maybe you’re on another phone. If it’s yours, tap Remove anyway. If not, tap Keep it.

How do I find things on a long list?

• Search: type in Search items or people. It finds items and names, so you can type a friend’s name. Tap the X to clear it.
• All / Open / Taken / Mine: show everything, items nobody has taken, taken items, or only yours. The number on Mine is how many things you signed up for.
• Sections: the next row has All sections, then a button for each section (for example Drinks). You don’t need to swipe: every section button is always shown, on two or three lines if needed. Tap one to see just that section. Tap All sections to see everything again.
• Sort: tap Sort after the section buttons and pick List order (the usual order), A–Z, or By person (taken items first, by the name of the person bringing them). Your phone remembers your choice.
• Fold a section: tap its colored heading. Tap again to open it. (Not while searching or filtering.) The heading shows how many items are taken, for example “2/17 taken”.
• Nothing showing? Tap Show everything. It clears the search, the filter and the section.
• Just your items: tap You’re bringing 2 at the bottom of the screen. The number is how many things you’re bringing.

How do I see who is bringing what?

1. Tap the People tab near the top, next to Items.
2. Who is bringing what lists everyone A to Z, with their items, amounts and notes.
3. Tap an entry to change or remove it.

Tap Items to go back to the list.

Why does “Mine” show 0 on another phone?

Each phone remembers which sign-ups are yours. That’s how Mine and the You labels work. Your sign-ups are always saved on the shared list.

So on a different phone, computer or browser, Mine may show 0. That’s normal.

• Search your name, or open the People tab. Tap your entry to change or remove it. The page may ask you to confirm.
• Once you sign up for something there with the same name (capital letters don’t matter), the page treats every sign-up with that name as yours.

Links opened inside WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook or an email app often open in that app’s own browser, which has its own memory. To avoid surprises, open the link the same way each time. Or use the app’s menu (⋯ or ⋮) and choose “Open in Safari” or “Open in Chrome”.

How do I share the link?

1. Tap the Share button at the top right. On most phones it’s just an icon: a box with an arrow pointing up.
2. Pick Messages, WhatsApp, email or another app.

If your phone has no share menu, the page copies the link instead and says “Link copied”.

How do I put the page on my home screen?

You get an icon called Retreat Food that opens the list, like an app.

iPhone (Safari)

1. Open the sign-up list in Safari. If you’re reading this Help page, first tap ← Back to the sign-up list at the top. (Added from here, the icon would open Help, not the list.)
2. Tap Safari’s own Share button (a box with an arrow), not the one on our page. If you don’t see it, tap ⋯ first.
3. Tap Add to Home Screen. You may need to scroll down.
4. Tap Add.

On an iPhone, the icon may keep its own memory, separate from Safari. So Mine may show 0 the first time, and the organizer may need to enter the code again.

Android (Chrome)

1. Open the sign-up list in Chrome. If you’re reading this Help page, first tap ← Back to the sign-up list at the top.
2. Tap the ⋮ menu at the top right.
3. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
4. Tap Install or Add.

What do “Updated just now” and the round arrow mean?

Under the title you’ll see a line like “7 of 59 items taken · 6 people signed up · Updated just now”. While the page is open, it checks for changes about every 20 seconds.

• Tap the round arrow next to it to check right away.
• “Offline” means your phone has no connection.
• “Couldn’t refresh” means the last check didn’t work. The page keeps trying.

How does the guided tour work?

The first time you open the list, a small card near the bottom asks: “First time here? Take a quick tour — about 30 seconds.”

1. Tap Take the tour. (Or tap Not now. Either way, the card won’t come back on that phone.)
2. Each step points out one part of the page and explains it.
3. Tap Next to go on, or Back to go back.
4. Tap Done at the end. To stop early, tap Skip tour.

The tour only shows you around. It doesn’t sign you up for anything.

Want to see it again? Tap Help (the question mark at the top of the list), then the Take the tour button at the top of this page.

What if something goes wrong?

“Couldn’t save — check your connection and try again.”

What you typed is still there. Check your Wi-Fi or signal. Then tap Sign me up (or Save) again. It won’t sign you up twice.

“Lots of people are saving right now. Please try again.”

Wait a moment. Then tap the button again.

“Couldn’t load the sign-up sheet” or “The sign-up sheet is temporarily unavailable.”

Wait a minute. Then tap Retry, or try again.

“That item is no longer on the list.” or “That sign-up no longer exists.”

Someone just removed it. The list updates by itself.

The list looks wrong or old

Tap the round arrow. Or close the page and open the link again.

Someone changed or removed my sign-up

Anyone with the link can edit the list, so mistakes happen. Fix your entry, or sign up again. If it keeps happening, tell the organizer.

All the sign-ups disappeared

The organizer has probably started a fresh list for the next event. The old list is saved. Use the same link and sign up again.

How do I turn organizer mode on and off?

1. Scroll to the very bottom of the page, below the list.
2. Tap Organizer.
3. Type the code in Organizer code. Tap Unlock.
4. You’ll see “Organizer mode is on.” The Organizer mode panel appears near the top.

Your phone remembers the code. On another phone or browser, enter it again. An iPhone home-screen icon may ask for it again too.

• The bottom link now says Organizer tools. It jumps back to the panel.
• Organizer help in the panel opens this part of the Help page.
• To leave, tap Exit organizer mode at the bottom of the panel. Always do this on a phone that isn’t yours.

Messages you might see:

• “That code isn’t right. Please check it and try again.” Check for typos.
• “Your organizer code was not accepted, so organizer mode is off.” The code was probably changed. Tap Organizer and enter the new one.
• “Organizer mode is not set up on the server…” Ask whoever set up the website.

How do I add, rename, move or delete items?

