Apple is making its Shortcuts app easier to use with iOS 17. The app, which allows power users to create automations for their favorite apps, has received an updated user interface, making it easier to find shortcuts, as well as the actions that a given application can perform.
Additionally, the automation setup process in the Shortcuts app has been redesigned to be easier to use, Apple says.
The Shortcuts app typically has a small but devoted following. There are some difficulties in creating shortcuts or shortcuts with more advanced functions, and that is out of the reach of conventional users. However, in recent years, the app has been adopted by those who wanted to create custom shortcuts, or automations, to match their new iPhone home screen themes and widgets. Check out the new features of the Shortcuts app!
Apple has made Shortcuts even more appealing to the everyday user in iOS 17 with a new design that now organizes your Shortcuts into featured rows so you can start using them with minimal extra steps.
For example, in a photo of the updated Shortcuts app, you can see colorful rows with shortcuts for Apple's Books, Camera, Watch, and Files apps, for example. Previously, a user's shortcuts were displayed as small, colorful squares, but not organized by app as they can now.
Apple told developers that the new design will allow users to find their shortcuts more easily, and it's true.
What is Shortcuts and what is it for?
To use shortcuts or shortcuts on your iPhone, you will first need to have the Shorcuts app on your device. If you have somehow deleted the app, you can simply download it again from the App Store.
Shortcuts are workflows that let you get things done quickly on your iPhone. These workflows use a series of actions to speed up or automate repetitive tasks. Shortcuts can range from simple workflows with very few actions, to complex operations with many steps.
Let's say you have a set of photos that you want to resize. You can create a shortcut that prompts you for dimensions or automatically resizes a photo pack to the dimensions of your choice.
You can also use a shortcut to combine the set into a single image, with prompts to define the order and amount of padding you want between the images. To go even further, you could add an action to automatically upload the image to a cloud storage provider.
In essence, this is drag and drop coding. Shortcuts can be designed in such a way that you can activate them to perform a set of actions, use them as a destination for a selection you have made (such as a set of photos), or be prompted for input (such as a number) that is then displayed. recorded, converted or added somewhere.
Shortcuts work with apps that are already on your device, with Apple apps like Notes, Reminders, Health... You can also use third-party apps with shortcuts, although, generally speaking, they have fewer actions available.
You can also share your shortcuts with other users by uploading them and distributing an iCloud link. This means that you, in turn, can download workflows that other people have made, unlocking a whole world of possibilities.
You can even edit these workflows to see how they work and learn how to better create your own. That last part is particularly useful, since you're not limited to just using cool shortcuts that someone made or the ones that come by default in the app, you can really separate them and build something custom just for your own needs or tastes.
New features in the Shortcuts app
Here is a list of the new commands available with the updates:
- Transcribe audio: To generate text from an audio file
- Delete alarms: Delete specified alarms from the clock
- Edit sleep alarm: Skip the next sleep alarm or reactivate a skipped sleep alarm
- Open camera: Open the Camera app in a specific shooting mode, such as Selfie
- Open Collection: Navigate to a specific section of the Photos app, such as “Places”
- Show passwords: Navigate to Passwords in Settings on iOS and System Settings on macOS
- End Workout: complete your current training session on iOS and watchOS
- Scan Document: Capture an image and save it to the Files app on iOS
- Timers: Get current timer, pause timer, resume timer and cancel timer are now supported on iOS. Setup timer can now start a new timer even if one is already running
- Passwords: Set Hotspot Password and Get Hotspot Password are now supported on iOS
- Mobile lines: Change mobile plan, set default line, set data roaming, find mobile plan and reset mobile data statistics are now supported on iOS
- Backups: Start Time Machine Backup Start or stop backing up your data with Time Machine on macOS
- Windows: Move Window, Resize Window, Find Windows, Find Screens, and Find Apps are now supported on macOS
Updated actions
With the latest software updates, Apple has also improved some of the features that already exist in the Shortcuts app. As they are:
- Volume: Adjust volume can now adjust media volume or ringtone volume
- Health: Health samples now support more types of data, such as changes in sleep, mood, and appetite
- Calendar: Event attendees for the calendar now include a Type attribute, to distinguish people, groups, and rooms
- Take Photo: Now more reliable when taking multiple photos in a row
