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Automating the Action Button of an iPhone 15 Pro

My iPhone 15 Pro Max shipped last week. A couple of quick observations (and more on an upcoming episode of the podcast).

  • I moved up from a smaller pro phone to the Max this year for the camera improvements. I was nervous it would be far too heavy but I am surprised to say that the new titanium material makes me perceive it as lighter than my previous pro model.

  • I have missed the larger screen size.

  • The camera is very good. If you are up for an upgrade, the Pro Max is definitely the one to get this year.

  • It is a a dream to have an entirely dedicated hardware button on the side that I can customize.

The Action Button replaces the old mute switch, and while it can be used to toggle mute on and off, Apple also lets you customize it to do something else, like open the camera, turn on a flashlight, take a voice memo, or run a Shortcut.

Naturally I wanted to get the most out of this button, so I programmed it to run a Shortcut. The Shortcut I programmed it to run changes the behavior of the button based on which Focus Mode my phone is in.

Click here to download the shortcut.

The Shortcut first looks to see if my phone is upside down (which it often is in my pocket). If so, the button toggles mute off and on, like the button traditionally has done. This way, I can quickly mute it if an unwanted call comes through, by feeling the button through my pocket (though my phone us usually on silent mode).

If the phone is in any other orientation, it does the following action, based on Focus Mode:

  • Personal Focus: Opens a new note in the Drafts app

  • Work Focus: Opens a Google Doc with the school schedule

  • Private Lesson Focus: Unlocks the side door to my studio so my next student can enter

  • Sleep Focus: Toggles flashlight

  • Concert Focus: Opens camera

  • Driving Focus: Opens my garage door

And this is only the beginning! I am looking forward to all the cool automating I can do with this button.

Actions for Obsidian Released

You may have heard me talk about the note app Obsidian here a lot over the past year (like for example here, here, or here). I also really like automating my life with the Apple Shortcuts app (which you can read about here, here again, or here).

Obsidian is already very automatable, but using Shortcuts for the job makes everything way easier and less abstract. I am happy to report that there is now an awesome Mac app which adds Obsidian actions to the Shortcuts app.

Actions for Obsidian is the missing link between Obsidian and macOS / iOS. It brings 30+ Shortcuts actions into the Shortcuts app to help bring your notes and automations together. The Mac app is out now and the iOS version is coming soon.

From the developer:

Actions for Obsidian is a macOS application that adds over 30 Shortcuts actions for working with Obsidian notes and vaults, making Obsidian a first-class citizen in Apple's Shortcuts app.

Obsidian is very powerful, and its large community has created hundreds of useful plugins that make working inside an Obsidian vault even more powerful and easier, but there was no integration with macOS and Apple's automation ecosystem until now. Actions for Obsidian adds that integration and makes it easy to bring information from other apps into your notes, or to bring information from your vaults into other apps.

I have been testing the app for a bit now, and it has really cleaned up a lot of my daily workflows.

For example, here is a Shortcut that takes looks at my daily calendar events, creates a note for each of them all in Obsidian, and then preappends my Obsidian Daily Note with links out to all of them so that they are associated with the current day.

That last action in the sequence is provided and made possible by Actions for Obsidian. You can download the app here and get ideas for how to use it in their Workflow Library.

Here is a little sample of what calendar notes look like when embedded in my daily note:

Actions for Obsidian is free to download with a 14 day trial period. It has a "pay what you want pricing" starting at $9.99.

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Scripting SDK in Pro Tools

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I do a lot of automation. I have always felt like the tools for automating basic computer productivity are more vast and varied than those for the more advanced creative professional software.

Pro Tools has a new update, and while I have not used it in many years, I took note of this particular addition, which will allow third parties to create their own scripting tools, which could improve and streamline cumbersome workflows in the DAW.

It would be very cool to see some other DAWs do something like this. I wonder, often, why Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro do not have any support for Shortcuts, Apple's new and cross-platform system for automation. Shortcuts has eliminated countless hours of work and stress from my email, calendar, writing, and task workflows. Why should their creative pro software be any different?

What's New in Pro Tools - Avid Technology:

Scripting SDK

The Pro Tools 2022.12 software release includes support for a new Scripting SDK (software development kit) that enables high-end facilities and application developers for scripting Pro Tools to help automate repetitive tasks and create whole new workflows. This new free Pro Tools Scripting SDK provides developers with everything they need to get up and running.

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Pixelmator Pro 2.4 gets an update!

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Pixelmator Pro 2.4 was recently released.

You can read more here. This version adds tons of new stuff, including color adjustments and effects layers.

Pixelmator Pro is always my recommendation for people who need a Photoshop-like tool, but without getting a degree in Photoshop or buying a monthly Creative Cloud subscription.

