{"id":43051,"date":"2024-05-01T16:08:28","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T20:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=43051"},"modified":"2024-05-01T16:08:28","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T20:08:28","slug":"the-joy-of-shortcuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/05\/01\/the-joy-of-shortcuts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Joy of Shortcuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jarrod Blundy<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I love building shortcuts. I have 579 of them in my personal library at the moment, and I’d guess that I built or modified about half of those at some point or another. Between my HeyDingus Shortcuts Library<\/a> and my old home on RoutineHub<\/a>, I’ve shared over 40 of them publicly, thinking that maybe someone else will find these little tools helpful.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

But mostly, it just lights up my brain in a way that few other things do. […] And I enjoyed every second of getting them just right<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Via Federico Viticci<\/a>:<\/p>\n

For me, despite the (many) issues of the Shortcuts app<\/a> on all platforms, the reason I can’t pull myself away from it is that there’s nothing<\/em> else like it on any modern computing platform (yes, I have tried Tasker<\/a> and Power Automate<\/a> and, no, I did not like them). Shortcuts appeals to that part of my brain that loves it when a plan comes together and different things happen in succession.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

I love automating things and have used many utilities to do so, going<\/a> back<\/a> to<\/a> classic Mac OS. These days I mostly rely on AppleScript and shell scripts. For whatever reason, Shortcuts just does not fit my brain. I found Automator intuitive but limited. Shortcuts, not being language-based, is also limited, but it’s seemingly much more powerful than Automator. However, I find it confusing to use, the app’s interface doesn’t feel right for a Mac app, and I wish shortcuts were saved as files.<\/p>\n

It’s also a pity that some functionality—e.g. HomeKit—is not available from AppleScript or shell tools, only via Shortcuts.<\/p>\n\n

Joe Rosensteel<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I love Shortcuts. I love WiFi device names. I love conflict resolution when I didn’t edit the Shortcut on either of those dates.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n