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As another hardcore Shortcuts user, while it may be a scripting language the standard library is woefully inadequate. I have to use third party apps like Toolbo

As another hardcore Shortcuts user, while it may be a scripting language the standard library is woefully inadequate. I have to use third party apps like Toolbox Pro to "fill in the blanks" and even then, there's things iOS just won't let you do - automating responses to iMessages, for example, or sending iMessages in the background, or responding to arbitrary notifications (wouldn't it be great if I could have iOS notify all my friends I'm driving on any chat app, rather than just Messages?) A good starting point would seem to be what OP wanted - enable Shortcuts access to every toggle in the Settings app. Let me programmatically read and update notification, widget, screen, background, accessibility, Siri, battery, privacy, etc. settings that I can only access through the Settings app. Yes, I know I can do this for WiFi or Bluetooth settings, but there should be much, much more. And I should be able to consent to Shortcuts doing things in the background without my explicit permission, much like I can set up cron jobs on my home PC.

machello13 6y ago
Totally agree with you. I just disagreed with the OP's statement that it's not "real automation" just because some triggers don't work without user input. > And I should be able to consent to Shortcuts doing things in the background without my explicit permission, much like I can set up cron jobs on my home PC. Again, this is now the case for many triggers (not all, I don't think) on iOS 14.
- nexuist 6y ago
  Yeah, the "not all" is what I was referring to. I should be able to do it for everything, not cherry-picked actions. My guess though, is that they've already got this working, they're just going to wait until iOS 15 to drop it. The integration of Shortcuts into iOS has been slow but steady ever since they were acquired, and I think eventually it will do everything we want.
  - lstamour 6y ago
    Personally I don’t see shortcuts having “everything we want” until they merge iOS and macOS automation. I do think it will eventually happen, but I think it will indeed be slow and steady, and will take a lot of engineers pushing for automation, which isn’t always a flashy selling point, strangely enough...

machello13 6y ago

Totally agree with you. I just disagreed with the OP's statement that it's not "real automation" just because some triggers don't work without user input. > And I should be able to consent to Shortcuts doing things in the background without my explicit permission, much like I can set up cron jobs on my home PC. Again, this is now the case for many triggers (not all, I don't think) on iOS 14.

nexuist 6y ago
Yeah, the "not all" is what I was referring to. I should be able to do it for everything, not cherry-picked actions. My guess though, is that they've already got this working, they're just going to wait until iOS 15 to drop it. The integration of Shortcuts into iOS has been slow but steady ever since they were acquired, and I think eventually it will do everything we want.
- lstamour 6y ago
  Personally I don’t see shortcuts having “everything we want” until they merge iOS and macOS automation. I do think it will eventually happen, but I think it will indeed be slow and steady, and will take a lot of engineers pushing for automation, which isn’t always a flashy selling point, strangely enough...