Author: Matthew Cassinelli

Categories
Shortcuts

New in the Shortcuts Library: Accessories shortcuts

I’ve just added a new folder to the Shortcuts Library — my set of Accessories shortcuts to toggle your HomeKit accessories and scenes with the hidden Toggle Accessory action in Shortcuts (used in the Home widget).

For individual devices or accessories, select the device from the Toggle Accessory action. For complete rooms, set up a scene to control all the lights, then add the scene to your shortcut.

Get the shortcuts:

  • Toggle Living Room lights: Activates a Home scene set to control all the lights in my living room, turning them on/off depending on the current state.
  • Toggle Family Room lights: Activates a Home scene set to control the lamps in my family room, turning them on/off depending on the current state.
  • Toggle Studio lights: Activates a Home scene set to control multiple lights in my studio, turning them on/off depending on the current state.
  • Toggle Office lights: Activates a Home scene set to control multiple lights in my home office, turning them on/off depending on the current state.
  • Toggle Studio Key Light: Turns my Eve Switch on/off depending on its current state, which controls the large 42” softbox in my studio for filming.
  • Toggle Studio Fill Light: Turns my second Eve Switch on/off depending on its current state, which controls the secondary softbox in my studio space.
  • Toggle the bedside lamp: Switches the Hue light bulb in my bedside on/off.
  • Toggle the Sound Machine: Turns my Eve Switch on/off depending on its current state, which controls the sound machine we have in our bedroom for drowning out little noises and providing a constant background sound to sleep to.

I first discussed the hidden Toggle Accessory action in my stream with Stephen Robles back in April (starting at the 26:02 mark).

Check out the folder of Accessories shortcuts on the Shortcuts Library.

 

Categories
Gear

Time For Me To Upgrade To Elgato’s Green Screen XL »

From @elgato:

No more wrinkles. 😎🟩 Learn more about Green Screen XL: https://t.co/RKKOIuf5uG pic.twitter.com/Bx1IGNo0sw

Alright fine, I’ll replace the wrinkled one in my drawer I’ve never used with a real one.

View the post and get the Green Screen XL from Elgato.

 P.S. You can use my Elgato Partner code ZZ-CASSINELLI for 5% off at checkout.

Categories
Guest appearances Links Podcasts

The MacRumors Show: Apple’s AI Powered Shortcuts for iOS 18

On Friday, April 12, on the The MacRumors Show podcast, I had the pleasure of joining hosts Dan Barbera and Hartley Charlton to talk about Shortcuts and what could happen with App Intents at WWDC:

Matthew Cassinelli, one of the minds behind Workflow, joins us on this week’s episode of The MacRumors Show to talk Apple Shortcuts and potential improvements and AI features coming to the app in iOS 18. Workflow was a unique iOS app that allowed users to create macros for executing specific sequential tasks on their device. In 2017, Apple acquired Workflow and, the following year, it was rebranded as “Shortcuts.” Shortcuts have since become a key part of Apple’s ecosystem and can be used for a huge range of powerful, automated actions. Matthew was present at Workflow throughout its transition to Apple and now offers his own library of complex Shortcuts, which you can access over on his website.

Last year, a report from The Information claimed that ‌iOS 18‌ will introduce some major AI features to Siri and the Shortcuts app. Apple apparently wants ‌‌Siri‌‌ to be able to help users automate complex, multi-step tasks with voice-based commands and have much deeper integration with Shortcuts, such as by potentially helping users build them. We break down Apple Shortcuts for beginners and look at some of the many use-cases for the app, as well as consider where it could go next with AI. 

Check out The MacRumors Show in Apple Podcasts or listen to the episode below:

Continue reading “The MacRumors Show: Apple’s AI Powered Shortcuts for iOS 18”

Categories
Gear

You Can Change The Elgato Prompter Between Text, Chat, and Display Modes »

From @elgato:

With a built-in 9” screen, you can use Prompter to display video scripts, stream chat, or even mirror any window or app from your computer automatically.

[Video]

I mostly use the Prompter in Display Mode to mirror my whole desktop and pull up specific windows like Zoom or Ecamm when I want to look directly into the lens.

I want to try Stream Mode with Twitch chat while gaming later this year, but I haven’t found a good workflow for Text Mode and video scripts just yet…

View the post and get the Prompter from Elgato.

P.S. You can use my Elgato Partner code ZZ-CASSINELLI for 5% off at checkout.

