In this issue: Marvis Pro, a tip about how to change default apps for specific file types on macOS, a new episode of MacStories Unplugged, an iPad desk setup and a Reminders shortcut from Club members, plus the usual Links, App Debuts, a recap of MacStories articles, and a preview of upcoming MacStories podcast episodes.
In this issue: A tip for simplifying Shortcuts and Alfred integration, Federico’s Obsidian shortcuts for appending text and webpage links to a section of his Dashboard note, details on how John is using the Stream Deck, an interview with BetterTouchTool developer Andreas Hegenberg, plus the usual App Debuts, Links, a recap of MacStories articles, and a preview of upcoming MacStories podcast episodes.
The fourth annual MacStories Selects Awards are just around the corner. As we announced last week, the process for choosing the Readers’ Choice Award winner has been split into two parts this year to ensure that everyone in Club MacStories has an opportunity to play a part in the decision.
Over the past several days, nominations for the award have been pouring in from Club MacStories members. We’re pleased to announce that the following five apps will move on to the finals:
Club MacStories+ and Club Premier members can vote on the winner of this year’s Readers’ Choice Award by going to the Club Discord Announcements channel where you’ll find a link for voting. If you’re a Club MacStories+ or Club Premier member, but haven’t joined the Discord community yet, you can do so by visiting your Club Account page and clicking on the Discord button.
The deadline for voting is Thursday, November 18th, 2021 at Noon Eastern US time. The winner of the Reader’s Choice Award will be announced in December along with the other MacStories Selects awards.
The Readers’ Choice Award is one of our favorite parts of the MacStories Selects Awards. Every year, Club members have picked an outstanding app and this year’s crop of finalists make it clear that this year will be no different. Congratulations to the five finalists from the entire MacStories team.
In this issue: We kick off the MacStories Selects Awards with Club member nominations for the Readers’ Choice Award, John shares Mac keyboard tips and a Downloads folder cleanup shortcut for the Mac, Federico explains how he tracks current and upcoming videogames in GameTrack, Brian King, a professional video director and producer, shares his M1 MacBook Pro video editing setup, Greg Godwin and Tim Nahumck share their Reminders-based shortcuts for meal planning and packing for a trip, plus a long list of App Debuts, Links, a recap of MacStories articles, and a preview of upcoming MacStories podcasts.
Club MacStories Town Halls are part of the monthly and other special live audio events we hold in the Club MacStories+ Discord community. The show is a recorded and lightly edited version of the Town Halls that we produce, so Club MacStories+ and Club Premier members who can’t attend the event live can listen later. To learn more about Club MacStories+ and Club Premier, visit our Club plans page.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the second lesson of the Automation Academy for Club MacStories+ and Club Premier members. In the first lesson, I covered the new Files actions in iOS and iPadOS 15, explaining how the deeper integration supported by Apple this year enables the creation of more advanced workflows that deal with saving files into specific folders, retrieving them, or, broadly speaking, automating the Files app. In the following weeks, I also highlighted examples of Files-based shortcuts created by members as part of my assignment for the Automation Academy.
In this second lesson, I’m covering another set of actions that showcase the advantages of Apple’s built-in apps: the Reminders actions. There’s an important difference between Reminders and Files actions: despite the additions to the Reminders app this year, its actions haven’t been updated at all. While the lack of support for tagging reminders in Shortcuts is disappointing, there is still a lot that can be done with Reminders actions in the Shortcuts app, especially when you consider options that were added in the past two years such as image attachments, rich links, and subtasks.
That’s my goal for this lesson: I’ll cover the basics of Apple’s native Reminders actions in Shortcuts and explain their limitations, but then I’ll switch gears and demonstrate some advanced (and unexpected!) implementations of Reminders, powered entirely by Shortcuts.
This is going to be a fun one. Grab your note-taking app of choice, and let’s get started.
This month, John covers the shortcomings of macOS Monterey that he’d like to see addressed by Apple first and Alex updates Club members on the iterative changes made over the past two months to Calliope, the set of technologies underlying the Club website.
In this issue: John shares his favorite XL widgets, Federico spotlights the disconnect between Apple’s implementation of new system app features and the Shortcuts actions for those apps, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of John’s macOS Monterey review on an all-new episode of MacStories Unplugged, plus the usual App Debuts, Links, a recap of MacStories articles, and a preview of upcoming MacStories podcast episodes.
In this issue: John shares his favorite moments from Monday’s Apple event and a macOS widget tip, Federico continues his series on his Obsidian setup with a look at how he’s using templates and a custom mobile toolbar, an announcement that we’ll be taking a one-week break soon, plus the usual App Debuts, Links, a recap of MacStories articles, and a preview of upcoming MacStories podcast episodes.
In this issue: Federico recommends Remind Me Faster and shares a Reminders tagging tip, John imagines the ideal modern read-it-later app, plus the usual App Debuts, Interesting Links, the latest happenings in the Club MacStories+ Discord community, a preview of upcoming MacStories podcast episodes, and a recap of MacStories articles.
