In macOS 12 Monterey, Apple brings the iOS automation system Shortcuts to the Mac.
This is fantastic news for pretty much everyone.
You do so by dragging blocks to a timeline.
Apple
Each of those blocks is an instruction, and they are executed in order.
And it can be as complex as you need.
You also can run home automations and have them trigger when you arrive or leave.
Wes Hicks / Unsplash
In short, Shortcuts is powerful, easy to use, and very useful.
And now, Apple has created the entire Shortcuts experience on the Mac.
Its so close that many of your iOS shortcuts also will run on the Mac, with no modifications.
Mac Differences
The Mac is a more open, more powerful platform than iOS.
It is also more complex.
Apps have windows, for example, and apps can save and read files from anywhere.
In addressing these differences, Apple has opened up shortcuts on iOS, too.
For example, previously, Shortcuts only could save files in its own Shortcuts folder in iCloud Drive.
Now, both Mac and iOS can save them anywhere.
And the Mac already has all kinds of automation tools.
The good news is that Shortcuts now runs these automations.
Or, if you open an Automator workflow, Shortcuts will attempt to translate it into a shortcut.
Also new are the ways you’ve got the option to trigger a shortcut.
One of the handiest might be using a shortcut as a Quick Action.
Built-in Quick Actions include turning a selection of images into a PDF or marking up images.
In Monterey, youll be able to put shortcuts there, and they will act on any selected files.
Youll be able to share and download shortcuts with no work necessary.
But this all relies on developers adding Shortcuts support to their apps.
Even first-class Mac apps from top-tier developers dont show up.
Because Shortcuts is popular, users demand that apps support it.
And many already are.
Pixelmator Pro, an excellent image-editing app for Mac,already is adding extensive Shortcuts support.
