Category: Offsite

After last week’s outage with Shortcuts links shared online, I received a statement from Apple on the manner:

“We are aware of an issue where previously shared shortcuts are currently unavailable. Newly shared shortcuts are available, and we are working to restore previously shared shortcuts as quickly as possible.”

Since then, they seem to have begun restoring access to previous iCloud links (according to Federico Viticci’s tweets).

It was good to see Apple give a proper response to the situation as well as promptly begin fixing things – although I haven’t received any official statement as a follow-up, so it’s unclear whether it has been fully resolved yet.

I hope Apple also reconsiders making .shortcut files available to install locally so users don’t have to rely on links instead of actual files for the multitude of programs that they spend time and effort creating with this app.

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

Hello all – we’re currently experiencing a fairly major outage for iCloud links related to Shortcuts, and at the moment almost every shortcut that has been shared in the past cannot be installed.

There are articles from places like iMore, MacStories, 9to5Mac, and MacRumors on it – I posted on r/shortcuts as well to reiterate the issue to the community there.

I’ve also had to update my entire Shortcuts Catalog, and if you’ve seen any shortcuts from the past that aren’t working, let me know and I’ll see what I can do to recreate or restore them.

This is still developing and, while it does seem like it’s possible to resolve, I shared a thread where I highlighted how major issues like this are eroding the larger trust in Shortcuts, especially outside the current community – this is a crisis moment for Shortcuts.

I hope Apple is able to dedicate resources to fully overcoming the technical debt accrued inside the Shortcuts ecosystem, as well as restoring trust in the community – the people who are in this community and our ideas for how to use shortcuts are stronger than ever, but we’re constantly trying to stand on uneven ground.

So with that said, I want to celebrate this community and what they’re doing:

Hello all!

If you’re in the US, you might feel a little wobbly thanks to Daylight Saving Time – or if you’re somewhere it’s not used, all your US-based media just moved around an hour.

Thankfully I’ve got a new Daily Health shortcut that includes easier access to your Sleep data, as well as a way to set your alarms by the sunrise – I find I can’t help but wake up then anyways, so might as well get to sleep on time too!

Beyond that, there are some YouTube videos on Shortcuts for you to watch, as well as a challenge for you at the end:

Hello everyone!

After last week’s preview, I’ve officially launched my updated Shortcuts Library – check out the blog post to read my thoughts about the changes.

I’m also excited to start sharing the next batch of shortcuts with members—l’ll be putting out my Daily Health shortcut next issue—plus I’m starting in on new sections for the Catalog!

Until then, here’s some fun stuff to check out this week:

Hey everyone,

This week is lowkey one of my most exciting weeks for Shortcuts, despite a bit of a lull until the next version of iOS comes out…

Plus we’ve got some fun app updates for now and our ear towards the future:

I’ve finally done it! My whole Shortcuts library has been fully rebuilt according to my new system and I’m truly loving it – plus I figured out another level of what should go on my true Home Screens, so that’s been really exciting and already proving itself out in usefulness.

Thankfully David Sparks and Rosemary Orchard swooped in at just the right time and had me as a guest on the Automators podcast – look for the excellent conversation this Friday when the episode drops!

Until then, here’s two more of my new shortcuts and some great Shortcuts tips I found in the community – plus, look for the fully-updated Shortcuts Catalog coming very soon:

Hey there,

There’s a good amount of Shortcuts news this week, but there’s no pressure to learn it all right away – take what you want now and save the rest for later.

I’m putting together a bit more of a guided path through Shortcuts for folks like you soon, so absorb what sticks now and I’ll reinforce it with some good lessons down the line:

After the amazing results from the survey I sent around, I’ve made a few changes to this newsletter – first by moving it to Wednesday afternoon (PST) instead of Sunday evenings.

I’m also going to create less single-serving shortcuts and fewer but more powerful shortcuts that solve particular use cases & provide more continued utility over time.

In many ways, it’ll be the same content, condensed into bigger shortcuts that handle multiple tasks in one tool.

In addition, I’ll be taking some of the writing here and building it out more on my blog & other channels, then linking back to that each week – for example, I’ll be pausing my Scripting series here and turning it into more useful blog posts.

That being said, you’ll still see lots of inklings of future content in the newsletter in smaller tips as we go.

Thank you so much for being a subscriber and/or a member – with this helpful feedback and my new approach, I’m truly more excited than ever to synthesize and translate what I know into useful resources for you all:

This week was somewhat quiet on the Shortcuts front – there’s likely a new version of iOS coming out soon so we’re in the calm before the storm – but that won’t stop us from having fun with it.

This week I’ve got a set for better note-taking habits, working through Item actions in the Scripting category, links to Automations, some of my streaming shortcuts, and handwriting shortcuts for Members:

Believe it or not, we’re still just out of the second full calendar week of 2021 – it’s felt way longer than that though thanks to ~current events~.

This week was a bit quiet on the technology news front, but that just means more room for building up new routines with Shortcuts – here’s how I’m using it to gain momentum and avoid doing the same work twice:

Hello all – I’m assuming 2021 did not start off the way many of us expected.

I hope you all are taking care of yourselves and your loved ones as much as possible, which is always important but even more so during stressful times. Engage as needed, take breaks, and do what needs to be done:

Happy New Year!

I managed to hold off from working too much this last week and made sure to take more of the holiday off properly, which helped me get a little more perspective on last year and this upcoming one.

I hope you’re all giving any new endeavors the time they need to grow – I’m trying to take things slow and trust the process this year:

The end of this long year is finally here – hopefully everyone gets a chance at some downtime and rest.

Looking back, I am so glad that this Catalog I’ve created was a bright spot for me out of 2020. It took a lot of work, but I came out of this year with a permanent and linkable way for me to deliver my shortcuts along with extra information about the complexity that each entails – something I couldn’t otherwise do at scale before.

Now, over this break, I am taking some time to recharge… and use some of that space to organize my documentation around all things Siri Shortcuts. This new handbook will act as the foundation for future content around my videos, streams, podcasts, & this newsletter, as well as freelance writing for iMore that I’ll be starting up again in the new year – every bit I add makes me more excited.

So thank you all for joining me along the way, and I look forward to teaching you all as much as I can!

_P.S. Please feel free to respond to these newsletters with what you want to see – we’re all in this process of learning what it means to use Shortcuts in 2021 together._

Another fun week for Shortcuts users is complete – did any of you set up new shortcuts for the Home Screen once iOS 14.3 came out?

I want to see screenshots of your Home Screens—shortcuts or not—so reply to this email with yours and share some inspiration!

This is the week! Once iOS 14.3 drops, millions of people will update their smartphones and suddenly be able to create their “app ideas” by adding them as shortcuts to their Home Screen.

The main change? The limitation where “custom icons always open into Shortcuts first” is now gone!

Shortcuts added to the Home Screen actually behave like you’d expect, opening into apps immediately – plus they run all the scripting actions perfectly, just like the Shortcuts widget.

I’ve tried to capture my excitement in a video – look for it soon on YouTube. But until then, here’s what’s new in Shortcuts this week: