Outdated Documentation
You are reading the documentation for a previous version of LaunchCuts. Click here to view the documentation for version 1.4 of LaunchCuts. Update to this version by going to the App Store on your iOS device.
Table of Contents
- Overview
- System Requirements
- Setup
- LaunchCuts Interface
- Using LaunchCuts
- Updating Shortcuts
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Advanced
- Settings
- Developer
- Support
- Future Roadmap
Overview
LaunchCuts is a powerful, customizable, and elegant launcher for shortcuts on iOS.
- Folders: Organize your shortcuts into folders.
- Smart Folders: Display shortcuts based on multiple criteria, including tags, colors, icons, shortcut type, unfiled status, and accepted input types (e.g. Text, Images, Files, and Safari Web Pages).
- Sort: Sort your shortcuts by name, color, icon, or size. Sort your folders by favorites, name, or manually.
- Adjustable Grid: See more (or less) shortcuts on screen for a given folder.
- Keyboard Shortcuts: Quickly navigate between your favorite folders and launch your most-used shortcuts.
- Enhanced Search: Find shortcuts faster with wildcard searches.
- iCloud Sync: Sync your folders between all of your iCloud-connected devices.
- Multiple Windows: Create multiple instances of LaunchCuts using Split View and Slide Over on iPadOS.
- Bright Icons: Bring back the colorful icons from iOS 12.
LaunchCuts is for both casual users who want better organization of their shortcuts and for power users who have gone all-in on shortcuts but have been wanting more out of the Shortcuts application.
Once you start using LaunchCuts, you will not want to go back to the stock Shortcuts app for launching and organizing your shortcut collection!
System Requirements and Availability
LaunchCuts requires iOS 13.2 or higher. It also requires that the LaunchCuts Helper shortcut be installed on your iOS device.
LaunchCuts is available for pre-order for $7.99 on the iOS App Store. LaunchCuts will be released on January 8, 2020.
Setup
When you install LaunchCuts on a new iOS device, you will be presented with the LaunchCuts Setup assistant.
Installing LaunchCuts for the First Time?
If you are installing LaunchCuts for the first time, tap Begin Setup and go to the next section.
If you have previously installed LaunchCuts on a device connected to the same iCloud account, you can skip setup by tapping Start Using LaunchCuts. Your folders and shortcut references will sync shortly from iCloud.
Setup Page 1: LaunchCuts Helper
In order for LaunchCuts to work properly, it must first know what shortcuts you have installed. The LaunchCuts Helper shortcut syncs the following information about your shortcut collection to LaunchCuts:
- New shortcuts
- Removed shortcuts
- Position of your shortcuts
- Color
- Icon
- Size
- LaunchCuts Tags
Tap Get LaunchCuts Helper to download it if you have not already done so. Tap LaunchCuts Helper is Installed if you already have it installed on your device. Proceed to the section on running the update.
NOTE: Do not change the name of the LaunchCuts Helper shortcut, or LaunchCuts will not work properly.
Allowing Untrusted Shortcuts
If you have only used shortcuts downloaded from the Gallery tab in the Shortcuts app, you may see an alert that says Shortcuts could not install LaunchCuts Helper because you do not have untrusted shortcuts support enabled. To rectify this, follow these steps:
- In LaunchCuts, tap I Got An Error.
- Tap Open Settings. If you are on an iPhone, tap the back button to return to the main Settings page.
- Scroll and tap on Shortcuts.
- Tap Allow Untrusted Shortcuts. If prompted, tap OK.
This will allow you to run shortcuts that you download from a location other than Apple’s approved shortcuts gallery.
NOTE: Always be careful when downloading and using shortcuts you download from the web.
Never Run a Shortcut?
If the toggle to allow untrusted shortcuts is disabled, you must first run a shortcut. Do the following:
- Go to Shortcuts.
- Tap a shortcut to run it and go to Step 9.
- If you have no shortcuts, tap Gallery in the Tab Bar.
- Tap on a shortcut.
- Tap Add Shortcut.
- If necessary, configure the shortcut and tap Done.
- Tap My Shortcuts in the Tab Bar.
- Tap on the shortcut you added.
- Return to Settings.
- Tap Allow Untrusted Shortcuts.
Setup Step 2: Configuring LaunchCuts Helper
When you first install LaunchCuts Helper, an import question will ask you choose a language. The default is en-US or English. You can leave the value blank and LaunchCuts Helper will automatically detect your system language or you choose one from the list below.
LaunchCuts Helper has been natively translated into English, Russian, and Turkish, whereas the other languages have been automatically translated using Microsoft’s Translator service.
If you are a native speaker of one of these languages, help improve LaunchCuts Helper by providing a localization. Visit this page for more information.
Setup Page 3: Running Your First Update
After downloading and installing LaunchCuts Helper, return to the LaunchCuts application.
The are two main type of update you can perform to transfer information about your shortcut library to LaunchCuts:
- Quick Update
- Full Update
Quick Update
This operation quickly syncs the name and position of your shortcuts into LaunchCuts. It takes just seconds to complete but does not import shortcut metadata such as color, icon, or size information.
Full Update
A full update transfers name, position, and all metadata from each shortcut in your entire shortcut library. This process can take several minutes depending on the size of your Shortcut library.
LaunchCuts Helper will display its progress via notification banners in 10% increments if you have a shortcut library greater than 50 shortcuts.
NOTE: When you are launching LaunchCuts for the very first time, it’s recommended to run a Full Update first unless you have a shortcut library totaling 800 or more shortcuts.
In both scenarios, tapping on Quick Update or Full Update will cause LaunchCuts to open Shortcuts and run the LaunchCuts Helper shortcut. When LaunchCuts Helper is finished importing your shortcuts, LaunchCuts will reopen.
NOTE: During import, do not leave the Shortcuts app or the import process may be interrupted.
Setup Page 4: Create Sample Folders
The next setup screen will allow you to create some sample folders to get you familiar with how LaunchCuts operates:
- All Shortcuts: folder displaying all of your shortcuts sorted by their position within the Shortcuts app.
- Favorites: am empty folder where you can place your most used shortcuts.
- Development: a folder with Edit Mode enabled. Tapping on a shortcut will open it directly in the Shortcuts Editor instead of running it.
- All Shortcuts by Color: all of your shortcuts sorted by color.
- All Shortcuts by Icon: all of your shortcuts sorted by icon.
- All Shortcuts by Name: all of your shortcuts sorted by name.
- Missing Icons and Colors: any shortcut that does not have an icon or color value associated with it.
- Share: Anything: all shortcuts that have the Share Sheet Enabled preference set.
- Share: Dates: all shortcuts that have the Share Sheet Enabled preference set that operate on Dates.
- Share: Images: all shortcuts that have the Share Sheet Enabled preference set that operate on Images.
- Share: Text: all shortcuts that have the Share Sheet Enabled preference set that operate on Text and Rich Text.
- Tag: Music: Shortcuts that have various strings in their name or in LaunchCuts Tags, such as, “playlist,” “music,” “audio,” “Apple Music,” or “song.”
- Unfiled Shortcuts: Shortcuts that have not been added to a manual folder or collected into a smart folder.
- Widgets: All shortcuts that can be displayed in the Shortcuts Today widget within Notification Center.
Deleting Sample Folders
If you do not want some of the sample folders, swipe from right to left on the folder in the Folder List view to delete. Or, tap the Edit button in the upper-right hand corner to select multiple folders. Then, tap Delete.
Re-adding Sample Folders
If you choose not to create sample folders, you can always add them by following these steps:
- Open LaunchCuts.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Reset.
- Tap Create Sample Folders.
Setup Page 5: Setup Complete
You are now ready to get started using LaunchCuts. The final screen will allow you to view the LaunchCuts documentation or go straight to the LaunchCuts Home screen.
LaunchCuts Interface
This section provides and overview of the LaunchCuts interface.
- Folders View
- Toolbar
- Sort bar
- Folder List
- Shortcuts View
- Navigation Bar
- Search Bar
- Sort Bar
- Shortcuts Grid
- Tab Bar
iPadOS
If you are using LaunchCuts on iPadOS, you can see both Folders View and Shortcuts View at the same time when in landscape mode. On the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros, you can also see both views while in Landscape Split View. Learn more about multi-window support in LaunchCuts here.
Folders View
This view shows all of your LaunchCuts folders. Tap on a folder to view its shortcuts.
