Widgets and Customization

If Apple only knew …

With the recent release of iOS 14, many folks have been enjoying customizing the look of their iPhones. It is crazy how apparent the demand was for customization once Apple lowered the bar enough for anyone to do it independently. I love that this trend has put my friend David Smith on the top of the app charts with Widgetsmith, but I like even more that this has let users feel a closer connection to their technology.

Stephen Hackett explains why stodgy nerds shouldn’t know widget shame. I want to take it a step further and remind us all to think back to the first time we customized our technology. I used to have an Atari ST that I skinned to look like a Mac. Then when I got a Mac, I UI skinned it to look like a space ship console. Before there was an iPhone, I had a Treo phone that had Mac icons on it. As I sit here, I have replaced the icons of folders on my Mac with custom icons.

Customizing your technology is fun. Whether you are 9 or 90, you often sit at a computer to do work. Why not make it fun and delightful? I hope Apple is taking note. Indeed, I hope that has added a few entries to that big whiteboard in Cupertino. Specifically:

Replacing our App icons is cool. Making users go through Shortcuts to do so is not. Why not make it easier (and faster)?
Limiting each widget to one application feels like an unnecessary constraint. Wouldn’t it be cool if multiple apps can donate to a single user-customizable widget the same way apps can donate data to Shortcuts? We could make widgets that combine data from the apps most important to us.
David Smith’s app, Widgetsmith, can change the widget based on the time of day. We should be able to do that with all widgets, the same way you can now change Apple Watch faces based on the time of day via Shortcut automation. Also, speaking of Apple Watch …
Custom watch faces would be just as popular with Apple Watch owners as custom widgets are with iPhone owners. Please, Apple, give us custom Apple Watch faces.

The explosion of creativity with widgets on the iPhone has let the genie out of the bottle. Whatever faction inside Apple has been arguing for more user customization just got a lot more leverage in those Cupertino planning meetings. I sure hope they use it.

Mac Power Users 555: iOS 14 Extravaganza

iOS 14 is here, bringing new features like widgets, the App Library, increased privacy, and a lot more. Join Stephen and I on the this episode of Mac Powers to hear us review the release and talk about how Apple could take some of these features farther in the future.

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Automators 59: iOS 14 Shortcuts

On this episode of Automators, Rosemary and I dive into the iOS 14 update to Shortcuts and what it brings to all of us, as well as how we’re using it.

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Updates and Improvements to the Salutation AppleScript for Apple Mail

My relationship with Apple Mail isn’t love so much as familiarity. However, every time I think about walking out on Apple Mail, I think about our long and complicated relationship, and how much work I’ve put into it with things like my salutation AppleScript.

The Updated Script

Using a combination of AppleScript and TextExpander, I’m able to automatically insert an email salutation by typing “xhi”. This is really useful and something I run multiple times a day. The original post and explanation on how it works is still good. However, the script has altered a bit. You can download the updated version, called “xnm” (“X Name” in my head) here. I suggest running it as an embedded TextExpander snippet so you can combine it with a variety salutations like “Hi”, “Hello”, “Dear”, “Hey”, and whatever else floats your boat. Also, you can download the TextExpander group with both the “xnm” and “xhi” snippets here. That should be all you need to get this rolling.

But What About Multiple Recipients?

Reader Mark Bramhill had that exact question and came up with two variations of this script. The first will make a salutation for everyone in the “To:” field. If you regularly (or occasionally) send email to multiple recipients, this variant is for you.

Download Multiple Recipients AppleScript

That, however, wasn’t enough for Mark. He made a separate AppleScript that counts the number of recipients. If there is just one recipient, it inserts that person’s name. If there is more than one (including looking at the cc: field), the script instead writes “Y’all”. I thought both of these scripts were pretty clever.

Download the “Y’all” Script

Language Specificity

I also had several emails from non-english speakers about the script not working. The trouble is in this line:

tell text field "To:" of window 1

As you can see, the script is language-specific. In English, the script looks for the “To:” field, but in other languages, that field has a different name. In Dutch, for instance, it’s “Aan:”. If your native language isn’t English, you’ll need to fix that line appropriately.

I do love how this script has taken on a life of its own. This isn’t a testament to anything particularly bright on my part but the utility of a script that auto-salutes every email you send. This feature is so useful that I’m shocked it isn’t baked in to all email applications.