Pixelmator seems like it gets easier to use every update. It’s wild how much power they pack into an interface that is inspired by Photoshop workflows, but immediately accessible anyone who has used a personal computer.

CleanShot 2022-04-13 at 11.49.33.png

My favorite features of Pixelmator Pro in recent years include:

  • One-click machine learning feature which can remove things from the background or foreground, and sharpen low-quality images
  • Shortcuts support (which can automatically batch edit images on my computer, generate my podcast show art, and more)
  • It’s easy to use interface

Check it out on the Mac App Store.

Audio Hijack 4, Shortcuts, Podcasting Automation

Audio Hijack 4 is Here! | Rogue Amoeba Blog:

Today, we’re thrilled to unveil a major upgrade to Audio Hijack, our flagship audio recorder and processor. Audio Hijack 4 brings both powerful new functionality and powerful new interfaces, to make its ability to record any audio on your Mac more accessible than ever. With an absolutely ridiculous 107 new features, enhancements, improvements, and bug fixes, Audio Hijack has never been better.

Read on to learn more or just click to download Audio Hijack 4!

Audio Hijack is an essential tool in my workflow. I use it to do everything from recording my podcast to capturing audio from apps. It's sort of a Swiss Army Knife of audio utilities on the Mac. And today it gets better.

You can read the post from Rogue Amoeba above to get the full scoop. You can read my previous post on Audio Hijack to get a feel for how I use it. I also had Rogue Amoeba's CEO Paul Kafasis on Music Ed Tech Talk to talk about all sorts of creative ways to use their audio apps in the classroom.

My favorite new feature of Audio Hijack 4 is the Shortcuts integration.

I can now automate features of Audio Hijack by adding actions in my Shortcuts. One example of this is my "Podcasting" Shortcut which I trigger before I record my show (or go on Zoom calls).

This Shortcut...

  • reminds me to turn off my fan (using the speak text action)
  • tracks how long I record in the time tracking app Timery
  • sets a reminder to turn back on the fan later in the evening
  • opens Craft and Obsidian (where I keep my show outline and show notes, respectively)
  • opens Zoom, launches the meeting, mutes my mic, and records the call (as a back up)

Now I can add Audo Hijack as a step. In the action above, I am having it automatically start running my "Input Device" session, which takes the audio input of my Scarlet 6i6 audio interface and records it as an AIFF.

This Shortcut also puts my devices into a Podcasting Focus mode which silences all notifications except the ones from my wife.

The Music Ed Tech Talk Holiday Gift Guide, featuring Dr. David MacDonald

David MacDonald joins Robby to share their favorite books, hardware, apps, services, and musical gift ideas.

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Show Notes:

Books

Hardware

More Hardware

Software

Services

Misc

Music of the Week

Robby - Sarah Jarosz

David - Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Tech Tip of the Week

Robby - Focus Modes

David - CopyChar.cc

Where to Find Us:

Robby - Twitter | Blog | Book

David - Twitter | Website | Blog

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

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Guest Post on Scoring Notes: Use Shortcuts to quickly create score templates on macOS and iOS

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I wrote a post for the Scoring Notes blog, published today. The post is all about using the Shortcuts app on iOS (and now the Mac) to create custom templates in music notation software.

I did my best to provide basic context for the Shortcuts app so that this post can be accessible by any teacher, musician, or composer. The post includes a link to download both the shortcut and an example score template so you can tweak it to your heart’s content. Here is an excerpt:

Use Shortcuts to quickly create score templates on macOS and iOS — Robby Burns | Scoring Notes:

Even though apps like Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico don’t come with their own built-in Shortcuts actions, the addition of several new file-based actions from the Automator makes creating templates possible.

The shortcut below is three simple steps. I searched for each action in the right sidebar and dragged them in the order I wanted them to occur. Here’s what each step does:

  1. Looks for a score I made in Dorico that is set up in 4/4, in concert B♭ major, and with all of the instruments common to a middle school bands.
  2. Saves a copy of that file to the Desktop.
  3. Opens it in Dorico.

Click here to keep reading on Scoring Notes.

#43 - iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, with Paul Shimmons

Paul Shimmons returns to the show to talk about the features in Apple’s new operating system updates, and how we plan to use them.

Patreon subscribers get a bootleg version of the recording, without the ads, and including bonus conversation about notation apps on iPad.

Subscribe to the Blog...

RSS | Email Newsletter

Subscribe to the Podcast in...

Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

Support Music Ed Tech Talk

Become a Patron!