When in Shortcuts view, swipe from left to right to reveal the list of LaunchCuts folders. Or tap on the back button in the upper-left corner.
Folders Toolbar
At the top of the Folders View are the following buttons and controls:
Open Shortcuts
Tap the Shortcuts icon to switch to the Shortcuts app. When going back and forth between LaunchCuts and Shortcuts, you can tap on the small back button in the upper-left corner of the screen.
New Folder
Tap the folder icon to create a new folder.
Keyboard Shortcut: Press Command-Shift-N on an external keyboard to create a new folder.
Edit
Tap to bulk delete folders. You can also swipe right to left to delete individual folders. If you are sorting your folders manually, you can drag to reorder your folders.
Sort Bar
You can sort your folders by favorite status, name, or manually. The sort setting will be remembered across your iOS devices.
Folders List
Your list of folders, sorted by Favorite status and name. Tap on a folder to open it and display the list of shortcuts.
Tap on the star icon to mark a folder as a Favorite. Favorite folders are listed at the top of the Folders list.
A hammer icon next to the star means that Edit Mode is enabled for the folder. Tapping on a shortcut will open it to the editing screen in Shortcuts.
Folders
Folders that include all of your shortcuts or just manually selected folders are denoted with a blue folder icon.
Smart Folders
Smart Folders are folders that have search criteria set to filter from your list of shortcuts. They are denoted with a lightning bolt icon.
Unfiled Folder
You can configure a folder to display unfiled shortcuts. These are shortcuts that are not in any manual folder nor collected in any smart folder. The unfiled folder is identified by an archive box icon.
Learn more about creating and editing folders here.
Shortcuts View
This view displays your shortcuts. It’s similar to the Home screen in the Shortcuts app, but is much more powerful and customizable.
Shortcuts Navigation Bar
Folders Back Button
Tap this to return to the list of LaunchCuts folders.
NOTE: This button is hidden when the Folders List and Shortcuts View are side-by-side on iPadOS.
Open Shortcuts
Tap the Shortcuts icon to switch to the Shortcuts app. When going back and forth between LaunchCuts and Shortcuts, you can tap on the small back button in the upper-left corner of the screen.
New Shortcut
Tap the blue plus button to open the Shortcuts app and create a new shortcut.
Keyboard Shortcut: Press Command-N on an external keyboard to create a new shortcut.
NOTE: Run a Quick Update after creating shortcuts to make them appear in LaunchCuts. To sync an individual shortcut’s metadata, such as its icon and color, long-press on the shortcut in LaunchCuts and choose Update Metadata.
Update Shortcuts
Tap the blue reload button to display a list of commands for importing your shortcut references from Shortcuts into LaunchCuts using LaunchCuts Helper.
Keyboard Shortcut: Press Command-R on an external keyboard to display the Update Shortcuts screen.
NOTE: This button appears only if you have the preference Show Update in Tab Bar disabled. Otherwise, it will appear in the Tab Bar at the bottom of the screen.
Search
Tap the magnifying glass button to show or hide the search bar.
Keyboard Shortcut: Press
Command-Option-Fon an external keyboard to show or hide the search bar.
LaunchCuts features a powerful search algorithm for finding your shortcuts. Learn more about the wildcard searching here.
Sort and Filter
Tap the filter icon to reveal the sort bar, where you can sort your shortcuts by name, color, icon, and size, and adjust the size of shortcuts displayed on screen.
Keyboard Shortcut: Press Command-Shift-F on an external keyboard to show or hide the Sort bar.
Favorite
Tap the star button to mark this folder as a favorite. Favorite folders appear at the top of the Folders list in LaunchCuts.
Edit Folder Settings
Tap to display the options screen for a folder, where you can change its name, configure what shortcuts to display, enable Edit Mode, and more. See the section on editing folders for more information.
Keyboard Shortcut: Press Command-Shift-E on an external keyboard to edit the current folder.
Search Bar
The search bar features wildcard matching for quick and efficient filtering the list of visible shortcuts.
Shortcuts Count
On the trailing end of the search bar will be displayed the number of visible shortcuts in the current folder. As you type in the search bar, the number of shortcuts will be updated.
