Latest Update, August 2022 on iOS 15
Mobile Automation Is within Your Grasp.
Apple continues to put the gas down on iOS automation. Shortcuts represents a significant improvement over the prior version. Best of all, anyone can do it. Shortcuts does not rely on scripting languages but instead a common-sense approach to Automation. Here are just a few possible things you can do with Shortcuts:
- Get an automatic weather report for the location of tomorrow’s appointments
- Block schedule an entire week
- Put your iPhone into focus mode when you connect to a coffee shop’s WiFi
- Build simple apps, like a self-creating packing list customized for you
- Automate your meetings
- Automate sending a message when you are running late with an accurate, automatically generated ETA.
These are just a few examples of what you can do with Shortcuts, and all of these examples (along with many others) are included among the many video lessons in this course.
With Shortcuts, you can automate just about anything. In addition to teaching you all of the mechanics of Shortcuts, this course includes many walkthroughs of automation workflows you can use, download, or alter to automate your own iPhone and iPad.
There are 125+ lovingly crafted screencasts totaling over seven hours of content. Each tutorial includes a full transcript and closed captioning. Where appropriate, the tutorials also include downloadable Shortcuts that you can install and run alongside the video.
Course Outline:
1. Introduction
Learn the basics of Shortcuts, including installation and interface. This section covers basic application concepts and how it organizes your Shortcuts. Also, build your first Shortcut.
2. Shortcuts Key Concepts
Shortcuts is a simplified type of programming, and there are several basic, key concepts you’ll want to know to get the most out of it. This section covers those basics, including the Shortcuts programming model, variables, magic variables, conversational shortcuts, share sheet-based shortcuts, and more.
3. Triggers
With Shortcuts, there are a lot of ways to kick off your automation. It can be something you physically trigger, such as a button on your screen, or something automated, like at a specific time or when you connect your phone to WiFi (or CarPlay!) or tap your phone against an NFC sticker. It’s brilliant. This section includes sixteen videos explaining every possible Shortcuts trigger.
4. Actions
Once you have figured out all of the triggers, you will want to start making your iPhone and iPad dance. Just like triggers, Shortcuts is capable of so many actions including the ability to control applications; control settings; add notifications; type text; get directions; create and modify calendar events, bulk adjust photos; make a better share sheet; automate mail; and so much more. There is so much that Shortcuts can do. This section includes 28 videos showing off all of Shortcuts’s tricks.
5. Advanced Concepts
Shortcuts is a lot more powerful than you may think. Once you work through the basic concepts, triggers, and actions, it’s time to dig in on advanced concepts like nesting, programming logic, URL schemes, Base64, regular expressions, and more. This section demystifies some of Shortcuts’s more powerful tools so anyone can use them.
6. Useful Shortcuts
Here you will find a laundry list of useful shortcuts. This section includes 32 screencasts of helpful walkthroughs and downloadable scripts to get more out of your iPhone and iPad. You can download and start using these scripts immediately, or use all of the knowledge that you will have picked up to customize these scripts and make them your own.
7. Conclusion
Learn about more Shortcuts resources.
Here is the course, by the numbers:
- Over 6 hours of streaming or downloadable video
- 107 separate videos, 7 separate sections
- Many downloadable shortcuts
- Heaps of dangerous knowledge, tricks, and hacks to make your iPhone and iPad dance
Your Instructor
"If you want to use your iPhone to help you get more stuff done, more easily by using automation then you need David’s new Shortcuts Field Guide. It’s an absolute Godsend!"
— Ernie Svenson, Ernie the Attorney
"In his new Shortcuts Field Guide, David Sparks updates what was already an excellent course into an even more solid way to learn how to make the most of your iOS devices. Learning how to use iOS Shortcuts well can really transform your device into a powerhouse. David has honed his Field Guide courses into a science, presenting what would otherwise be complex into a set of well-constructed stepwise pieces."
— Kourosh Dini, M.D., Author, Creating Flow with OmniFocus
"…unsurprisingly, it’s really good. If you want to take a crack at learning what Shortcuts can do, this is the place to start."
— Stephen Hackett, 512 Pixels
"If you get into the kind of automation I offer on this blog, or maybe wish you did if it weren’t for all the coding, then Shortcuts on iOS is either on your radar or should be. And David Sparks has just the thing."
— Brett Terpstra, BrettTerpstra.com
"This comes just in time for me — I confess to not knowing very much about Shortcuts. And I really need to learn! There couldn’t be anything better for that than a David Sparks Field Guide."
— Brent Simmons, Innesential.com
"This [Shortcuts] iOS automation feature still seems like a black box to me, but MacSparky covers in depth in digestible video nuggets."
