Automate macOS 12 with the Shortcuts app

Little Helpers

Conclusions

The Shortcuts app is a useful tool for automating repetitive tasks in everyday life and simplifying your work with macOS. Experienced admins and programmers who are used to the convenience of a full-blown development environment may be disappointed. For example, Shortcuts does not have a step debugger and does not return particularly meaningful error messages if something goes wrong. From an end user's point of view, Shortcuts nevertheless proves to be practical as long as the task is not too complex. My only regret is that not many third-party developers are looking to adapt their apps for Shortcuts right now. If you want more, you can use script actions to extend the functionality.

Infos

Intro to Shortcuts on Mac: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/shortcuts-mac/apdf22b0444c/5.0/mac/12.0
Importing Automator workflows: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/shortcuts-mac/apd02bffbaac/5.0/mac/12.0
Sharing shortcuts: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/shortcuts-mac/apdf01f8c054/5.0/mac/12.0
Customizing the privacy settings: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/shortcuts-mac/apd961a4fc65/mac

The Author

Christian Knermann is Head of IT-Management at Fraunhofer UMSICHT, a German research institute. He's written freelance about computing technology since 2006.

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