Limitations of IOS Shortcuts

Shortcuts add a scripting layer on top of iOS (and macOS but I don’t use that) that can be executed across any app or screen. I use this for creating notes, getting a calendar link, and copying snippets from Alfred.

There are some pretty substantial limitations I’ve had to work around.

  • Inserting text into the currently running app is not allowed. The only way to get text into an input from a shortcut is to copy the results to the clipboard and paste it.
  • Returning to the previous app is not possible so you can’t run a shortcut that opens other apps and then return to the original location. There is not workaround unless you explicitely know where you want to return to.
  • With Siri, you have to pause until the request to run a shortcut is acknowledged so you can’t say “Capture todo, the universe isn’t infinite” you have to say “Capture todo” then wait, then say “the universe isn’t infinite”.