Apple Intents and shortcuts explain. Also explain about widgets
Generated on 7/31/2024
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App Intents and Shortcuts
App Intents are a foundational framework that allows developers to expose their app's core features to various system experiences outside of the app itself. This includes integration with Siri, Spotlight, the action button, widgets, and the Shortcuts app. By defining app intents, developers can make their app's functionality accessible in a more seamless and integrated manner across the Apple ecosystem.
Key Points about App Intents:
- Definition: An app intent consists of a summary of what it does, starting with the app followed by a verb, and includes the parameters that people need to fill out before the intent is run (Design App Intents for system experiences).
- Integration: App intents can be combined with other intents into shortcuts to create powerful new flows (Design App Intents for system experiences).
- Features: They enable features like Siri, shortcuts, widgets, and more, allowing users to interact with the app even when they are not actively using it (Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents).
- Code Sharing: The app intents framework allows developers to share code between different features, making it easier to support multiple functionalities with the same code base (Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents).
Widgets
Widgets are a way to present glanceable information and quick actions from your app directly on the home screen or in the control center. They are powered by app intents, which means they can share code and functionality with other system features.
Key Points about Widgets:
- Home Screen Widgets: These allow users to add information or actions from your app directly to their home screen (Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents).
- Control Center: Widgets can also be added to the control center, providing quick access to app functionalities (Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents).
Sessions Mentioned
- Design App Intents for system experiences
- Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents
- Bring your app to Siri
These sessions provide a comprehensive overview of how to design and implement app intents, integrate them with system features like Siri and widgets, and ensure a seamless user experience across the Apple ecosystem.
Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents
Learn the principles of the App Intents framework, like intents, entities, and queries, and how you can harness them to expose your app’s most important functionality right where people need it most. Find out how to build deep integration between your app and the many system features built on top of App Intents, including Siri, controls and widgets, Apple Pencil, Shortcuts, the Action button, and more. Get tips on how to build your App Intents integrations efficiently to create the best experiences in every surface while still sharing code and core functionality.
Design App Intents for system experiences
App Intents power system experiences in controls, Spotlight, Siri, and more. Find out how to identify the functionality that’s best for App Intents, and how to use parameters to make these intents flexible. Learn how to use App Intents to allow people to take action outside your app, and see examples of when to navigate into your app to show contextual information.
Bring your app to Siri
Learn how to use App Intents to expose your app’s functionality to Siri. Understand which intents are already available for your use, and how to create custom intents to integrate actions from your app into the system. We’ll also cover what metadata to provide, making your entities searchable via Spotlight, annotating onscreen references, and much more.