In organizer mode, each item has a pencil right after its name. That pencil edits the item. (The pencil on a person’s name still edits their sign-up.)

Add an item

1. Clear the search and tap All. The add buttons hide while you search or filter.
2. Scroll to the end of the section. Tap + Add item to list.
3. Type the Item name. Check the Category.
4. Tap Add to list.

Each item name can be on the list only once.

Rename or move an item

1. Tap the pencil next to the item’s name. Edit item opens.
2. Change the Item name, or pick another Category to move it.
3. Tap Save. You’ll see “Item saved.”

Sign-ups stay with the item. A moved item goes to the end of its new section. You can’t reorder items inside a section.

Add a photo or a link

1. Tap the pencil next to the item’s name (or start a new item with + Add item to list).
2. Under Photo, tap Add a photo and pick or take a picture. Use Rotate if it’s turned the wrong way.
3. Paste a web address into Link, for example a recipe or where to buy it.
4. Tap Save. The picture uploads, then everyone sees it under the item.

To change the picture, tap Change photo. To take it off, tap Remove, then Save. You can do this for any item, including pictures people added with their own items. A picture you remove or replace is deleted, unless a past event still shows it.

Delete an item

1. Tap the pencil next to the item’s name.
2. Tap Delete item.
3. The page asks you to confirm. If people signed up, it says how many. Their sign-ups are deleted too.
4. Tap Delete item again, or Keep it.

Deleting an item can’t be undone.

How do I add, rename, recolor or delete sections?

In organizer mode, sections are called categories.

Add a section

1. Tap Add category in the organizer panel.
2. Type a Category name. Pick a Color.
3. Tap Add category.

It goes at the end of the list. Then add items with + Add item to list. Each section needs its own name. You can have up to 20.

Rename or recolor a section

1. Tap the pencil at the right end of the section’s colored heading. Edit category opens.
2. Change the Category name, or pick another Color.
3. Tap Save.

Delete a section

Only an empty section can be deleted. Move or delete its items first. Until then, Delete category is faded.

When it’s empty, tap its pencil, then Delete category. It’s deleted right away, with no second question.

Sections people made

When people add something that isn’t on the list, they can also make a new section with + New category…. It shows up for everyone right away. There’s no approval step.

• In organizer mode, its heading has a small added label. Guests don’t see that label.
• You can rename, recolor or delete it like any other section.
• Renaming or recoloring it makes it one of your own sections, and the label goes away.
• Until then, it disappears by itself when the last sign-up in it is removed. If you delete its items yourself, it stays until you delete it.
• There can be up to 20 sections in all. After that, people are asked to pick an existing one.

How do I change the title, date or notice?

1. Tap Edit title & notice in the organizer panel.
2. Change the Title, Subtitle (date) or Notice (up to 400 characters).
3. Tap Save. You’ll see “Title and notice saved.”

Leave the notice empty to hide the yellow box. Leave the date empty to hide the date line. The notice shows as one paragraph: a new line becomes a space.

How do I download the list as a spreadsheet?

1. Tap Download CSV in the organizer panel. (A CSV is a simple spreadsheet file.)
2. You’ll see “CSV downloaded.” The file is named with today’s date, like “retreat-food-signup-2026-10-02.csv”.
3. Open it in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.

On an iPhone, it usually goes to the Files app, in Downloads. A computer is often easier.

The columns are Category, Item, Qty (the How much? answer), Person Bringing, Note and Added. There’s one row per sign-up, plus a row for each item nobody took. “Added” says Yes for items people added themselves.

How do I finish an event and start a new list?

Use Archive & start new list after the retreat, or after testing. What it does:

• It saves the whole list, with every sign-up, to Past events.
• It starts a fresh list with the same sections and items, and no sign-ups.
• It keeps the notice. Change it later with Edit title & notice if needed.
• Everyone keeps using the same link.

Steps:

1. Tap Archive & start new list in the organizer panel.
2. Read the summary. It says how many sign-ups from how many people will be saved.
3. Look at the box Keep the … items people added as choices on the new list. It starts ticked. The items are listed under it.
   • Ticked: they stay as normal items, without the added label.
   • Unticked: they’re dropped.
   • Sections people made go with their items: kept as normal sections while they still have items, dropped when they’re empty.
   • If nobody added anything, there’s no box.
4. Check Title for the new list and Date / subtitle (for example “Friday, March 5, 2027”). They start with the current ones.
5. Tap the green Archive and start new list button.
6. A question appears below, for example “Clear all 12 sign-ups from the live list? They’ll be saved in Past events.” Scroll down if you don’t see it.
7. Tap Yes, start new list, or Go back.
8. You’ll see “Saved to Past events. New list started.”

Untick the box after a test run, or when the added items were one-offs.

What everyone else sees: within about 20 seconds, their phones show the fresh list, with “0 of … items taken”. Their name is still filled in, so signing up again is quick.

How do I look at past events?

1. Tap Past events in the organizer panel. Saved lists show newest first, each with “Archived date · N people · N sign-ups”.
2. For each one:
   • View shows who brought what. A “—” means nobody took that item. Tap Back to return.
   • Download CSV gives you a spreadsheet of that event.
   • The red trash can deletes it. Tap Delete to confirm, or Keep it. This can’t be undone.
3. Tap Done to close.

You can keep up to 50 past events. After that, delete an old one before you archive again.

What good habits help?

• Download a CSV now and then, and before big changes. It’s your own copy.
• Remove test sign-ups the normal way: tap the name, then Remove (and Remove anyway if asked). Don’t delete a real item to clear a test sign-up.
• After a test run, archive with the “Keep the … items” box unticked. Then delete the test event from Past events.
• If the code may have leaked, ask whoever set up the website to change it.