what is a shortcut
Generated on 8/11/2024
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A shortcut, in the context of Apple's WWDC sessions, refers to a feature that allows users to perform specific actions quickly and easily, often without needing to open an app. Shortcuts can be created by developers using the App Intents framework, which allows them to wrap intents (actions) as shortcuts. These shortcuts can then be accessed through various interfaces like Siri, Spotlight, and the Shortcuts app.
For example, in the session "Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents," an app shortcut is described as a wrapper around an intent that highlights it as an important function of the app. This allows users to access app features directly from Siri or Spotlight without needing the app to be running. The framework automatically handles the registration of these shortcuts, making them available as soon as the app is installed.
Shortcuts can also be customized by users to fit their specific needs, allowing for a high degree of flexibility and integration into personal workflows. This is further enhanced by the ability to use URL representations to deep link into specific content within an app, as discussed in the session "What’s new in App Intents."
For more detailed information, you can refer to the session Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents (08:06) where the process of building shortcuts is explained.
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.
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.
Xcode essentials
Edit, debug, commit, repeat. Explore the suite of tools in Xcode that help you iterate quickly when developing apps. Discover tips and tricks to help optimize and boost your development workflow.
What’s new in App Intents
Learn about improvements and all-new features with App Intents, and discover how this framework can help you expose your app’s functionality to Siri, Spotlight, Shortcuts, and more. We’ll show you how to make your entities more meaningful to the platform with the Transferable API, File Representations, new IntentFile APIs, and Spotlight Indexing, opening up powerful functionality in Siri and the Shortcuts app. Empower your intents to take people deep into your app with URL Representable Entities. Explore new techniques to model your entities and intents with new APIs for error handling and union values.