Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #047

Welcome to Issue 11 of “What’s New in Shortcuts” – this week, we’re nearing the end of the beta cycles, and the iOS 15 updates are almost upon us.

There’s still bugs to be ironed out in Shortcuts, and more clarity on what’ll happen with Shortcuts for Mac is needed with the amount of actions missing or troubles in the editor – but the community is raising their concerns, so hopefully Apple can jump on it.

This issue covers those concerns, plus some guides from the community, a handful of great shortcuts, some new member shortcuts for Shortcuts for Mac, and a spotlight on Wind Down shortcuts – here’s what’s new this week:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #046

Welcome to Issue 46 of “What’s New in Shortcuts” – this one is packed with ideas!

I was blown away by what I found on Reddit this week and there’s at least 3 shortcuts that I’ll be integrating into my core workflow, alongside a whole set of great tips & tricks.

Plus, the folks from The Sweet Setup have a time-tracking guide, MacObserver has thoughts on what Shortcuts needs to add, and I interviewed Rosemary Orchard on her own show as a guest host.

And of course, MacStories had their big launch – I think anybody reading this newsletter should also be signed up for Club MacStories too.

All that and more – enjoy:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #045

Welcome to Issue 45 of “What’s New in Shortcuts” – this week we’ve got good examples from the subreddit, new app shortcuts to dig into, and some Feedback for Apple to review.

Thankfully, we also got iOS 15 beta 6, which resolved some of the nagging issues in Shortcuts – it’s much more feasible to use it for daily work right now.

But of course, some actions started randomly failing—such as Post to WordPress, which is core to my workflow—so this week I continued with my meta work, and streamed with Jason Snell to post directly to WordPress using XML-RPC.

We’ve got all that and more – enjoy:

Categories
Membership Offsite Siri Shortcuts

Shortcuts.Live: Posting to WordPress (feat. Jason Snell)

Today at 10am PST, I’ll be streaming with Apple blogger/podcaster Jason Snell to walk through using the WordPress XML-RPC protocol to post directly to one’s blog.

We’ll be live on YouTube for a half hour or so, while I recreate Jason’s shortcuts he shared on his website Six Colors for my own WordPress installation.

Join us on the stream and ask questions in the chat, or catch the replay at this link:

See you there!

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #044

Welcome to Issue 44 of “What’s New in Shortcuts” – I’ve returned after a week off and am back at it again!

This week we got a new beta, but it’s a bit rocky still – I’m seeing slowdowns, missing Apple Watch actions, and tweaks to permissions mean beta users have to reauthorize every step yet again.

But there’s still more to learn thanks to a handful of podcasts that’ve come out the last few weeks – and there’s some big changes to the Shortcuts Catalog I want to tease:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #043

Welcome to Issue 43 of “What’s New in Shortcuts” – this week we saw developer beta 4 and another public beta, bringing a new action to Shortcuts, a new feature, and stability improvements.

Plus, the newsletter finishes off with a set of Power automations, both with full screenshots and linked shortcuts you can copy yourself.

But before we get into everything, a programming note – I’m out next week on vacation, so I won’t be sending an issue next Friday, August 6th. After that, I’ll be returning to the normal schedule on August 13th.

Until then, here’s what’s new this week:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #042

This week, I spent a lot of effort furthering my Home Screens – and I think I got to a pretty good place to write things up soon.

I also spent my time researching Shortcuts for Mac, building out Apple TV shortcuts, and working ahead on some new guides for the future.

Otherwise, there’s lot’s to share this week – let’s dig in:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #041

Welcome to Issue 41 of “What’s New in Shortcuts”!

This week we saw the release of developer and public beta 3, which has brought some overall stability to iOS, but unfortunately more bugs in Shortcuts as well.

Read on for my set of free shortcuts, new member shortcuts, feedback I’ve submitted to Apple, more apps adding Shortcuts support, new automation ideas, and a spotlight on cross-platform actions with a note from the Things team – lots to enjoy this week:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #040

Welcome to Issue 40 of “What’s new in Shortcuts” – and to mid-summer!

With the public betas out last week and another developer beta still on the way, we’re in between the latest features and fixes for common bugs – but this time I’ve pushed through the issues and made some new shortcuts for all you folks.

Plus, I discovered a handful of actions for Apple Watch and Files that I’d missed – read on to get all the details:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #039

Welcome to Issue #39 of “What’s New in Shortcuts” – the public betas are out!

The brave-hearted can sign up here on Apple’s website, but be cautious as there are many Shortcuts-related bugs specifically that you are almost guaranteed to run into.

That being said, the more Feedback filed to Apple, the merrier we’ll be with a fully-operational version of Shortcuts – I’m submitting my own regularly, so I hope you are too.

Along with that, I’ve got a lot of links to share, updates on more Mac apps getting Shortcuts support, and a preview of how Mac users can script Shortcuts itself:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #038

Welcome to Issue #38 of “Welcome New in Shortcuts”!

We’re now two weeks out of WWDC and, with the second developer beta now out, there’s plenty to learn about Shortcuts before the public betas come out in July.

