There are a myriad of ways to launch a shortcut, including the shortcut program, Siri and widgets. But the fastest way is to use a shortcut on the home screen. Here’s how you can use shortcuts directly from the iPhone and iPad home screen.
There is a clear advantage to starting shortcuts directly from the home screen. If you use iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3 or later, you can run and use keyboard shortcuts without actually opening the Shortcuts app. If it’s a hassle-free, interaction-free shortcut, the shortcut will just work on its own and you will see a notification.
If it’s an interactive shortcut, you’ll see a compact UI map at the top of the screen where you can select, enter data, and more. The shortcut widget also offers the same features, but it takes up a lot of space. You can have four shortcut icons instead of a single shortcut widget.
You can add a shortcut to the home screen (with a custom name and icon) from the shortcut program.
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Open the “Shortcuts” application on your iPhone or iPad (you can do this quickly with the Universal Search feature.).
Go to the “My Shortcuts” tab and tap the three-point menu button of the shortcut you want to add to your home screen.
Tap the three-point menu button in the upper right corner of the screen.
Select the “Add to Home Screen” button on the “Details” screen.
On this page you can customize the shortcut icon and its name. Tap the icon to change it.
You can add an icon from the Files application, or you can select a photo in the Photos app. In this example we will be using the Photos app. Tap on the “Select photo” option.
Select the photo you want to use as an icon.
You can now zoom in or out if you want. Then tap the “Select” button.
You can change the name of the shortcut if you want. Once done, select the “Add” button.
The shortcut will now be added to the home screen. Tap the keyboard shortcut on your home screen to perform the keyboard shortcut.
If you no longer need the shortcut, simply hold down the keyboard shortcut and select the “Delete bookmark” option.
In the popup message, tap the “Delete” button. The shortcut will now be removed from your home screen.
Third-party shortcuts are the best part of using the Shortcuts app. You can add additional features to your iPhone or iPad without doing anything! Here’s how you can find great shortcuts from third parties and add to them.
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