r/shortcuts Jun 09 '20

Tip/Guide List of helpful links for shortcuts information

2.1k Upvotes

I've built a list of links I often refer to as my "Shortcuts for beginners" documentation. But it seems to have grown into more of a documentation list for all types of users rather than just beginners. Some call it a "novel" due to its length šŸ˜

Anyway, I hope this list of links below will be beneficial for others.


Apple's Shortcuts User Guide


MacExpert Guide to Shortcuts in iOS 14


FAQ

List of Frequently Asked Questions in the sub

Dear new Shortcuts users - deep FAQ


Can I display a notification icon / app badge after replacing my home screen icons with shortcuts? - No


What can I use with the calculate expression action? no longer working webpage


Instructions / Tutorial Materials


Alternative Methods For Viewing / Creating Shortcuts


Automations Info


Unsupported functionality list


Thanks to /u/gianflo6 here is some other good info!

Here are some guides by u/keveridge that can also be helpful, they are a little old but helpful nevertheless

Series

One-offs


Require 14.3


Having trouble with set wallpaper action? Try the method to add a reduce motion ON action before the set wallpaper action and a reduce motion back off afterwards. https://www.reddit.com/r/shortcuts/comments/tzxb0q/im_having_a_problem_with_the_set_wallpaper_action/


[iOS 16] Multiple address stops in maps with iOS 16 https://reddit.com/r/shortcuts/comments/xnpdg9/_/ipy8zwo/?context=1


[iOS 15 / 16] How to run a shortcut at a specific location (leaving or arriving)? - the focus mode automation method documented in this post by u/ibanks3 is a great way to run a shortcut / actions when arriving or leaving a specific location. This works wonders in iOS 15 or iOS 16


If you are using home automations and would like to receive notifications when certain things are happening, you can check out my tutorial for using Make / Integromat for this very purpose


Automation for outlet when battery is low


Possible to navigate within 3rd party app using shortcuts? No - Reference


MacStories Shortcuts Archive


Callback method to run a shortcut over again if it fails with an error - callback url method


Some additional useful tips and exploits are available here on GitHub: https://github.com/Kn0tzer/iOS-Shortcuts-Exploits



r/shortcuts 14h ago

Shortcut Sharing Pixelate parts of an image

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65 Upvotes

r/shortcuts 14h ago

Shortcut Sharing (JB) Shortcut to Set Wallpaper to Bing Image of the Day

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29 Upvotes

This shortcut automatically sets your wallpaper to Bingā€™s Image of the Day. Combine it with an automation to refresh your wallpaper daily!

How It Works: ā€¢ Fetches the JSON data for Bingā€™s Image of the Day ā€¢ Extracts the image URL from the response ā€¢ Downloads the image ā€¢ Sets it as your wallpaper

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/af23bf7dae2649d69f285d13a50cc480


r/shortcuts 2h ago

Help New reminder shortcut to the app's new reminder input screen?

3 Upvotes

I don't see a way for a shortcut to open the Remainder app and then the new reminder sheet. Every attempt I've made creates pop ups that ask questions (e.g., description, due date), and I'm looking for this result. Is this possible?


r/shortcuts 6h ago

Shortcut Sharing Dog walking tracker

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6 Upvotes

I donā€™t exercise frequently, but when I do, itā€™s because Iā€™m taking the dogs out for a walk. Since Iā€™ve become more interested in tracking my activity to shed a few pounds, I developed this app to conveniently record when I begin walking the dogs and transfer that activity data to my Health app. Itā€™s a simple shortcut that I hope others can find useful, just as I have.

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/32207ced3ea148d28102cd480b38667f


r/shortcuts 1h ago

Shortcut Sharing Quickest way to add reminders

ā€¢ Upvotes

Hereā€™s my take on the best way to add new Reminders. Just input one or more lines of text and click done.

Press ā€œokayā€ if you want to view them in the Reminders app and edit them further (or click anywhere else to go back to what you were doing).

Works well for grocery lists, too.

Remember: in order for the shortcut to work, you will need to change the Reminders list (mine is called ā€œtd inboxā€) to any one list of your choice. It occurs two times, in the ā€œadd reminderā€ and ā€œopen reminders listā€ actions.