This week, I’ve got a new interview, tons of information about Shortcuts for Mac, great ideas from r/Shortcuts, more podcast coverage, tweets about the betas from Ticci, and one previously unknown feature coming to the Mac:

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #037

###

Welcome to “What’s New in Shortcuts?” Issue 1 of the iOS 15 season!

Before we dive in to all the exciting changes announced at Apple’s WWDC, some housekeeping:

  • First, I wasn’t able to send one of the previous week’s newsletter as I was travelling to visit my family – if you can take time off to be with family once you’re vaccinated, I highly recommend it.
  • Second, I have moved my newsletter to Revue, hence the design changes and subsequent delay this last WWDC week (I foolishly waited until the last minute to import my subscribers and they put my account under review for the weekend).
  • Third, the newsletter will be send out regularly on Fridays starting June 25th as well – I’ve experimented with multiple schedules and think this will work best along the changes to the Shortcuts User Group (more below).

And finally, thanks for reading!

I love sharing what’s happening with Shortcuts, passing along everything new I’m creating for the Catalog and Membership, and hearing from readers about what you’re learning – I hope you get something useful from it every week.

With all that said, here’s everything you need to know about Shortcuts coming out of Apple’s annual developer keynote – let’s dig in:

Categories
Offsite Podcasts

Smart Tech Today 80: 2021 Smart Home Predictions ?

On episode 80 of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talked about the following:

Follow-ups from Google IO, Google Assistant tweaks, and smart home changes this week. Plus HomeKit gear, Apple Watch apps, and our thoughts on the latest Apple products. And our smart home predictions and picks of the week.

Categories
Membership Offsite

Stream: Working with the Notion API (pt. 2)

On Friday, May 28, I hosted another stream teaching people how to use Shortcuts with the Notion API.

Last time we covered the basics, got our database IDs, pulled & opened posts, and created new entries – check out the member post to get the shortcuts we created in the first session.

On Friday, May 28, I hosted another stream teaching people how to use Shortcuts with the Notion API.

Last time we covered the basics, got our database IDs, pulled & opened posts, and created new entries – check out the member post to get the shortcuts we created in the first session.

This time, we went into more specific data objects as well as updating pages and creating more of a Shortcuts system on the front-end.

Become a member to get access to the stream, plus you’ll get:

  • New shortcuts on an ongoing basis
  • Extra ways to browse the catalog when you’re signed in
  • Prerelease notes & workflows I’m putting together
Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #036

Welcome to Issue 36 of “What’s New in Shortcuts”!

I’ve had the new iPad Pro and the Siri remote for Apple TV in my hands for a few days now and I wanted to give members a digest of my thoughts before I create videos on each.

Plus, I’ve got a new set of shortcuts to go along with Flexibits’ apps, new Notion shortcuts, and a bundle of good links for you all – plus how I’m using Shortcuts with Apple TV:

Categories
Offsite Podcasts

Smart Tech Today 79: A Very Googley I/O Episode ?

On episode 79 of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talked about:

  • Global Accessibility Awareness Day
  • Apple’s new hardware releases
  • Google IO
  • Our latest picks
Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #035

Hello folks,

This week we’ve got new iMac and iPad Pro reviews, my iPad Pro is arriving Friday, and we’re just weeks away from WWDC and new announcements for the next year of software for Apple devices.

Plus, there are new APIs to tap into, a new IDE for Shortcuts that more coding-oriented folks can use to build shortcuts, and I’ve been playing around with several fun shortcuts as I prepare for my last few videos before the beta season – check it all out:

Categories
Membership Offsite

Member stream: Working with the Notion API

Hey members!

Here’s my livestream for the Notion API where I guide you through how to use Shortcuts with the Notion API.

Hey members!

Here’s my livestream for the Notion API where I guide you through how to use Shortcuts with the Notion API.

We covered API basics, learned details on Notion’s specific JSON architecture, and experimented with the type of content we create in Notion – we ended up with three shortcuts (linked for members):

  • Copy Notion Database ID
  • Open Notion Page
  • Add Notion Page

Catch the replay below to go back through everything – and check out part 2 as well.

Access the stream by becoming a member – plus you’ll get access to all the members-only shortcuts plus:

  • New shortcuts on an ongoing basis
  • Extra ways to browse the catalog when you’re signed in
  • Prerelease notes & workflows I’m putting together
  • Exclusive livestreams teaching you more about Shortcuts
Categories
Newsletter Offsite Podcasts

Smart Tech Today 78: Project CHIP Rebrands as Matter ?

On episode 78 of Smart Tech Today, Rosemary (in for Mikah) and I talked about:
– Project CHIP’s new name – Matter
– Amazon’s Sidewalk network and new product releases
– Apple’s AirTags and Rosemary’s 3D printing adventure

Categories
Newsletter

What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #034

Hello folks,

This week we’re in the shortcut dip between new Apple products shipping – but that just leaves more room for Shortcuts fun really.

Next week I’ll have more fun stuff to share, especially as we head towards the summer beta season – and be on the lookout for new streams in the calendar too: