Set up and run shortcuts from a widget on iPhone or iPad (2024)

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Shortcuts User Guide

Welcome
- Intro to Shortcuts
- Discover shortcuts in the Gallery
- - Run a shortcut from the app
  - Run shortcuts with Siri
  - Run suggested shortcuts
  - Run app shortcuts
  - Run shortcuts from the Home Screen widget
  - Run shortcuts from the Search screen
  - Add a shortcut to the Home Screen
  - Launch a shortcut from another app
  - Run shortcuts from Apple Watch
  - Run shortcuts by tapping the back of your iPhone
- Adjust privacy settings
- - Intro to how shortcuts work
  - The flow of content
  - Action connections
  - Control the flow of actions
  - Shortcut completion
  - The Content Graph engine
- Create a custom shortcut
- Ideas for custom shortcuts
- - Navigate the action list
  - Order of actions
  - Get actions
  - Transform actions
  - Share actions
  - Test your actions
  - About actions in complicated shortcuts
- Intro to editing shortcuts
- Organize shortcuts in folders
- Change the layout
- Reorder shortcuts
- Rename shortcuts
- Modify shortcut icons
- Duplicate shortcuts
- Delete shortcuts
- Sync shortcuts
- Share shortcuts
- Add import questions to shared shortcuts
- Add a shortcut to Reminders using Siri
- Intro to personal automation
- Create a new personal automation
- Enable or disable a personal automation
- Delete a personal automation
- - Event triggers
  - Travel triggers
  - Communication triggers
  - Transaction trigger
  - Setting triggers
- Intro to home automation
- Create a new home automation
- Enable or disable a home automation
- Delete a home automation
- Home automation triggers
- - Intro to variables
  - Variable types
  - Use variables
  - Adjust variables
- Use list actions
- Use the Choose from Menu action
- Use If actions
- Use Repeat actions
- - Intro to Find and Filter actions
  - Add filter parameters
- - Intro to using prompts
  - Use the Ask for Input action
  - Use the Ask Each Time variable
  - Use the Show Alert action
  - Use the Show Notification action
- Input types
- Limit the input for a shortcut
- Receive onscreen items
- Advanced Shortcuts settings
- - Intro to the Run JavaScript on Webpage action
  - Use the Run JavaScript on Webpage action
- - Intro to URL schemes
  - Open, create, and run a shortcut
  - Run a shortcut from a URL
  - Open or search the Gallery from a URL
  - Use x-callback-url
  - Use another app’s URL scheme
- - Intro to web APIs
  - - What’s an API?
    - Request your first API
  - - Intro to using JSON
    - Parsing JSON
    - Handling lists
    - Get Dictionary Value action
    - Create contacts
  - - API limitations
    - Format Date timestamps
    - Dictionaries
  - - About date and time formatting
    - Date and time formats
    - Dates as written language
    - Technical standards
    - Custom date formats
Copyright

Set up and run shortcuts from a widget on iPhone or iPad (1)

Widgets show you current information from your favorite apps at a glance. You can run shortcuts from a Shortcuts widget or from the Siri Suggestions widget on the Home Screen of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Add a Shortcuts widget to the Home Screen

On your iOS or iPadOS device, touch and hold the background of the Home Screen until the apps begin to jiggle.
Tap at the top of the screen to open the widget gallery.
See Also
Customize Widgets in Your iPhone's StandBy Mode
Scroll down, then tap Shortcuts.
Swipe to choose a widget size.
Tap Add Widget, then tap Done.
The Shortcuts widget appears on your Home Screen.
While the apps are still jiggling, move the widget where you want it on the screen, then tap Done.

Set which shortcuts appear in a Shortcuts widget

The small Shortcuts widget displays a single shortcut of your choice. The other Shortcuts widgets display the first widgets in one of your shortcuts collections.

On the Home Screen of your iOS or iPadOS device, touch and hold a Shortcuts widget.
Tap Edit Widget.
Do one of the following:
- Set which shortcut appears in the small widget: Tap the shortcut name, tap a different shortcut in the list, then tap outside of the widget.
- Set which shortcuts collection appears in the larger widgets: Tap the folder name, tap a different folder in the list, then tap outside of the widget. To change of order in which the shortcuts appear in the widget, see Reorder shortcuts on iPhone or iPad.
Note: Folders are organizing containers that hold related shortcuts. For information on creating and using folders in Shortcuts, see Organize shortcuts in folders on iPhone or iPad.

Run a shortcut from a widget

In the Shortcuts widget or Siri Suggestions widget on the Home Screen of your iOS or iPadOS device, tap a shortcut.
The shortcut begins, and the widget button displays a progress indicator as the actions advance. To cancel the shortcut, tap .
If a shortcut has an action that can’t be completed in the widget, the Shortcuts app automatically opens. If an action requires additional data, the shortcut pauses, allowing you to enter the necessary data. For more information on which shortcuts work well in the widget (without opening the Shortcuts app), see About actions in complicated shortcuts.

Remove the Shortcuts widget or Siri Suggestions widget

On your iOS or iPadOS device, touch and hold the widget on the Home Screen.
Tap Remove Widget, then tap Remove.

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