Fantastical 3.2’s Calendar Widgets

Flexibits has released Fantastical Version 3.2, with 12 new widgets for iOS and iPadOS 14 and Scribble support for iPadOS 14.

You can now customize the exact views of Fantastical how you want on your Homescreen with 12 unique widgets to choose from. Do you want small widgets to simply show the date or the next upcoming event or task? Maybe you would prefer medium widgets to show a bit more information or side-by-side monthly calendars? How about large widgets that provide an in-depth agenda? Goldilocks this and find out what works best for you.

Of course the Fantastical widgets are gorgeous. I immediately kicked the Apple Calendar widget off my home screen and replaced it with the one from Fantastical. It displays my calendar data better, includes the current date on my home screen, and adds the weather to boot. One final advantage, putting it on as widget allowed me to pull the app out of my dock. Win-win.

Last year I built an intricate Shortcut to turn my agenda into a PDF and then save it as the home screen. It all fell apart when Apple pulled the rug from under me by removing the “Set image as wallpaper” shortcut action. Having Fantastical on my home screen is way better.

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The Great USB Adapter Purge of 2020

At the new Apple Watch event last week, we got Apple’s first explanation of why they aren’t shipping USB power adapters. The reason, not surprisingly, is to protect the environment. The presentation had a surprising statistic (to me, at least) that removing the USB adapters from the watches and other work with their manufacturing partners reduces the carbon footprint by the equivalent of 50,000 cars.

The next penny to drop will be the new iPhone. If the watch is worth 50,000 cars, how many cars do you expect for the iPhone? It will be lots. I’ve written about this before. My initial thought was that Apple would also offer an easy way to get a free USB power adapter for those who need it. Now I’m wondering if they will go that far. So far, I haven’t seen a lot of negative feedback about this decision on the watch.

Maybe I’m too sensitive about the Apple-is-a-bunch-of-cheap-bastards line of thought, but I feel like with an iPhone announcement without an easy way to get a power adapter, if needed, we are going to see that argument used a lot next month.

Mistakes Book

Mistakes: The Foundation of Your Small Business.JPG

Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean have been making The Small Business Show, a podcast about … well … small businesses, for five years now. It’s a great show, and I’ve even guested on it.

Recently Dave and Shannon released a book called We Love Mistakes that details so many potholes small business people often fall in. If you run a small business, or better yet, are thinking about starting a small business, this is required reading.

The Coming Research App Revolution

In the last several months, I have been experimenting a lot with Roam Research and Obsidian. There is a lot to like about these apps and their crazy-powerful internal links. With both Roam and Obsidian, cross-linking is ridiculously easy. In the case of Roam Research, this isn’t just true for note titles, but instead every word in your database. So you can be writing away about subject A, but then easily cross-link to the 37th paragraph of something else you wrote about subject B.

Not only can you cross-link, but you can also even embed that paragraph 37 in your subject A text in a way that lets your reference or modify it right in the middle of your word pile on subject A.

With both Roam and Obisian, any phrase (or word) in your database can become a separate page by merely putting two brackets around it. That newly minted page will include links to every other page in your database that consists of that phrase. It is powerful stuff, and I am not doing it justice, but the cross-linking and dynamic page/note creation is an entirely different way to research and take notes. I am using it now daily for legal research and Field Guide development. Throwing all of my ideas in one big bowl and letting them mix around pays immense dividends.

This, however, is not going unnoticed by the rest of the development community. The Archive has been using a similar linked text system for years. Bear recently added a new feature that lets you cross-link not only titles but also note subheadings. It does not go as deep as Roam Research, but it is a start. Moreover, my beloved Drafts, which also supports cross-linking note titles, have an ecosystem of mobile apps, and there’s already an entire Drafts action library that lets you cross and backlink to Drafts notes.

This influx of cross-linking, dynamic referencing, and the linkable chaos that these apps create feel, to me, like something entirely new, and that bell is not going to get unrung. Not only do I expect these apps to push further ahead with these tools, but I also anticipate other apps to develop in the same direction. A year from now, we are going to have some fantastic options.

One of the best parts of being enthusiastic about technology is when I witness something fundamentally change. I can’t help but think that is happening right now in the research and notes space.

Mac Power Users 554: Read-It-Later Services

Read-it-later services can be a great way to save and enjoy an article later, away from the noise of social media or an overflowing RSS client. This episode of Mac Power Users has Stephen and I talking about some of the popular choices, and how to keep them from becoming just another thing to check. Then, a recap of Apple’s recent media event.

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