Buy me a coffee

Show Notes:

Tuesday, 26 Oct 2021 14:10:49.jpeg

App of the Week

Paul - Ultimate Drill Book

Robby - Sofa

Music of the Week

Paul - Powerhouse - White Heart

Robby - Cory Henry - Best of Me

Where to Find Us:

Robby - Twitter | Blog | Book

Paul - Twitter | Website

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Creating Rehearsal Automations and Workflows with iPadOS 15

Apple’s forthcoming fall operating system updates became available in a public beta on Wednesday. I like to stay up to date on what I will do with my computers each fall and these new updates feature a ton of productivity boosts. Naturally, I chose to dive in.

For now, I have installed just the iOS 15 beta on my iPad. It is a low-stakes device for me, and I am most dependent on it for using forScore in rehearsal and concerts (the official releases will have shipped by my next concerts). I have also read that these betas are relatively stable, but anything is possible, so if you do this (which I don’t recommend), make sure you backup your data!

There are a few productivity features I immediately began experimenting with.

Widgets on the Home Screen

The iPad now allows you to put widgets anywhere on the home screen. I am trying an experiment that strips most of the apps off the main page and instead makes a productivity dashboard. It’s pretty nice!

Focus Modes

You can design your own contextual Do Not Disturb modes on iOS 15. Each focus allows you to decide…

  1. Which apps can be used

  2. Which contacts can notify you

  3. What your home screen looks like

  4. And more

I set up the default Personal and Work focus modes that come built into the OS. My thinking for these is that Personal focus will be similar to regular Do Not Disturb but will only allow close family to text me. Work focus I set up to only allow notifications from email and Slack and limited it to only apps I use for doing logistic desk work and advancing projects.

Here is where things get fun. I created a Rehearsal Focus mode that shuts off access to all apps except the ones I use in rehearsal. It only allows members of my music team to reach me. It is designed to help me stay focused while teaching.

I haven’t done much with customizing the home screen in these various modes of focus yet, but I imagine the automation potential to be huge.

New Shortcuts Actions

A TON of new Shortcuts actions are available to all operating systems (and the Mac is getting the Shortcuts app in this update!)

Shortcuts isn’t as powerful in my work life as it is in my personal life because most of my music and education apps have insufficient (or no) Shortcuts support. But that doesn’t mean I can’t trim tons of time eliminating the friction of iPad multitasking.

In most rehearsals, I open the same apps and files on screen. Now, with a one-tap Shortcut, I can have my iPad go into the new Rehearsal Focus mode, open forScore on the left, GoodNotes on the right (with a blank new note I can use as a digital white board), and a Tonal Energy Tuner app in Slide-Over. Now, if only forScore would add Shortcuts support so I can program it to open a specific score!

See it in action below. Then imagine how long it would take you to set up manually while you have 60-100 band kids entering the room and demanding your attention.

Here is a link to a copy of this Shortcut that you can tweak to your own liking.

Set your iPhone to open a tuner or take a screenshot when you tap the Apple logo on back

I have been seeing this tip gain popularity with teachers online, so I feel obligated to share it here:

You can program your iPhone to do a nearly endless list of things by double or triple tapping the back of it. Go to Settings-->Accessibility-->Touch and then scroll down to the option called "Back Tap."

Alternatively, you can swipe down in settings to reveal a search bar and then type in "back tap."

You can program a tap of the Apple Logo on the back of your iPhone to do tons of system actions like going home, muting your phone, taking a screenshot, or launching Control Center.

The Touch options in the accessibility settings.

The Touch options in the accessibility settings.

Setting a double and triple-tap.

Setting a double and triple-tap.

There are lots of options!

There are lots of options!

You can also choose a Shortcut to launch. And Shortcuts can do anything from launching an app to running JavaScript. So you can imagine the possibility...

Personally, I have a double-tap set to reveal Control Center and a triple tap set to initiate open a new note in my note-taking app, Drafts.

To open a specific app, you will first need to make a Shortcut that performs the “Open App” action and then select that Shortcut from the available options in the Back Tap settings. To do that, open the Shortcuts app (pre-installed on every iPhone or available from the App Store on older versions of iOS).

Once in Shortcuts, create a new one with the plus icon in the upper right. Name your shortcut if you want (by pressing the three-dots “More” button), and then press “Add Action.” There is an overwhelming number of options if you are unfamiliar with Shortcuts, so just use the search and look for the action called “Open App.” Select this action from the search results and then a block will appear with a blue “Choose” option where you can choose the app you want it to open. Choose your tuner of choice.

Once saved, this Shortcut will be available as an option in the Back Tap settings.

***Note: The Tonal Energy app actually allows you to set up Shortcuts that jump to specific places within the app like the Analysis or Metronome section. You can find this in the TE settings. It will save you a bunch of extra taps.

Creating a new Shortcut.

Creating a new Shortcut.

Search for the Open App action.

Search for the Open App action.

Tonal Energy allows you to make Shortcuts that launch to specific parts of their app in the settings.

Tonal Energy allows you to make Shortcuts that launch to specific parts of their app in the settings.

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