 

Categories
Shortcuts

New in the Shortcuts Library: QuickBooks shortcuts

I’ve just added a new folder to the Shortcuts Library — my set of QuickBooks shortcuts for accessing the most important parts of the QuickBooks Self-Employed experience.

Add your banks and transactions, stay on top of quarterly taxes, and view your reports as your business grows:

  • Open QuickBooks Self-Employed: Opens the homepage for QuickBooks Self-Employed on the web. If not signed, will redirect you to the login page.
  • Log transactions: Opens the Transactions page in QuickBooks Self-Employed so you can view, update, and tag transactions as needed.
  • Manage bank accounts: Opens the QuickBooks page for connecting your bank accounts – use this to set up new accounts or update your connection if it falls out of sync.
  • Log mileage with QuickBooks: Opens the QuickBooks mobile app so you can log mileage for business trips directly in the app.
  • Check miles logged: Opens the Milage Log of QuickBooks Self-Employed so you can track how many miles you’ve travelled as business expenses.
  • Check business taxes: Opens the Tax page of QuickBooks Self-Employed so you can stay on top of tax bills, due dates, and other notices.
  • Check quarterly taxes: Opens the Quarterly tab of the Tax page for QuickBooks Self-Employed so you can view and file your quarterly taxes (to avoid paying in one big lump-sum the year after).
  • Show QuickBooks reports: Opens the Reports page of QuickBooks Self-Employed so you can track and visualize your progress.
  • Import transactions: Opens the page for importing transactions into QuickBooks Self-Employed (for anything that can’t be handled directly through your bank).
  • Manage Intuit account: Opens the account manager for QuickBooks Self-Employed on Intuit’s site.

Check out the folder of QuickBooks shortcuts on the Shortcuts Library.

Categories
Links Shortcuts

New shortcut helps users find product manuals and guides on Apple’s website »

From 9to5Mac:

With the help of the Apple Support website, users can find a lot of information about the Apple devices they own. This includes things like technical specifications, guides, and support articles. However, all this information used to be spread across multiple pages – but Apple is changing that with a new “Documentation” page.

I’ve updated my folder of Apple Support shortcuts to include a new “Show Apple Support documentation” shortcut.

Read the full article.

 

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue 104

From Issue 104 of my Shortcuts newsletter:

Welcome to Issue 104 of What’s New in Shortcuts!

We’re far out of the Apple Vision Pro hype cycle and WWDC tickets are in developers’ inboxes already – however, iPad rumors are still swirling for May as well.

iOS 17.4 has been released, which brought new actions to Shortcuts for the Action button, as well a general stability that’s been much needed – there are still Feedback reports to file for 17.5, however.

In the Shortcuts Catalog, I’ve been going deep on entertainment shortcuts, plus Mac window management on the livestream. Plus, I linked to many videos, app updates, and stories worth checking out.

Here’s what’s new in Shortcuts:

Read the full issue on MailerLite.

Categories
Gear

Smart Profiles Swap Your Stream Deck Layout Automatically When Switching Apps »

From @elgato:

Switching between multiple apps? 🔁

Use Smart Profiles to load unique Stream Deck Pedal layouts automatically when switching apps.

[Video]

Smart Profiles are the key way I’m using Stream Deck with Shortcuts – with profiles for most of my apps, I can always access my shortcuts when I open the app on my Mac.

Smart Profiles work on all Stream Decks, but I also use them for the Pedal as they show in the video – when Safari is open, I can tap the left or right bumpers with my foot to switch tabs. 😎

View the post and get the Stream Deck Pedal from Elgato.

P.S. You can use my Elgato Partner code ZZ-CASSINELLI for 5% off at checkout.

 

Categories
Gear

Stacking Elgato’s Key Light Mini on the Mini Mount »

From @elgato:

Beautiful lighting with minimal effort. Key Light Mini and Mini Mount are a great combo for lighting your meetings on the go.

Dang, chaining the light on top of the mount with the hot shoe slot makes a ton of sense.

I wonder if I could get this to work while shooting vertical…

View the post. and get the Key Light Mini, the Mini Mount, and the Cold Shoe from Elgato.

P.S. You can use my Elgato Partner code ZZ-CASSINELLI for 5% off at checkout.

 

Categories
Livestreams

Shortcuts Live! (feat. Stephen Robles) from April 4, 2024

On Thursday, April 4th, I hosted an episode of Shortcuts Live with special guest Stephen Robles to discuss how the iOS 17.4 update makes Action button shortcuts more dynamic, Stephen’s latest videos, and what’s coming at WWDC.