Reverse Sort
Tap this button to reverse the sort order of the shortcuts in the current folder.
NOTE: There currently is no way to jump to the bottom of the shortcuts list at the moment.
Shortcuts Grid
This section displays the shortcuts in the current folder, filtered and sorted according to the following folder settings such as:
- Shortcut
- Sort: Name, Color, Icon, and Size
- Sort Order: Ascending it Descending
- Cell Size: the physical size of each shortcut displayed on screen.
- Edit Mode: if enabled, the edit button (circle with an ellipsis) will turn into a play icon.
Tab Bar
Located at the bottom of the screen, the tab bar allows you to switch between Shortcuts/Folder view and Settings. It also features a convenient Update Shortcuts button so you can always keep your shortcuts in sync with LaunchCuts.
Toggling the Tab Bar
Double-tap on the Tab Bar to hide it from the view. This is useful when you want to simplify the interface and see more shortcuts. A translucent button will appear which you can tap to reveal the Tab Bar again.
Using LaunchCuts
Working with LaunchCuts is very similar to using the Shortcuts app. Instead of one screen where all of your shortcuts are located, however, you now have access to folders, each with its own sort and visualization settings.
Running Shortcuts
Tapping on a shortcut will open the Shortcuts app and run the shortcut. Tap on the circle with the ellipsis icon to open the shortcut in the Editor within the Shortcuts app.
Return to LaunchCuts After Running
If you have this setting enabled, LaunchCuts will try to reopen itself after successfully running your shortcut. If there is an error in executing your shortcut, you will be returned to the iOS Home Screen.
NOTE: You can exclude shortcuts from returning to LaunchCuts after running in Settings. This is useful if you have a shortcut whose last action is to open another app, for instance. You wouldn’t want to open the app only to have LaunchCuts reopen.
Editing Mode
If you have edit mode enabled for a folder, tapping on a shortcut causes the shortcut to open in the Shortcuts Editor. Conversely, tapping on the small play icon will run the shortcut.
Mastering Search
Wildcard Searching
LaunchCuts adopts the search algorithm from MsgFiler, the premier tool for filing email messages in macOS Mail. The space character is used as a wildcard for matching shortcuts. For instance, suppose you have the following list of shortcuts:
- Brush Teeth Timer
- Speak Brush Teeth Routine
- Tea Timer
- Laundry Timer
- Music Timer
- Do Not Disturb Timer
Use the space character to match any character between the previous character and the next character. To display just the shortcut named Brush Teeth Timer, you don’t have to type out Brush Teeth T like you have to in Shortcuts, just br tim. That’s seven less characters, which adds up over time!
When you become proficient with LaunchCuts search behavior, finding your shortcuts becomes easier than ever before.
Clear Search
When you type in the search field, an X will appear allowing you to clear the search contents yet keep focus in the search field.
Remember Searches
You can configure LaunchCuts to remember a folder’s last search string every time a folder is opened. Otherwise, the search field will be clearer very time you open or re-open a folder. This setting affects all folders and can be toggled in the settings screen.
Sorting and Changing the Grid Size
Tap on the Sort bar to reveal sort and grid adjustment controls for the current folder.
Here you can change the sort order of folders and adjust the size of shortcuts shown on screen.
Sort
You can sort a folder’s shortcuts using the following criteria:
- None: This sort order mimics the look of your shortcuts in the Shortcuts app.
- Name: Sorts your shortcuts alphabetically.
- Color: Sorts your shortcuts by their color.
- Icon: Sorts your shortcuts by their icon or glyph.
- Size: Sorts your shortcuts by size. Shortcuts that make heavy use of base64 encoded text will typically be listed at the top.
NOTE: If you sort by color and notice some shortcuts are not sorting properly, it might be due to the fact that the color value was originally recorded for the shortcut back in iOS 12. To resolve, change the color of the shortcut in the Shortcuts app. Then return to LaunchCuts and update the metadata for that shortcut by long-pressing on it from the Shortcuts Grid.
Adjustable Grid
The grid slider allows you to dynamically change the number of shortcuts visible on the screen. You’re no longer restricted to a fixed size for your shortcuts.
Want to see more shortcuts per page? Slide the adjustment slider to the left. Want to see fewer shortcuts that are easier to tap? Move the adjustment slider all the way to the right.
