what is it and how to use this apple application

The advancement of the operating system on Apple devices has led to new tools to improve the user experience. Since 2018, one of the most useful and used functions is Shortcuts on iOSAlthough not everyone knows what it is and what it can do to make your life easier.

It is a tool also available on iPadOS, motivated by its similarities with the mobile version. The use of shortcuts is irrelevant in either device, so this user manual that we are going to show you is useful for both versions.

What are the shortcuts for on your iPhone or iPad?

As the word suggests, a shortcut is a quick way to perform one or more tasks with apps. The Shortcuts application allows you to create your own shortcuts in several steps, combine one or more actions to automate them with the system. You can also activate shortcuts manually, but this tool is able to schedule actions based on time or by tapping an item on the screen.

When running a shortcut, each action in the list is performed in order from top to bottom. Each action plays a role in the task you want to perform, in a process similar to that of individual work steps on industrial assembly lines. As examples, you can share information or transform things, such as changing the size of an image or changing app icons.

And how do you get there? Well, there is an answer to your question. There are third-party apps that have this goal of automating actions, but they are at a very distant level. Much of the magic of shortcuts comes from “Content diagram”, A system that intelligently converts data into shortcut actions on the fly. If, for example, the action expects some content and you give it another content for an error, “Content Diagram” converts it to the correct one.

15 essential iPhone shortcuts in everyday life

How to use the Shortcuts app on Apple devices

Before you can experience everything the Shortcuts app is capable of, you need to grant the necessary system permissions. This tool has default security settings that protect your privacy and data on the device. You can configure these settings however you want, either by granting the most basic permissions or by preventing access to data.

Once you’ve got that right, you can create as many shortcuts as you want. To create a recipe with its respective actions and their automation, you must follow the same procedure (create the shortcut, add the actions and run it, which is achieved with these steps:

1. In “My shortcuts“In the Shortcuts application on your iPhone or iPad, choose the” button+“in the upper right corner.
2. Pulse “Shortcut name“, type the name of the shortcut, then press”Okay“.
3. Select the option “Add action“.
4. Hit an action in the list to add it to the shortcut.

1. To add another action, swipe up on the list of actions at the bottom of the screen and choose an action.
2. When you have finished adding actions to your workflow, click the “X“.
3. To test your new shortcut, select the three horizontal points in the shortcut to open it in the editor and click on the “Player“to activate it.

Set up shortcut notifications on iPhone or iPad

It’s hard for something to be perfect and tailor-made for everyone, which is why there is always room for improvement. One of them is the Shortcuts app notification system, leave a permanent message in the notification panel when is enabled or running. Because it’s so integrated with iOS, it has a more hidden model for turning off these notifications.

Whether you want to turn them off or on, there is a section in Settings that can help you configure preferences. And this is not the “Notifications” section:

1. open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Enter the section “Use time“.
3. Click on “See all activity“.
4. Below “Notifications“, click on the graph showing their amount. The symbol” should appear>“to access the options.
5. To choose “Shortcuts“and configure the preferences as you wish.

Add shortcuts to the home screen

Another thing that you can do to quickly access this tool is add it to the home screen. Although the application has been present since iOS 12, the requirement to perform this action requires an iPhone with the latest version available, to have the latest news with this function at your fingertips. Once you meet this requirement, you can now add this tool to the home screen:

1. open Shortcuts on your iPhone.
2. Click on “+“and select the action”Choose an application“.

1. Select the three ellipsis icon to give your shortcut a name and other details.
2. There you will find a button called “Add to home screenWhen you tap it, you can customize the shortcut to appear the way you want in the residence.

Duplicate shortcuts

A simple step that you can take to speed up the creation of existing shortcuts is to duplicate them. You can quickly copy them to be the basis for another shortcut with added actions, thus taking less time. For that, proceed as following :

1. In “My shortcuts“In the Shortcuts app on your iOS or iPadOS device, tap”To select“.
2. Press one or more buttons (a check mark appears in the upper right corner to indicate your selection), then press “Following“.
3. A shortcut copy selected.
4. Pulse “Okay“.

After this initial setup and customization of the Shortcuts app on your iPhone or iPad. From there, the possibilities are endless to create shortcuts of all kinds and automate the system as much as possible. Among them, you can show the COVID passport via Siri or even lend your iPhone to a guest user. To download the app to your device, you just need to click on the next button on the app store, in case you don’t have it.

Related topics: ios

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