Announcing the Shortcuts Field Guide, iOS 13 Edition



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I’m pleased to announce the release of the new iOS 13 edition of the Shortcuts Field Guide.

The Short Pitch for the New Field Guide

The new Shortcuts Field guide was shot entirely new with the new Shortcuts for iOS 13. Apple changed a lot and it is all covered in this field guide:

  • Over 6 hours of downloadable video tutorials

  • New materials for both beginners and advanced users

  • New Downloadable Shortcuts

  • So much Automation

As a blog reader, you get a limited-time $5 discount with the code “BLOGSHORTS”.

If you want to go straight to the course now, here you go.

If you’d like further explanation, read on …

Mobile Automation Is within Your Grasp.

Apple continues to put the gas down on iOS automation. The iOS 13 version of 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 in iOS 13:

  • 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 107 lovingly crafted screencasts totaling over six 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

The Shortcuts Field Guide is Now Available for Purchase.

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