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Five Useful Siri Shortcuts for iOS 12

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The iOS 12 update brought a major new feature, Siri Shortcuts, which is designed to let you create voice and tap-activated automations that can complete multiple complex tasks in just a few seconds.

In our latest YouTube video, we've rounded up five Siri Shortcut options that we think most people will find interesting. These are a great place to start if you're new to Shortcuts.


Siri Shortcuts are available in the Shortcuts section of the Settings app (Settings > Siri & Search) and through the dedicated Shortcuts app, but you can also find great options on Reddit and other websites. The Shortcuts below have been sourced from multiple places.

- Calculate Tip - Perhaps one of the simplest Shortcuts available, Calculate Tip is available in the Shortcuts Gallery. When you activate this Shortcut, it will ask you the total bill and the amount that you want to tip (12%, 15%, 18%, or 20%) before providing you with the tip amount and the total bill with tip included.

- Convert Burst to GIF - With Convert Burst to GIF, sourced from Reddit, you can take a series of burst photos with the iPhone camera by holding down on the capture button and then convert them into a GIF. There are also shortcuts for doing the same thing with a Live Photo in the Shortcuts Gallery.

- Watch Music Video - The Watch Music Video Shortcut, also from Reddit, lets you detect the currently playing Apple Music song and then search for the accompanying music video on Apple Music. If a music video is found, it will open it up in the Apple Music app so you can watch it.

- What's Happening on Twitter - If you have the Twitter app installed, you can create a "See What's Happening" Shortcut that will allow you to view Twitter's Moments section with a Siri voice command. You can access this option by going to Settings > Siri & Search > Twitter > See All.

- Dark Sky Weather - With Dark Sky installed, you can see a weather forecast with information pulled from Dark Sky through a Siri voice command. As with Twitter, you can get to this option through the Siri & Search section of the Settings app. Assigning a command like "What's the weather today" to this third-party Shortcut will let you get weather data from Dark Sky rather than the built-in weather app when you ask Siri about the weather.

Many of the Shortcuts listed above can be tweaked and customized after you have downloaded them if desired, and you can assign Siri voice commands to activate them. For app-based Shortcuts, you can do this in the Settings app, and for longer Shortcuts that have multiple steps, you can add a Siri command in the Shortcuts app.

Do you have favorite Shortcuts that you've been using in iOS 12? Let us know in the comments and we may feature them in a future video.

Article Link: Five Useful Siri Shortcuts for iOS 12
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/02/five-useful-siri-shortcuts/
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Am I the only for whom the shortcuts work when I click on them in the app but not when I use Siri?

For example, clicking on the Shoot a GIF shortcut creates a gif but using Siri just opens the camera even though I recorded my voice to activate this shortcut.
 
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Damn clickbait. The thumbnail on twitter showed a laundry timer shortcut. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do timers that aren’t interrupted by doing other stuff when shortcuts doesn’t include any clock functions or app integration. The closest thing is the date function that includes time but I haven’t gotten that to work right as a timer in the background. And none of the 5 in the article are the ones from the thumbnail.
[doublepost=1538516096][/doublepost]I even searched “timer” in the gallery and there’s no results whatsoever.
[doublepost=1538516316][/doublepost]
RadicalxEdward said:
Damn clickbait. The thumbnail on twitter showed a laundry timer shortcut. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do timers that aren’t interrupted by doing other stuff when shortcuts doesn’t include any clock functions or app integration. The closest thing is the date function that includes time but I haven’t gotten that to work right as a timer in the background. And none of the 5 in the article are the ones from the thumbnail.
[doublepost=1538516096][/doublepost]I even searched “timer” in the gallery and there’s no results whatsoever.
Click to expand...
Nevermind. Lol I finally figured it out. The wait function combined with show notification will still work in the background even with YouTube playing.
 
