Oracle Simphony's Enterprise Management Console (EMC) supports customisable configuration fields called data extensions. Future Ordering uses these fields to read store, menu, and order configuration from Simphony and translate it into the data structures the platform needs to display menus, place orders, and manage store availability.
This article describes each data extension used by Future Ordering, the Simphony object it belongs to, and the rules for when it is mandatory or optional. Data extensions are configured once at the enterprise level in EMC and then referenced throughout property, revenue centre, and menu item configuration.
For step-by-step instructions on applying these extensions during initial setup, see the configuration use case articles listed under Use cases below.
- How to access data extensions in EMC
- Property data extensions
- Menu Item Definition data extensions
- Revenue Centre data extensions
- Workstation data extensions
- When to use which data extension
- Use cases
- Related articles
How to access data extensions in EMC
Data extensions in Oracle Simphony are configured at the enterprise level. To access them, log in to EMC, select the Enterprise, open the Configuration tab, and choose Data Extensions. You add each extension listed in this article once — subsequent configuration articles reference these extensions by name when describing property, revenue centre, and menu item setup.
Property data extensions
Property data extensions are applied to a Simphony property (the equivalent of a store in Future Ordering). They control whether a property is visible to the platform, what environment it maps to, its opening hours, production capacity, images, and tax calculation behaviour.
FO_Enabled (Boolean) marks a property as active for Future Ordering. If this field is not set to true, the property will not be mapped to the platform at all.
FO_Environment (Text) specifies which Future Ordering environment the property maps to — for example dev, test, or prod. Leaving this field blank maps the property to all environments by default.
FO_OpeningHours (JSON, max 1024 characters) defines the store's opening hours. The platform evaluates the first entry in the array whose conditions are true for a given date, so entries with specific date conditions such as public holidays should be placed before the general "always" rule. A typical all-hours example is:
{"openingHours":[{"conditions":[{"type":"always"}],"open":[{"from":"00:00","to":"00:00","toNextDay":true}]}]}FO_Production (JSON, max 1024 characters) describes the store's production capacity — how many orders it can handle per timeslot and how the platform estimates order cost. Three fields are required: timeslotDuration, orderCostEstimator, and capacity. A standard always-open configuration is:
{"timeslotDuration":"PT1M","orderCostEstimator":{"type":"PointsPerOrder"},"capacity":[{"conditions":[{"type":"always"}],"schedule":[{"from":"00:00","to":"00:00","toNextDay":true,"capacityPerTimeslot":200}]}]}FO_Images (JSON, max 1024 characters) holds the store's image URL in the format {"url":"https://..."}.
FO_TaxCalculationMethod (Text) controls how VAT is calculated for the store's menu. The default value is ItemsPerUnit. Use OrderSummed to calculate VAT across the total order value instead.
Menu Item Definition data extensions
Menu Item Definition data extensions are applied to individual menu item definitions in Simphony. They tell Future Ordering how to classify and display each item — whether it is a product, category, container, or virtual product — and how it links to other items in the menu hierarchy.
FO_UniqueIdentifier (Text) is mandatory for every menu item definition, including overrides. Because the STSG2 API returns the same menu item for every revenue centre, Future Ordering cannot distinguish between identical definitions without this field. The identifier must be unique across the entire menu — for example, 100206 - Coke. If a definition is overridden at a lower level of the hierarchy, the override must be given a separate identifier, such as 100206 - Coke - London Store.
FO_IsCategory (Boolean) flags a menu item definition as a category or subcategory in the Future Ordering menu. Set to true for any item that acts as a grouping for products or subcategories.
FO_IsContainer (Boolean) flags a menu item definition as a container — a selection group that holds products a guest can choose between, such as the sides in a combo meal. Mandatory for all container items.
FO_LinkedToDefinition (Text, max 2048 characters) links a menu item definition to the definitions it contains or belongs to. The format is a comma-separated list of master record and definition sequence number pairs, for example 101:4, 101:5, 103:2, 104. If only the master record number is given, the platform assumes definition sequence 1. The linking rules are: a category may only link to subcategories or products; a container may only link to products; a product may only link to containers.
FO_IsDisabled (Boolean) excludes a menu item from the Future Ordering menu entirely. When set to true, the item and all references to it are filtered out of the menu mapping.
FO_SelectionOptions (JSON) controls how many items a guest must select within a container. The supported combinations are a mandatory single-select ({"min":1,"max":1}) and an open multi-select where no maximum is specified ({"min":0}).
FO_SelectedItem (Text) specifies the default pre-selected product inside a container, identified by its master record number.
FO_VirtualProduct (Boolean) flags a product as a virtual item whose only purpose is to point to a container of actual products — for example, a "Potato Fries" virtual product that links to a size container holding small, medium, and large fries. Virtual products are also used in combo meal structures.
FO_Index (Text, integer value) sets the display order of categories and subcategories in the menu. A category with this value set to 1 appears first; 2 appears second, and so on.
FO_TaxClassOverride (JSON) overrides the tax class applied to a specific price definition sequence on a menu item. This field is mandatory for all condiment items. The format is a key-value pair where the key is the price definition sequence number and the value is the tax class: {"1":2,"2":2}.
FO_ShortDescription (JSON, max 2048 characters) provides a shorter version of the item's description, displayed earlier in the menu view. Supports multiple language codes: {"en-US":"short description","sv-SE":"kort beskrivning"}.