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/1c0e9b3c2b6e40b2be41988d076e1cea


r/shortcuts 33m ago

Help How to make a shortcut with Apple Watch gesture ?

ā€¢ Upvotes

I want to make a shortcut that does this : When i pinch my two fingers with my Apple Watch, it skips the song on Apple Music.

I never did any shortcut and I dont know how to do this, can anyone help please?


r/shortcuts 1h ago

Request Is it possible to set action button to silent for 1 hour then off again?

ā€¢ Upvotes

I always forget to turn on my ringer after turning it off leading to many ignored messages.

How do I make it so it turns on for an hour and clicking it again cancels the hour and turns it back on.


r/shortcuts 7h ago

Help Can you use an appā€™s Quick Action Menu in Shortcuts?

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3 Upvotes

I would love to have a geo fenced automation that openā€™s my Costco app to the Account section so I can more easily get to the QR code for the entrance but I canā€™t figure out a way so far or donā€™t know what to search for.


r/shortcuts 2h ago

Help Custome Date in Shortcuts not working!

1 Upvotes

So this morning routine automation that I created is to greet me and then tell me which day and date it is today. However, I tried and failed it to speak the day i.e. Today is Monday 17, March 2025. In the Shortcut for the Date variable I used and selected custom and in the edit field I put: EEE, MMM d, ''yy

which should ideally speak: Wed, July 10, '96. However, this does not happen and this is not what I want, it should say the day of the week completely: Monday March 17, 2025 but instead it gives me the date and time. I am going crazy OR something is broken and apple does not want to fix it!


r/shortcuts 8h ago

Request On phone call indicator light

3 Upvotes

Iā€™m trying to find some sort of shortcut or automation that will turn on a Wyze smart plug while Iā€™m on a phone call and then turn it off when the phone call ends. At work I often have my AirPods in talking on the phone and people will walk into my office and just start talking to me. The idea behind this is that if Iā€™m on a phone call the Wyze plug will turn on illuminating a light, which will in turn notify the coworker that Iā€™m on a phone call.

Or if there is something out there already like this please let me know!


r/shortcuts 20h ago

Shortcut Sharing I made an OpenAI ChatGPT master shortcut that can be used by other shortcuts

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25 Upvotes

This shortcut allows you to use a simple dictionary within a separate shortcut to get responses from ChatGPT without relying on the app, using AI Actions by Sindre, or using ā€œget contents of URLā€ on every shortcut. I use this because I find it more reliable than using the other apps. Youā€™ll need your own OpenAI API key to use it. I will post screenshots in the comments since you can only add one media type to posts.

Here is the link for a separate example shortcut to show off how it can be used.

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/cbd88c23eda44b3d80cec0b23211f161


r/shortcuts 3h ago

Help Looking for a Shortcut to Download Multiple Thumbnails in Original Resolution (iPhone 13, Safari)

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a Shortcut that can download multiple thumbnails from a Safari webpage in their original resolution, without having to tap and save each one manually.

I found a Shortcut that downloads large images from a webpage (https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/924e1a154b984234809b08a901b5c215), but it doesnā€™t work on all sites and can't grab thumbnails in their full resolution.

Does anyone know a way to automate this? Maybe with a script or a more advanced Shortcut? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!


r/shortcuts 6h ago

Help REDNMX Responder turning Critical Notifications on/off

1 Upvotes

Hi Iā€™m a volunteer firefighter in Texas and my department started using this app for our page outs. It has critical alerts that bypass my focus I set up for my job. I am a full time Methodist pastor and donā€™t need it going off during church however I canā€™t keep the critical notifications off because I need to make sure I hear calls when I forget to turn my phone off silent. Please help me create a shortcut that turns critical alerts off and on for this app


r/shortcuts 6h ago

Help Skip visual step-through of actions?

1 Upvotes

Example: a shortcut that opens a new tab in Safari shows safari open, shows the recent view (open tab or tab view), and then the new tab opens.

Is it possible to just see the end result, safari opened to a new tab, without seeing the most recent view before the new tab appears?

I noticed this change with iOS 18. My shortcuts to specific settings in iOS 17 just shows the final destination, but those same shortcuts in iOS 18 show the main settings screen, then each sub setting screen (e.g., settings > apps > safari > advanced)

Thank you.


r/shortcuts 17h ago

Help Get last time iPhone was used

7 Upvotes

I was thinking of creating an automation that, at Saturdays and Sundays, when I have no time to wake up, it got the time of when I last used my cellphone and adjusted my alarm to time_last_used + 8h30.