BasicGreatGuy said:
While some here may find these shortcuts useful, I don't see any real use for them. It appears to be geared toward the younger user. A lot of the cited examples can be done manually a lot quicker than invoking the Siri shortcut, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
It really depends on the shortcut. Because it supports some extensive programming in it, you can do some advanced things. For instance I have one that can find a music album that I haven't listened to in a while based on the last played date. Information not accessible except through iTunes. Another one is to View Website source code, which only worked on a computer before. Some are just quicker ways of doing things, like one for logging my blood pressure. Instead of going to health app, finding vitals, finding blood pressure, adding data, I can just click/say the shortcut and add the data.
 
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My favorite two shortcuts on my iPhone:


-Saying “Let her know” where the shortcut gets my location, calculates the eta to my house and the time of arrival, and sends it in a text to my wife...extremely useful when I’m on the road (made it myself)


-YouTube downloader....self explanatory (found on reddit)
 
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Still useless for the watch correct? I couldn’t ever get it to trigger any installed on my phone through me watch.
 
I have a Shortcut where you can create a reminder from Notification Center. Pretty handy.

I know you can just ask Siri, but there’s some situations where it’s better to type it out.
 
One of my favorite shortcuts I built back when this was Workflow, is the ability to log my location on my calendar. Basically I created a new calendar and color called “check-ins”

I then tap a button in shortcuts that asks me to pick an option among Bars, Restaurants, Parks, etc. and an option to make my own search. Shortcuts then gets my location, gives me a bunch of options within 1 mile. I tap the place I’m at and it adds it to my calendar. Why do I do this? So I know what time I get somewhere. It’s pointless really but...

Another I use is to get the song I’m currently playing and search google for lyrics to it. Another is to create a gif of the current playlist in playing, eliminating duplicate album art. Another is to make a custom meme. This app has endless uses. I love this kind of one-touch stuff!
 
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I made changes to the Calculate Tip shortcut and added an "other" option, so that if you want to tip other percentage you can just input it and it will calculate it. Also, in the results, I added the original Bill amount, so now it says: Bill, Porcentage of tip and Total amount to pay.
 
One I use a lot: Remind me when I get home. It lets me enter a message and it will remind me about it when I get home, much faster this way than going through the annoying Reminders app where it takes a whole bunch of clicks to get the same thing done.

Another one: text someone by voice. I often text a specific person when I'm on my way home, probably driving, and can't text. So I press this button, say what I want, and it will transcode it to text and send it to the specific person.

Also fun: Say it in French. You press it, say something, and then it will say it back to you in French. Or any other language. It works surprisingly well, though it doesn't really have any real-world applications unless you're a lost tourist.
 
pablojavi said:
-Saying “Let her know” where the shortcut gets my location, calculates the eta to my house and the time of arrival, and sends it in a text to my wife...extremely useful when I’m on the road (made it myself)
Click to expand...

I have something similar that sends where I am to my wife and also calls her, really just for fun. I called it "ET Phone Home" :)
 
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pablojavi said:
My favorite two shortcuts on my iPhone:


-Saying “Let her know” where the shortcut gets my location, calculates the eta to my house and the time of arrival, and sends it in a text to my wife...extremely useful when I’m on the road (made it myself)
Click to expand...

Could you please share this shortcut?
[doublepost=1538519201][/doublepost]
baryon said:
One I use a lot: Remind me when I get home. It lets me enter a message and it will remind me about it when I get home, much faster this way than going through the annoying Reminders app where it takes a whole bunch of clicks to get the same thing done.

Another one: text someone by voice. I often text a specific person when I'm on my way home, probably driving, and can't text. So I press this button, say what I want, and it will transcode it to text and send it to the specific person.

Also fun: Say it in French. You press it, say something, and then it will say it back to you in French. Or any other language. It works surprisingly well, though it doesn't really have any real-world applications unless you're a lost tourist.
Click to expand...

2 of the 3 can be done without shortcuts, it's already been available in siri.

You can just say hey siri remind me to bla bla bla when I get home. and for the 2nd one you can just say, text someone <your message>.

You don't need shortcuts to use those.
 
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