You can also tap on the two icons surrounding the slider to adjust the number of columns.
Here are some screenshots of the same folder but with vastly different sort and grid settings:
Once you get used to the display features of LaunchCuts, you can’t go back to the stock Shortcuts app.
Creating and Editing Folders
Tap on the New Folder or Edit Folder button to display the following dialog.
Here, you can adjust the following fields for a folder:
- Name
- Unfiled Shortcuts
- Shortcuts
- Matching Conditions
- All Shortcuts
- Selected Shortcuts
- Tags
- Colors
- Icons
- Widget
- Action Extensions
- Sort
- Favorite
- Edit Mode
Unfiled Shortcuts
Tapping the Unfiled Shortcuts toggle will cause the folder to display shortcuts that are not part of any manual folder or collected in any smart folder.
Matching Conditions
You can filter shortcuts in your Shortcuts Library in various ways. Filter rules can be evaluated in an OR or AND fashion:
- Matching Any
- Matching All
By default, any shortcut that matches a rule will be displayed in the folder. Tap Matching All to require all rules be satisfied in order for a shortcut to appear in a folder.
Filtering the list of shortcuts in a folder using the Matching All ruleset will take slightly longer than if you used the Matching Any ruleset.
All Shortcuts
A toggle to control whether all shortcuts should be used to match the subsequent folder filtering rules.
NOTE: If you choose Matching Any but leave All Shortcuts enabled, the folder will display all your shortcuts. Disable this or choose Matching All in order to filter your shortcuts properly.
Selected Shortcuts
When All Shortcuts is disabled, this menu item will appear and allow you to manually select which shortcuts to display in a folder.
Tags
LaunchCuts searches for tag information located in two places within a shortcut:
Exclude Tags
You can exclude tags by prefixing the tag name with a minute character. For instance:
-LaunchCuts
Location
Will exclude shortcuts that contain the “LaunchCuts” tag in either their name or their LaunchCutsTag comment.
Matching All
If you have Matching All enabled, matching shortcuts will result from the intersection of all tag queries. That is to say that a shortcut must match all tags in order to be displayed in the smart folder.
Colors
You can filter shortcuts by colors:
- No Color
- Red
- Vermillion
- Apricot
- Pollen
- Mint
- Turquoise
- Light Blue
- Cerulean
- Delft Blue
- Violet
- Lilac
- Pink
- Fog
- Limestone
- Sand
Icons
You can filter shortcuts by their icons or glyphs. There are over 200 glyphs to choose from in the Shortcuts app, so being able to filter by icon gives you another way to organize your shortcut collection within LaunchCuts.
Widget
Tap this to filter on those shortcuts that appear in the Shortcuts Today Widget.
Action Extension
Tap this to filter on those shortcuts that accept input. These are shortcuts these are displayed in the iOS Share Sheet. The following share sheet input types are supported:
- App Store apps
- Articles
- Contacts
- Dates
- Email addresses
- Files
- Images
- iTunes products
- Locations
- Maps links
- Media
- PDFs
- Phone numbers
- Rich text
- Safari webpages
- Text
- URLs
Favorite
Folders that have been marked as favorites will be displayed at the top of the Folders list.
Edit Mode
Enabling this will flip the action that occurs when you tap on a shortcut in the Shortcuts Grid View.
Normally, tapping on a shortcut will run it in Shortcuts. With Edit mode enabled, shortcuts will instead launch Shortcuts straight to the editor. To run a shortcut while in Edit Mode, tap on the circle with the play button.
Edit Mode on iPadOS
Edit Mode is useful on iPadOS. You can create a folder of the shortcuts that you are working with Edit Mode enabled. Place both Shortcuts and LaunchCuts in Split View. While in the Shortcuts Editor, you can quickly switch back and forth between shortcuts without having to scroll and search for the next shortcut to edit.
Updating Shortcuts
As you add and remove shortcuts from your Shortcuts Library, you will need to sync these changes to LaunchCuts. While a manual process for the moment, it can be quick and easy once you’ve done the initial Full Sync.
The Update Shortcuts button is clockwise arrow in a blue circle, located in either the Tab Bar or Shortcuts View Navigation Bar. Tap it to reveal the Update Shortcuts sheet. If you are using an external keyboard, you can also press Command-R to reveal the sheet.