Throughout the discussion, we also covered special techniques for If statements, potential improvements to the Podcasts actions, and future ChatGPT integrations, as well as filed “verbal Feedback” on issues we want to report to Apple.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of what we covered:

  • 00:00 – Waiting lobby
  • 01:40 – Welcome to Shortcuts Live
  • 02:05 – Introducing Special Guest Stephen Robles
  • 03:10 – Exploring Our Approaches To Shortcuts
  • 03:53 – Stephen’s Filming Setup Shortcut
  • 06:23 – Feedback: Shortcut Duplicates
  • 07:13 – Stephen’s Done Filming Shortcut
  • 08:28 – Comments and Riverside
  • 09:34 – Stephen’s Action Button Shortcut
  • 11:42 – Matthew’s Action Button Shortcut
  • 13:27 – Feedback: Switch Statements
  • 14:16 – If Statements and Coercing Variables
  • 16:59 – Rest of Matthew’s Shortcut
  • 19:39 – Stephen’s Low Volume Automation
  • 21:22 – Tweaking Shortcuts for If Booleans
  • 24:48 – Find Actions Broken For Third Parties
  • 26:02 – Toggle Home Accessory Action For Shortcuts
  • 31:22 – Feedback: Shortcuts Actions Hidden From List
  • 32:07 – Find Mail Action Added, Now Missing
  • 35:31 – Unpacking iOS 17.4’s New Orientation and Activity Actions
  • 37:02 – Freezing Issues; Skip Ahead
  • 37:44 – Get Orientation and Super Mute
  • 38:48 – Freezing Issues; Skip Ahead
  • 39:14 – Set Silent Mode
  • 39:44 – Landscape for Camera
  • 41:36 – Freezing Issues; Skip Ahead
  • 42:54 – Get Orientation; If Text Contains
  • 45:14 – Call App Shortcuts By Name
  • 45:26 – Blackmagic Camera App Shortcuts
  • 46:50 – Experimenting with Orientation-Based Camera Shortcuts
  • 47:21 – Testing Stephen’s Orientation Shortcut
  • 47:37 – Stop Shortcut To Optimize Action Button Flow
  • 49:17 – Exploring Podcast Playback Shortcuts
  • 54:23 – Innovative Uses of Physical Activity Shortcuts
  • 56:41 – Deep Dive into Podcast Episode Details and Workouts
  • 1:11:21 – Apple Podcasts OPML
  • 1:17:47 –  Exploring AI Actions and the Potential of ChatGPT in Shortcuts
  • 1:24:54 – Reflecting On Programming and Potential of Shortcuts
  • 1:32:16 – Thank You and Goodbye

View the video on YouTube.

 

Categories
Gear

Stream Deck XL and Stream Deck Mini Have Benefits At Both Sizes »

From @elgato:

“Don’t talk to me or my son ever again”

You can’t deny these models have a certain mood.

I have both the Stream Deck XL and Stream Deck Mini, and both are fantastic purpose-driven designs. The big one is best for having all your buttons visible, while the mini is best for having the right buttons nearby.

I have all my main commands spread out on the XL, but always have the mute switch, scene switcher, or media controls on the Mini ready to go.

View the post and get the Stream Deck XL and Stream Deck Mini from Elgato.

P.S. You can use my Elgato Partner code ZZ-CASSINELLI for 5% off at checkout.

 

Categories
Entertainment

Get Tickets to Regal Mystery Movies in April

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Wicked Little Letters in theaters ahead of release thanks to Regal Cinemas’ Mystery Movies, a series they put on that lets fans buy $5 tickets to an unknown movie (usually an upcoming film).

Now, for April 2024, they’ve put out tickets for three more Monday Mystery Movie nights, each linked below – I just happened to be checking their site out and these aren’t even listed on the main portal yet:

If you’re subscribed to Regal Unlimited like I am, you can get the tickets “free” with your pass.

Plus, if you want to check out Mystery Movies in the future, you can use my shortcut that takes you back to the bookmarked page.

Check out Monday Mystery Movies from Regal and check out my folder of Regal Cinemas shortcuts.