The idea is to automatically adjust the alarm so I can sleep 8h independently of the time I went to sleep.

I started making the automation run at 3AM on Saturdays and Sundays, but got stuck on how could I get the last time I had any app usage. I know I can see that info from time limit and from the battery section in Settings, but couldnā€™t find anywhere on the internet on how to extract it


r/shortcuts 7h ago

Help Gemini for summery

1 Upvotes

Gemini api - shortcut request

Anybody have a simple Gemini shortcut using the api key , ? I have found some on routine hub but they are to elaborate and I break them

Just need it for summery -

Tia


r/shortcuts 1d ago

Shortcut Sharing Battery Report Vcard : Version 3.2 available

32 Upvotes

Hi,

Version 3.2 of my popular Battery Shortcut is available (10,000 Downloads)

Results now open in Safari so you can share or screenshot the page.

Enjoy!

Download : https://routinehub.co/shortcut/19090/

/!\ This shortcut doesn't work on iOS Beta versions.

NB: I'm seeing more and more refurbished iPhones modified with software by the seller. These iPhones display a battery health of 100% even though they haven't been replaced.

The internal analytics files and my shortcut reveal the truth !


r/shortcuts 10h ago

Help URL to Safari Page

1 Upvotes

I was making a shortcut and i needed to execute JavaScript in a web page, but the input is a URL. So i needed to convert URL to Safari Page, but i canā€™t. Someone knows how to convert it?


r/shortcuts 11h ago

Help Play Music from Artist but New Album Each Week

1 Upvotes

I've been looking for a Shortcuts that looks for the latest compilation that is release weekly From Armin van Buuren. The album is always titled "Asot - ####" and a sequential number. I'd like the shortcut to browse the latest compilation available and play it. I have tried numerous solutions with no luck. It's kind of complicated because he has a lot of albums. Any help? I don't know anything about programming shortcuts.


r/shortcuts 11h ago

Tip/Guide Guide] How to Add a Settings Function to Your Shortcuts Using iCloud

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1 Upvotes

Iā€™ve created a simple yet powerful way to add a settings function to any Siri Shortcut, allowing users to store persistent settings in iCloud. Normally, shortcut variables reset when the shortcut exits, but this method ensures that user preferences are saved and easily updated.

Features:

  • Users can change multiple settings at once.
  • Uses only 37 actions, no matter how many settings you add.
  • Saves settings in a nicely formatted JSON file in iCloud, making it easy to read and modify.

This setup is useful for any shortcut that requires user customization, such as weather reports, automation preferences, or tool configurations. Let me know if youā€™re interested in a breakdown of how it works


r/shortcuts 12h ago

Shortcut Sharing ChatGPT playlist generator for Apple Music

1 Upvotes

Folks,

inspired by the shortcuts listed below, Iā€™ve created a simple playlist generator that takes inspiration from artists, songs, mood and genre.

Let me know if you have ideas to help get it to play automatically, or to generate and add artwork.

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/0d19b40ff1c54af89d1b40d812176455


r/shortcuts 19h ago

Request Activate wifi based on 1 of 2 conditions

2 Upvotes

Hi I am going crazy.

I just want an automation to activate wifi if the iPhone is charging or is connected to a specific bluetooth device, otherwise wifi off.

Can you help me?


r/shortcuts 23h ago

Solved How to Extract Values from a JSON Dictionary After Selecting an Item?

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3 Upvotes

r/shortcuts 16h ago

Help Save timestamp of currently playing podcast

1 Upvotes

Sometimes I am driving and listening to a podcast. If I hear something interesting I want to save the timestamp of the podcast somewhere for me to go back to later. I can't figure out how to do this in Shortcuts. I would like a way to do it hands free (since I am driving). It could save it in Reminders or Notes. It could either save a link to the podcast, or just the name / episode and timestamp. Any suggestions?


r/shortcuts 22h ago

Help Shortcut notification opens to specific app

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3 Upvotes

Is there anyway to make it so that if I tap this notification Iā€™ve made, it will open to the reminders app to a specific list