— Jeff Carlson, jeffcarlson.com
"I’ve learned so much from David over the years, I had no problem plunking down thecourse fee. The course was more than worth the price."
— Dr. Jeff Taekman, Workflows in Personal and Professional Productivity
"David Sparks has done it again. He’s just released a brand new Shortcuts Field Guide specifically geared towards iOS 13.... I can tell you it’s intense. There is a LOT of great video here."
— Joe Buhlig, JoeBuhlig.com
"All of David Sparks’ Field Guides are gems, but the updated Shortcuts Guide is the Hope Diamond. David explains concepts that at first may seem complex in such a clear and calm manner that in the end, the lightbulb goes off and I say, 'I got that!' I am a complete fan, and will continue to study with him forever."
— Grace
"I've learned so much from these videos. Indeed, the best way to learn about creating shortcuts is to watch a video in which someone like David shows and explains how everything works. Plus, his course includes lots of sample shortcuts that you can download and modify to meet your specific needs. There are 107 separate videos in seven different sections, and you can either watch the videos in order or just jump to the ones that interest you the most."
— Jeff Richardson, iPhone J.D.
"If you want to make your own Shortcuts, and — perhaps more importantly– if you want to understand the way that Shortcuts works on a conceptual level, then what you want is someone who can walk you through the process. Ideally, you would like to be able to watch as someone who knows what they are doing goes through the steps of building both simple and more complicated shortcuts.
'Shortcuts Field Guide, iOS13 Edition' is David Sparks’ instructional tour, which begins with the “whys and hows” of the foundational pieces, then works up to the intermediate level of specific features and functions, and finally opens the throttle to show you the new advanced triggers and automation power which were never possible before. All along the way, you’ll get to watch how he works, and as he works he explains the choices that he makes, and why. This is the guide that I wanted and needed to get me ready for the next chapter of Shortcuts on the iPhone and iPad."
— TJ Luoma, Rhymes With Diploma
"I'm very impressed with the quality and depth of content in the Shortcuts field guide. As someone who is prone to tinkering by myself, I'm so glad I bought this course. Not only does it have encyclopedia-like depth that has saved me countless hours of searching, the video content and organization is something I keep referring to as I expand my skills."
— Ryan C.
Course Materials
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PreviewIntroduction (6:20)
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StartHow to Watch This Course (4:50)
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StartHow to Download Course Videos (2:42)
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StartDownloading Sample Shortcuts (13.1) (4:49)
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StartShortcuts and iOS 13.1 (1:28)
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StartShortcuts and iOS 14 (14) (1:02)
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PreviewiPhone Interface (14) (6:39)
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StartiPad Interface (14) (6:16)
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StartThe iOS 15 Editor Changes (iOS 15) (1:52)
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PreviewFirst Shortcut (5:43)
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StartThe Shortcuts Gallery (3:55)
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StartFolder Organization (14) (3:07)
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StartThe Shortcuts Widget (14) (5:01)
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StartSplit Screen Shortcuts (14) (0:55)
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StartCopy and Paste Shortcut Actions (14) (1:34)
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StartCollapsing Actions (15) (0:50)
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StartThe iPad Sidebar (15) (0:40)
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StartNew Variable Inspector (15) (2:08)
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PreviewKey Concepts Overview (0:33)
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PreviewNew Programming Model (7:21)
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StartVariables (8:18)
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StartMagic Variables (5:09)
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StartShortcuts on the Home Screen (2:06)
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StartShare Sheet Triggers (6:04)
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StartConversational Shortcuts (5:59)
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StartComments (1:52)
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StartSuggested Shortcuts (13.1) (2:50)
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StartShortcuts Inputs in iOS 15 (15) (1:57)
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PreviewTriggers Overview (0:58)
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StartAutomatic Automation (14) (2:28)
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PreviewOn-Screen Buttons (4:09)
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StartTrigger by Voice Command (2:33)
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StartTime-Based Triggers (3:13)
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StartAlarm-Based Triggers (2:54)
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StartApple Watch Workout (1:37)
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StartArrive and Leave Triggers (1:51)
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StartThe "Before I Commute" Trigger (2:10)
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StartCarPlay Connection as Trigger (1:34)
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StartAirplane Mode Trigger (2:15)
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StartWiFi-Based Triggers (2:21)
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StartBluetooth Connection as a Trigger (2:07)
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StartDo Not Disturb as a Trigger (2:07)
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StartLow Power Mode as a Trigger (2:23)
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StartNFC as Trigger (3:48)
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StartOpen Application as a Trigger (1:27)
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StartClose Application Trigger (14) (2:49)
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StartCharger Connect Trigger (14) (2:50)
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StartBattery Level Trigger (14) (4:20)
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StartEmail Triggers (14) (2:34)
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StartMessage Triggers (14) (3:18)