Quick Update
This quickly synchronizes the list of shortcuts in the Shortcuts app with LaunchCuts. It adds any new shortcuts and removes deleted ones so that LaunchCuts matches what you see in Shortcuts. The following information is transferred in a Quick Update:
- Name: the name of the shortcut
- Position: the position of the shortcut in the Shortcuts app.
The following information is not transferred during a Quick Update.
- Color: the color of the shortcut
- Glyph: the icon of the shortcut
- Size: the file size of the shortcut
- Tags: custom LaunchCuts Tags associated with the shortcut
Full Update
A full update iterates through all the shortcuts in your Shortcuts Library and imports it into LaunchCuts. It transfers the icon, color, size, and tags associated with each shortcut along with its name and position.
If you have a large collection of shortcuts, this process could take several minutes to complete. LaunchCuts helper will display its progress in ten percent increments as it processes your shortcuts.
When you first run LaunchCuts, you should run a Full Update.
Update Folder
Tap the Update Folder: FOLDERNAME button to update the metadata for shortcuts in the current folder. If you have a lot of shortcuts in a folder, this process may take several seconds or minutes to complete.
Missing Icons and Colors
Tap the Missing Icons and Colors button to update the metadata for any shortcut that was imported using Quick Update that still lacks metadata information such as color and icon.
TIP: Long-pressing on a shortcut in the Shortcuts Grid display a context menu for the shortcut. One of the options will be to update the metadata for the selected shortcut.
Update Selected
This will open up LaunchCuts Helper and allow you to select which shortcuts you want to manually update the metadata for. The list of shortcuts will be displayed in reverse order from what’s displayed in the Shortcuts app, since this typically is where newly created shortcuts reside.
Show Update Button in Tab Bar
This toggles the display of the Update Shortcuts button from the Tab Bar to the Shortcuts View’s Navigation Bar.
Update LaunchCuts Helper
Tap this to get the latest version of LaunchCuts Helper shortcut.
Keyboard Shortcuts
LaunchCuts has a number of keyboard shortcuts to help you be more productive, including the ability to quickly open 10 folders and run 10 shortcuts with the press of a key.
Universal Commands
These commands are always available within LaunchCuts:
- ⌘-N: Create Shortcut. Opens the Shortcuts application to the new shortcut screen.
- ⌘-Shift-N: Create Folder. Creates a new LaunchCuts folder.
- ⌘-Shift-H: Home. Return to the Folders List view.
- ⌘-Comma: Settings. Open the LaunchCuts Settings screen.
- ⌘-R: Update Shortcuts. Sync shortcuts from Shortcuts to LaunchCuts using LaunchCuts Helper.
- ⌘-Shift-T: Show and hide the tab bar.
NOTE: If you are currently viewing the New Folder, Edit Folder, Update Shortcuts, or the Keyboard Commands screen when you press a keyboard shortcut, the current view will close. Changes will not be saved if you are in the New or Edit Folder screens.
Shortcuts View Commands
These commands become available when you are viewing a folder:
- ⌘-F: Search. Brings focus to the search bar.
- ⌘-⌥-F: Shows and hides the search bar.
- ⌘-Shift-F: Shows and hides the filter bar.
- ⌘-Shift-E: Edits the current folder.
- ⌘-Shift-R: Refreshes the Shortcuts view.
Quick Folder Commands
You can open up to 10 folders with the press of the ⌘ Command key and a number from 0-9. To configure, follow these steps:
- In LaunchCuts, tap Settings.
- Tap Keyboard Shortcuts.
- Under Folders, tap the command key you want to assign to a folder.
- Select the folder.
- Tap Done.
- Press ⌘-NUMBER to open the folder.
Quick Shortcuts Commands
You can run up to 10 shortcuts holding down the ⌘ Command and ⌥ Option keys along with a number from 0 to 9. To configure, follow these steps:
- In LaunchCuts, tap Settings.
- Tap Keyboard Shortcuts.
- Under Shortcuts, tap the command-option key you want to assign to a shortcut.
- Select the shortcut.
- Tap Done.
- Press ⌘⌥-NUMBER to run the shortcut.