Categories
Shortcuts

New in the Shortcuts Library: Regal Cinemas shortcuts

I’ve just added a new folder to the Shortcuts Library — my set of Regal Cinemas shortcuts:

  • Show my Regal Unlimited Card: Opens the Regal website to your Unlimited account page so you can tap to reveal the QR code for your card number.
  • Show my Regal orders: Opens the Regal site to your orders so you can see past or upcoming tickets.
  • Open Regal cinemas site: Opens the main Regal Cinemas website to show curated categories like Now Playing, Coming Soon, Saturday Morning Kids Flicks, and Limited Engagement pictures.
  • Show Regal movies: Opens the “Movies” page of Regal Cinemas so you can see current, upcoming, and special release films that are available to buy tickets for.
  • Show Regal theaters: Opens to a page of nearby theaters available from Regal Cinemas.
  • Browse my favorite Regal theaters: Presents a menu of your favorite nearby theaters, then opens the corresponding URLs for that theater so you can buy tickets.
  • Open Regal Mystery Movies: Opens the site for Regal Cinemas’ Mystery Movies, where they show an upcoming film without releasing which movie it is ahead of time.
  • Show my Regal account: Opens the main Account page of your Regal Cinemas profile, where you can log in and see an Overview of your past upcoming & past books, plus rewards status.
  • Show Regal promotions: Opens the Regal cinemas Promotions page where you can see new categories, current promos, available upgrades, and special engagements.
  • Open Regal Crown Club: Opens the Regal Crown Club site where you can see your credit balance, check out featured rewards, order gift cards, and link out to even more member deals.
  • Show Regal value days: Opens the Regal cinemas Promotions page for Value Days to see prices and days for low-cost tickets at your nearby theaters.
  • Show Print and Poster rewards: Opens the Regal Crown Club rewards for items like movie posters and special prints.
  • Show Regal store: Opens the Regal Cinemas store where you can buy branded merch from current movies or the Regal brand itself.
  • Show Merchandise rewards: Opens the Regal Crown Club merchandise page where you can see physical products for sale like the Dune or Ghostbusters popcorn buckets.
  • Show Concessions and Ticket rewards: Opens the Regal Crown Club section for Concessions and Ticket rewards, like discounts on popcorn or free passes/upgrades.
  • Open Regal TV: Opens the Regal Cinemas app on the selected Apple TV, then shows the Remote so you can navigate.

Check out the folder of Regal Cinemas shortcuts on the Shortcuts Library.

Categories
Links

15 iPhone Shortcuts YOU Requested: Auto-Texting, Alarms, Music, and More! »

From Stephen Robles on YouTube:

Learn how to build 15 iPhone Shortcuts, inspired by YOU. Automatically play music when an alarm is snoozed, schedule a text to auto-send, make your screenshots look pro, and more.

Stephen continues his Shortcuts series on YouTube by building shortcuts off listener requests – a great watch as always.

View the video YouTube.

Categories
Gear

How To Quickly Plan Scripts For The Elgato Prompter With Voice Dictation Mode »

From @elgato:

🗣️ New Voice Dictation Mode

Turn your speech into text with Voice Dictation, perfect for talking through and planning scripts to run on Prompter. 💬

[Video]

Voice Dictation Mode in the Camera Hub app looks great for getting your thoughts out quickly without focusing on your performance, then immediately revisiting it on the Prompter to deliver for the camera. Very welcome new feature.

View the post and get the Prompter from Elgato.

P.S. You can use my Elgato Partner code ZZ-CASSINELLI for 5% off at checkout.

 

Categories
Apps

Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Launches New AI-Powered Group Photo Sharing App Shine

After leaving her position as CEO of Yahoo in 2017, former Google employee No. 20 Marissa Mayer is back with a new group photo sharing app called Shine from her company Sunshine, aimed at solving the “send me that photo” problem according to her Twitter thread around the new release.

With Shine, you create an album for a time and place, choose the type of selection process, and then share with other people – the selection part is where the “magic” happens, since Shine lets you optionally let AI select the best photos for you (or you can choose manually). Shine can also suggest albums automatically after-the-fact too.

The “Magic Mode” automatically uploads the best photos identified by AI as they’re taken, and when in manual mode you’ll still get suggestions but the app lets you approve them before sharing.

Shine lets you share photos in full resolution, automatically removes duplicates, and lets viewers download the photos from the app or see them with an album code, link, or QR code.

The app also has comments and reactions built right in, turning each album into a psuedo-social network for each event. After the event, these interactions are shared into an Activity feed, making the entire app a feed of comments around event’s you’ve attended.

Shine looks super interesting as a Minimum Viable Product from Marissa Mayer’s team, not only because it seems to truly take a honest stab at solving this problem well, but also because it’s backed by a powerhouse in the tech space. Right now there’s only an iPhone app and no web interface, and some of the design leaves a little to be desired (the app generally seems to lack padding) – things that are easily fixable over time, however.

