How To Mac

Best Shortcuts for Mac

Written by John

The Shortcuts app has brought the power of automation to the Mac. It was previously available only on iPhone and iPad. With macOS Monterey, the app is available for Mac users looking to automate a lot of tasks. The power to create macros for tasks that take multiple steps and share shortcuts with others truly has a big impact on everyday activities. You can be free to focus more on creative work and let automation handle manual and repetitive tasks.

Many shortcuts can be created to take care of your custom needs. Depending on the kind of repetitive manual work you have, you can automate tasks and save time spent constantly switching between multiple apps.

While users can personalize their shortcuts, there are a few highly useful shortcuts for Mac users. The best shortcuts for Mac save users a lot of time and allow them to focus more on tasks that require creative skills.

Best Shortcuts for Mac

With the Shortcuts app, Mac users can create automation rules for regular tasks that take time to complete. You can take care of repetitive tasks by creating macros. We’ve tried various shortcuts and believe that the following are the best shortcuts for Mac.

1. Quickly Create a Short Links

Copy and Share your Short Links

When you share links regularly with others and don’t want to reveal the original URL, it is highly recommended to create short links. With the power of automation, you can make your life and work easier by automating Bitly short links creation.

The Shortcuts app on macOS Monterey, Python 3, and Bitly API Code are everything needed to create Bitly short links. You need to get a generic access token from Bitly, download and install Python 3, and use the Shortcuts app to set up the automation rules.

2. Share URL or Clipboard with QR Code

Create QR Code to Share URL or Clipboard on Shortcuts App

While a shortened look with a URL shortener may not look professional, a QR code never fails to make an impression. When you want to share URLs and Clipboard content without revealing the actual content, you can do it with QR codes.

A QR code can be created which upon scanning can give the recipient access to the URL or Clipboard content. By using QR codes, you don’t need to fully disclose the information you’re sharing with others and only give them access when they scan the code.

3. Create a QR Code to Connect to Wi-Fi on Mac

Create a QR Code to Connect to Wi-Fi on Mac

QR codes have a square-shaped grid where information is stored as pixels. It can be read from top to bottom and right to left and can store more data than barcodes. The information stored can include passwords, website URLs, phone numbers, etc.

You can create a QR code to give others access to your Wi-Fi. By using a QR code, you don’t have to disclose your password and still allow others to connect to your network.

4. Make a GIF on Mac with the Shortcuts App

Save GIF File

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) image files have grown in popularity due to their ability to convey information and emotions more expressively. Social media sites and phone keyboards have integrated GIFs to provide users with a more engaging experience.

Since GIFs are easier to create and compatible with all browsers, a lot of people use them to communicate effectively. While these image files can be created in many ways, the Shortcuts app on macOS Monterey allows Mac users to create GIFs with ease. You need to select the image files you need to create GIFs.

5. Create a Text File From Clipboard Content

Sometimes you need to simplify tasks and reduce the number of clicks to complete certain work. One such task that you may want to simplify is creating a text file with the Clipboard content.

Though seemingly an easy task to accomplish, when you need to manually create many text files throughout the day with the Clipboard content, you will understand how powerful simple automation can be to create a text file from Clipboard content.

6. Open Favorite Music Playlist

Instead of opening iTunes on macOS Monterey, finding your favorite playlist, and playing songs, you can automate the process and in a couple of clicks play your favorite songs. The Shortcuts app allows Mac users to open their favorite music playlist and listen to music while they continue to focus on other tasks.

7. Read News Reader

The Shortcuts app has a newsreader shortcut. You can modify the shortcut to make your custom RSS newsreader. Choose the website from the RSS feeds and select an article to read the news.

Modification to the shortcut is possible. You need to enter the websites that you want to read news from, the URLs to the RSS feeds, and the number of news articles to fetch from the feed.

You have the ability to customize each field, add filters to show articles from certain authors, include articles with certain words, and much more. You can also change the preferred browser to read the news.

8. Delayed Messages

There’s always something exciting about wishing someone a ‘Happy Birthday’ at midnight. However, what if your special someone lives far away from you in a different time zone. You don’t want to forget their birthday and want to wish them when they step into a new birth year.

Use a Shortcut to send delayed message to your contacts. When you run the Shortcut, you are prompted to input the contact whom you want to text, your message, and the scheduled time.

Though you can schedule delayed messages to wish your contacts at midnight, you cannot attach any media files including GIFs and videos. You also need to keep the Shortcuts app running in the background on your Mac for the delayed messages to be delivered.

These are the best shortcuts for Mac that save time and allow you to focus better on other important tasks. By removing the need to repeatedly do manual work, you free yourself from working for hours to accomplish tasks that can be done far more efficiently with automated systems.

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