Search Bar
When the cursor is in the search bar, these keyboard shortcuts become available:
- Tab: Selects the text in the search bar.
- Return: Resigns focus from the search bar, but keeps the existing search text present.
- ⌘-Period: Clears the text in the search bar and resigns focus.
Advanced
Custom LaunchCuts Tag
By adding a comment to your shortcuts, you can add tags that can help you filter shortcuts in a Smart Folder.
Simply add a new comment anywhere in your shortcut with the first line reading LaunchCutsTags followed by a list of tags. Separate each tag with by a new line. For instance:
LaunchCutsTags
Date
Time
Hour
Schedule
Whenever you update the metadata for a shortcut or run a Full Update, the tags will be attached to the shortcut in LaunchCuts. You can then search for the tags within a Smart Folder.
Initially, the only shortcut that had the Date tag was “View Custom DateTime Formats,” and it only matched because the word “Date” was in its name. The LaunchCutsTags comment was added to some shortcuts and Update Shortcuts was requested. Now, these shortcuts show up properly in the smart folder.
Maximizing Screen Real Estate
By hiding the search bar, sort bar, and the tab bar, you can maximize the number of shortcuts on your screen.
Multiple Windows and Multitasking
LaunchCuts supports multiple windows and app instances on iPadOS. This means you can have three LaunchCuts windows open at the same time:
- Split view
- Split view
- Slide over
This is very useful when running LaunchCuts with the Shortcuts app side-by-side on an iPad. You can be editing a shortcut within Shortcuts and still have the ability to quickly run a shortcut before running to editing.
Context Menu
Long-press on a shortcut in the Shortcuts View to reveal a context menu of options for the shortcut:
- Add to Folder: Displays a sheet allowing you to add the shortcut to selected folders.
- Update Metadata: Updates the metadata, including icon and color, for the selected shortcut.
- Edit Shortcut: Opens the selected shortcut in the Shortcuts Editor.
- Run Shortcut: Runs the selected shortcut in the Shortcuts app.
- Run Shortcut and Return: Runs the selected shortcut in the Shortcuts app and try to return to LaunchCuts after running.
Settings
Tap the Settings icon in the Tab Bar to reveal the LaunchCuts Settings page.
Remember Last Folder
Enabling this will cause LaunchCuts to open to the last folder you were viewing if the LaunchCuts application were to be closed manually or by the operating system.
Remember Searches
Enabling this allows folders to keep track of the last search string in the search bar. Otherwise, the search bar will be cleared whenever you leave a folder and return.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Configure the folders and shortcuts you want to open and run respectively using the Command-NUMBER and Command-Option-NUMBER keyboard shortcuts. Learn more about this feature here.
Use Bright Icons
If you used Shortcuts in iOS 12, you can bring back the brighter colors to your shortcuts by enabling this setting.
Show Update Button in Tab Bar
By default, the Update Shortcuts button is prominently featured in the Tab Bar at the bottom of the screen. It was designed that way to teach the user that they should sync shortcut references from the Shortcuts app to LaunchCuts on a regular basis.
If you want to simplify the user interface, disabling this preference will move the Update Shortcuts button to the Navigation Bar in the Shortcuts View.
Reopen LaunchCuts After Running
Whenever you run a shortcut from LaunchCuts, the Shortcuts app must open. To prevent having to tap back to LaunchCuts, enable this feature to have LaunchCuts reopen after running a shortcut.
Note: If the shortcut being run is either cancelled by the user or experiences an error, the iOS home screen will be displayed instead of LaunchCuts. Here’s to hoping that Shortcuts for iOS 14 has better error handling.
Don’t Reopen for These Shortcuts
Select shortcuts that should not reopen after running from LaunchCuts. This is useful for shortcuts that have ending actions like Open App. In this scenario, you don’t want LaunchCuts to open after the final action.
Note: This setting is ignored if you choose Run and Return from a shortcut’s long press context menu.
Disable Auto-Correction in Search
Enable this setting to turn of auto-correction when inputting text in the Shortcuts search field in the Shortcuts View screen and the Select Shortcuts sheet. This is useful if you take advantage of the wildcard searching capabilities of LaunchCuts, as it will prevent iOS from replacing your search strings with auto-correct suggestions.