FO_ShortTitle (JSON) provides a shorter version of the item's title, displayed earlier in the menu view. Uses the same locale-keyed JSON format as FO_ShortDescription.
FO_HeroProductLimit (Number) limits the number of products shown in a category before a "show more" control appears. Useful for categories with many subcategories or items.
FO_GuestMessages (JSON) attaches a guest notification to a product — for example, an allergen or age-restriction warning. Messages with type Once are shown only once per order; messages with type Always are shown every time the product is added.
FO_ProductionInformation (JSON) records production metadata for a product, such as the minimum and maximum preparation time and the number of production points the item consumes.
FO_AlternateFor (Text) lists alternative product IDs that are considered equivalent to this item — used when a guest's saved basket contains a product that is unavailable at a particular store.
FO_UsePriceFromItem (Text) instructs the platform to resolve the price from a different product's price group instead of the current item's own price group.
FO_MappingDetails (JSON) stores arbitrary mapping data attached to the menu item, available for use during order placement.
FO_CategoryImageTranslations (JSON) provides locale-specific image URLs for a category, supporting different images per language code.
FO_SelectedComboGroup (Text) forces a container to match a specific combo group by ID when automatic matching fails due to similar containers and groups in a combo meal structure.
Revenue Centre data extensions
Revenue centre data extensions are applied to a revenue centre within a Simphony property. They control which tax rates apply to each order type and how the menu for this revenue centre is identified and shared with others.
FO_TaxMask (JSON, max 1024 characters) is mandatory for every revenue centre. It maps each order type ID to the list of tax rate IDs that apply to it. If your EMC setup does not use tax masks, include all available tax rate IDs for both order types. The format is {"1":[1,2,3],"2":[1,2,3]} where the keys are order type numbers and the values are arrays of applicable tax rate IDs.
FO_MenuId (Text) assigns a unique menu identifier to this revenue centre, used when you want multiple revenue centres or locations to share the same menu. Each FO_MenuId value must be unique across the entire organisation — for example, SwedenMenu. It is recommended to have at least one menu ID per country.
FO_LinkToMenuId (Text) points this revenue centre to a master menu defined elsewhere using FO_MenuId. When set, the platform uses the referenced menu instead of generating one from this revenue centre's own configuration, which significantly improves menu import performance.
Workstation data extensions
Workstation data extensions apply to Simphony workstations and are used specifically for the Future Ordering Operations Platform (FO.OP) integration. These values are provided by Future Ordering during onboarding.
FO_OP_Enabled (Boolean) activates the workstation for the FO.OP integration. Set to true to enable.
FO_OP_IoTHubConnectionString (Text) contains the Azure IoT Hub connection string for the workstation, provided by Future Ordering. Format: HostName=fo-dms-dev-iot-hub.azure-devices.net;DeviceId=[DEVICEID];SharedAccessKey=[SHAREDACCESSKEY].
FO_OP_StorageConnectionString (Text) contains the Azure Storage connection string for the workstation, provided by Future Ordering.
When to use which data extension
The table below shows whether each data extension is mandatory (M), optional (O), or situationally required (S) for each Simphony object type.
| Data extension | Property | Revenue Centre | Category | Subcategory | Container | Product | Condiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FO_Enabled | O | ||||||
| FO_OpeningHours | M | ||||||
| FO_Production | M | ||||||
| FO_Images | O | ||||||
| FO_TaxCalculationMethod | O | ||||||
| FO_Environment | O | ||||||
| FO_TaxMask | M | ||||||
| FO_MenuId | O | ||||||
| FO_LinkToMenuId | O | ||||||
| FO_IsCategory | M | M | |||||
| FO_UniqueIdentifier | M | M | M | M | M | ||
| FO_LinkedToDefinition | S | S | S | S | S | ||
| FO_IsContainer | M | ||||||
| FO_IsDisabled | O | O | |||||
| FO_TaxClassOverride | O | M | |||||
| FO_SelectionOptions | O | ||||||
| FO_SelectedItem | O | ||||||
| FO_VirtualProduct | S | ||||||
| FO_Index | O | O | |||||
| FO_HeroProductLimit | O | O | |||||
| FO_GuestMessages | O | O | |||||
| FO_ProductionInformation | O | O | |||||
| FO_AlternateFor | O | O | |||||
| FO_UsePriceFromItem | O | O | |||||
| FO_MappingDetails | O | O | O | ||||
| FO_ShortDescription | O | O | |||||
| FO_ShortTitle | O | O | |||||
| FO_CategoryImageTranslations | O | O | |||||
| FO_SelectedComboGroup | O |
Key: M = Mandatory · O = Optional · S = Situationally required
FO_LinkedToDefinition — optional from a technical mapping perspective, but a category or container that links to nothing will not display any products. For products and condiments, this field is used when the product links to a container such as a size selector.
FO_VirtualProduct — mandatory when a product exists only to point to a container and has no sellable price or definition of its own.
Use cases
- How to configure a product in Oracle Simphony EMC for Future Ordering — coming soon
- How to configure a category in Oracle Simphony EMC for Future Ordering — coming soon
- How to configure a container in Oracle Simphony EMC for Future Ordering — coming soon
- How to configure a new Simphony property for Future Ordering — coming soon
Related articles
- Revenue Centre Data Extensions — supplementary reference for revenue centre-level extension options
- Tags and badges in Oracle Simphony EMC for Future Ordering — companion reference article for the Simphony tag system