I think the drawbacks actually speak to the true MVP nature of this app – it’s clearly not the best version of the app product itself, but I do think how they’re approaching this problem is novel and still worth addressing, even in 2024. I’m glad Shine focused their energy on solving the core problem properly first, and over time they can invest in making the app experience even better.

Get Shine on the App Store and read Marissa Meyer’s thread on the launch.

Categories
Gear

Switch to iPhone 15? You’ll need this cable for CarPlay »

From Zac Hall on 9to5Mac:

Unfortunately, Apple didn’t make a first-party USB-A to USB-C cable for this situation. Instead, the company sells a $29 USB-C to Lightning adapter as its official solution.

My advice? Don’t spend $30 on a dongle when you can just replace the cable. Even though Apple doesn’t sell one, USB-A to USB-C cables are easy to find.

Zach’s recommendations are great for more reliable brands, but I was looking for a super-short cable and landed on these “OneKer” cables that are only 1 foot long (and only just now noticed the pun in their name 🤣).

View the story on 9to5Mac.

Categories
Links

Apple Developer Videos Now on YouTube

Today, alongside the announcement for WWDC’24, Apple revealed their Apple Developer channel on YouTube where they’re now publicly hosting developer videos, starting with everything released from WWDC’23.

Previously, videos were only available Apple’s own website or Developer apps, limiting the potential reach to folks who’d already heard of it – now YouTube users can freely discover and watch Apple developer videos to learn about building for their platforms.

As of writing, there are 40 videos uploaded – so it’s not the complete set from WWDC’23 (yet?) and as such I unfortunately can’t find any Shortcuts-related videos. Once more are uploaded, and folks tune in after WWDC’24, it’ll be super interesting to see view counts and comments on these videos – we’ll be able to see what’s more popular/interesting to folks, as well as check on common questions in the comments.

Plus, for the intrepid Shortcuts user, all of YouTube’s RSS or URL functionality is now available for Apple Developer videos – I’ll be able to scrape the title, thumbnail, and descriptions to make quick embeds on my website, for example 🤓.

Follow @AppleDeveloper on YouTube.

Categories
Links

Automating My Household Chore Reminders »

From Tom Robertson at Coeffiencies:

Living in a house, or even an apartment or condo, as an adult, requires periodic maintenance tasks, like cleaning the bathroom, changing your sheets, replacing the furnace filter, etc. A lot of these tasks should ideally be done on a regular schedule, like changing your sheets every two weeks, or your furnace filter every 3 months for example.

I’m sure a lot of people just kind of mentally keep track of this kind of stuff, but I’ve never really trusted my own memory on it. And I don’t like the idea of a room being dirty serving as my reminder to clean it. I’d ideally like to clean it before it gets too dirty.

So to keep up-to-date on my household tasks, I need a way to help me with of the following:

  1. How many days has it been since I did that task?
  2. A reminder to do that task if it’s past the time it needs to be done.

Tom basically made the perfect solution I’ve been looking for using Reminders, Chronicling, and two custom shortcuts – well done.

View the post on Coeffiencies.

Categories
Sponsors

Add Quick Actions to Any App With OneTap’s Keyboard Assistant [Sponsor]

Performing repeatable tasks is something everyone does on their Apple devices, whether you’re accessing relevant information, sharing from a set of common links, or taking the same actions over-and-over – OneTap, an alternate keyboard app, makes it easy to find and share all that from any app using quick keyboard shortcuts.

Distinct from Apple’s Shortcuts, OneTap allows you to set up a series of shortcuts that you can switch to from the default keyboard, quickly navigate to find, and tap once to activate.

Your shortcuts in OneTap can be organized into convenient groups, letting you put similar shortcuts together under a unique name, icon, and color so they’re easily identifiable. These groups show up when accessing the alternate keyboard, letting you tap through and find individual shortcuts.

OneTap also adds a single-tap AI options for passing selected text to GPT-4 and returning generative text, letting you essentially integrate Chat GPT into any application with this one app.

OneTap is available on iPhone and iPad as an alternate keyboard, plus on Mac the app makes it functionality available via Apple’s Shortcuts app by providing a shortcut that you can trigger using the wide variety of ways you can use Shortcuts for Mac, like via the Menu Bar applet.

Plus, OneTap comes with actions for Apple’s Shortcuts app, letting you manage your groups and add, move, or edit your items in an automated fashion – or take advantage of the ability to generate a OneTap AI response.

Get OneTap on the App Store.

My thanks to OneTap for sponsoring the blog for the week of March 25.