Include Shortcut Names in Search
Tags in LaunchCuts come in two forms:
- The name of a shortcut
- LaunchCuts Tags in a shortcut
This setting disables option 1 lookup for smart folders based on tags.
Info and More
This section contains various ways to get more information about LaunchCuts:
- View Documentation: Opens the document that you are reading now.
- Feedback: Sends an email to the maker of LaunchCuts.
- Club Shortcuts Mailing List: Join a mailing list about Shortcuts and Automation on Apple products.
- Twitter: Visit the Twitter page for LaunchCuts.
- Website: Visit the LaunchCuts product page on the web.
- Version History: Opens a web browser to the version history page for LaunchCuts.
- Licenses: Licenses for third-party software used by LaunchCuts.
- Privacy Policy: The privacy policy page for LaunchCuts.
Reset
This section allows you to reset LaunchCuts.
Reset Settings
Resets LaunchCuts’ settings and redisplays the setup screen. This will revert all preferences to their default settings.
Resetting LaunchCuts does not delete the references to shortcuts in LaunchCuts, so you will not have to perform a sync using LaunchCuts Helper. None of your folders will be affected.
Erase All Content and Settings
Resets LaunchCuts’ settings and erases all LaunchCuts information, including your folders and shortcut references. You will need to recreate your folders, along with performing a sync using LaunchCuts Helper in order to see shortcuts in LaunchCuts again.
This operation cannot be undone. This does not affect any of your shortcuts on your iOS device, only their references in LaunchCuts.
Clear Shortcut References
Deletes the LaunchCuts shortcuts database. After doing this, you will need to perform a Quick or Full Update in order to see your shortcuts in LaunchCuts.
NOTE: This does not affect any of your shortcuts on your iOS device, only their references in LaunchCuts.
Create Sample Folders
Creates the same sample folders that were given as an option during initial setup of LaunchCuts.
Developer
This section covers tips for making shortcuts that work well with LaunchCuts.
Exiting Shortcuts Properly
If users have the Return to LaunchCuts preference enabled, LaunchCuts will try to return to itself after running a shortcut. It does so by using x-callback-url. If your shortcut does not exit properly or if the user taps Cancel from a Choose From List or Choose From Menu action, the user will be thrown back to the iOS Home screen.
To prevent this from happening, it is recommended that you add a Quit, Exit, or Close option at the bottom of your menus. Attach an Exit Shortcut action to this menu item. Tapping this menu option will exit your shortcut properly and return the user back to LaunchCuts.
NOTE: If you do not want LaunchCuts to open after running, instruct your users to add your shortcut to the list of excluded shortcuts in LaunchCuts’ Settings.
Support
For technical support not covered below, go to the LaunchCuts Settings screen and tap Send Feedback.
Troubleshooting and Known Issues
Here is a list of troubleshooting tips and known issues with LaunchCuts:
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No shortcuts are appearing in folders. Did you remember to download, install, and run an update using LaunchCuts Helper? If so, check the filter criteria specified in the folder.
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The controls on the sort bar seem to be moving ever so slightly. LaunchCuts is receiving conflicting information about the size of its window from iOS. Switch to a different folder, tap on a sort button to resolve, or adjust the grid slider to resolve.
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The views for choosing shortcuts, colors, icons, and Action Extension input types jumps back and forth between the Shortcuts view and the Folder Edit views. The source of this bug is unknown at the moment. Close and re-open LaunchCuts to work around this bug for the time being.
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Shortcuts and LaunchCuts crashes when I tap Cancel in a shortcut This is a known issue with the way Shortcuts handles x-callback-url, which LaunchCuts uses to call a shortcut and return to itself after running. There is currently no workaround at this time.
Version History
- Version 1.0.1 / January 8, 2020: Initial release
Future Roadmap
LaunchCuts is already very powerful, but there are plans to add even more functionality to the app. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming in a future release of LaunchCuts:
- Share Sheet Extension
- Today Widget
- Faster import and syncing of shortcuts from Shortcuts to LaunchCuts
- Siri Shortcuts support with LaunchCuts-specific actions
- Edit multiple shortcuts from the Shortcuts View
Have a feature request? Send feedback from the Feedback section within Settings in LaunchCuts. We can’t guarantee that your feature request will be added, but we will consider it.