Shining a spotlight on one of the best custom Shortcuts for iPhone and iPad
Apple’s Shortcuts is an impressive and powerful app, even capable of making custom app icons, but building up and maintaining a collection of shortcuts takes time and effort. Utilities Menu is a comprehensive shortcut that includes hundreds of smart, useful built-in workflows.
Installing Utilities Menu
To install Utilities Menu, head over to Routine Hub and download the shortcut there. Or, you can install Utilities Menu on your iPhone or iPad by clicking this link on your device.
After adding Utilities Menu to the Shortcuts app, it’s time to configure it. Launch the shortcut and begin setup. First, you’ll need to grant Utilities Menu permissions to your iPhone or iPad. There’s also the option of adding your name, favorite search engine, home address, and work address. This information will allow Utilities Menu to customize its shortcuts further down the line.
Utilities Menu.
To keep Utilities Menu up to date, you’ll also be prompted to install an additional shortcut called Swing Updater.
Using Utilities Menu
From here, the fun can begin. Tap Utilities Menu in the Shortcuts app and you’ll be presented with a menu of items to choose from. This may seem a little overwhelming, so let’s break down exactly what’s on offer in each sub-menu. Remember, when it comes to firing off a shortcut, simply tap on the item.
Options to choose.
Text and Numbers
Here, you have shortcuts for a random number generator, a case changer (which converts text between uppercase and lowercase), text effects, and more. There’s also a useful translation tool that you can access right inside the shortcut.
Media
Shortcuts here include workflows for editing photos, turning burst photos into GIFs, and creating Instagram panoramas. A handy shortcut here also allows you to create PDFs on the fly.
Web
In the Web menu, you can access a read-it-later service, an expand URL shortcut, and – most usefully – a functioning YouTube downloader.
Entertainment
Here, you can access an IMDb database, an Apple TV controller, a bunch of games, a sound gallery, and even virtual dice!
Entertainment.
Shortcuts
In the Shortcuts menu, there are some shortcuts-specific workflows for you to choose from, including a useful shortcuts backup tool.
As if all that wasn’t enough, an additional menu – marked Other Stuff – includes bonus shortcuts for managing your clipboard, creating notifications, and initiating a countdown. It’s also possible to visit Utilities Menu’s settings in order to manually check for updates or send feedback to the shortcut’s developer.
Text and Number.
All in all, Utilities Menu is a must-have download for Shortcuts users both old and new. It’s an impressive all-in-one repository for a huge range of shortcuts – some of which you may already have, and others you may have always wanted.
Related: the best iOS Shortcuts you can download online
Finally, don’t forget that by tapping on the shortcut’s three dots, you can add Utilities Menu to your Home screen for easy access.