Diagramming and Planning with inShort (Sponsor)

This week MacSparky is sponsored by inShort for macOS.

inShort is an advanced diagramming and planning tool that lets you specify processes, resources, and how they all fit together. All of this is built around a unique interface that enables you to drill down into the details of a project or move back up to the overview and see the project in its entirety. The interface is brilliant.

inShort is an opinionated application that makes planning and workflow easier. It gets regular development and recently they’ve added layers (for pro subscribers), which add a new dimension to your diagrams, successfully combining related schemes in a common space.

If your project works in cycles, there’s new logic available in the application that lets you take into account several schedules for one object. It even addresses failed tasks, letting you map out what happens if the task fails in your project planning. This lets you log and analyze how what happens if things break, and it even updates the Gantt chart to display the failure.

If you haven’t checked out inShort, you should. Check out inShort.


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Mac Power Users 495: Manning the Battle Bridge with Artist Thom Zahler



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Comic book artist Thom Zahler uses his Macs and iPads to create some incredible artwork and manage his indie business. On this week’s episode of Mac Power Users, Thom shares his apps and workflows. 

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.

  • TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.

  • Linode: High performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs. Get a $20 credit.

  • Pingdom: Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when an outage occurs or a site transaction fails. Use offer code MPU to get 30% off.

Keyboard Maestro Script for Automating Contact Creation with Cardhop

Here’s a small Keyboard Maestro script that I use just about every day to create contacts on my Mac with Cardhop. The problem this is designed to solve is Basecamp project email addresses. Every new Basecamp project I create has a specialized (and nearly unreadable) email address attached. Any email I copy or forward to that address gets added to the project. Handy. Right?

But the process of creating a new contact card for each project is tedious, particularly with the Apple Contacts app that requires much clicking and typing. So I made this script that queries me for the project name and then grabs the magic email address from my clipboard to create a contact in the Basecamp Projects group in my contacts database. Cardhop’s quick entry system makes all the difference.

You can download the script here:

KM Script Download

And see the script in action in the below video. Note there is a discount code for the Keyboard Maestro Field Guide at the end of the video.

Also, here’s a screenshot of the script.



Apple Music Digital Masters

Yesterday Billboard wrote:

>
“On Wednesday (August 7) Apple Music announced the launch of Apple Digital Masters, a new initiative by the streaming giant that combines all of its “Mastered for iTunes” offerings into one global catalog. This is the company’s first public acknowledgement of the initiative, which it has been quietly unveiling for some time.”

Please let this include Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.

Please let this include Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.

Please let this include Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.

…

Checking In On The Shortcuts Update

I am still in the honeymoon phase with the iOS 13 updates to Shortcuts. As I explained in a recent newsletter, I am in the process of recording an entirely new Shortcuts Field Guide. I’ve already recorded over 50 videos, and I have quite a few left.

This update to Shortcuts is way more than I expected. There are new triggers, actions, and the overall programming paradigm has been simplified, making it easier than ever for anyone to create automation on their iPhone and iPad. The last few betas removed some of the more interesting automatic triggers, but I understand they will be coming back. Regardless, if you have any remote interest in automation on your iPad and iPhone, you’re in for a treat in September.

Today while working with the new Shortcuts, I was pondering the state of affairs a few years ago when Apple first bought the Workflow application. At the time I thought there were two possibilities: they’d bring it into iOS but remove it’s more powerful elements (like they did with Siri) or they would scrap it entirely and re-distribute the very talented team to other projects.

Honestly, it never occurred to me that they would incorporate Workflow into the operating system and vastly improve its capabilities. Even if the thought had occurred to me, I would have bet you a lot of money that they wouldn’t then double down a second year to make it even easier to use and more powerful.

I have always believed that automation is something everybody should be able to master and use. These improvements to Shortcuts are paving the way for just that. These devices we carry in our pocket do not need to be an interruption in our lives. With the kind of automation Apple is democratizing with Shortcuts, we can get our work done faster and get on to the more essential things of life, like making art (however you define that), playing with their children, and, of course, taking naps.

Focused 79: Reclaiming Margin, with Shawn Blanc



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The Focus Course founder Shawn Blanc is back and on this week’s episode of Focused, he’s talking about the importance of margin, how it gave him the space he needed to work through a personal crisis, and life lessons learned from his orange 1984 Jeep CJ-7.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code FOCUSED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

  • Hover: Make a name for yourself. Get 10% off any domain name.

Get Organized with OmniOutliner (Sponsor)



This week, MacSparky is sponsored by OmniOutliner. The latest version of OmniOutliner for Mac, iPad, and iPhone is a great example of just how much the gang at the Omni Group cares about making the best productivity software. This app is so much more than a just a beautiful outliner. It’s got automation, distraction-free mode, filters, slide-in sidebars, gorgeous styles, and more.

Often, people throw seemingly random bits of information at me. In those cases, it is my job to organize it, make sense or it, and then make that information work for my client. This is where, for me, OmniOutliner is essential; it makes order from chaos. I often share these outlines with clients so that we can collaborate on getting things right. Clients love them. They love the way it organizes complex information. They also love they way it looks. To an extent, I view OmniOutliner’s gorgeous-looking outlines as just one more thing that distinguishes me from others in my field.

OmniOutliner is both pretty and powerful. Best of all, with their new Pro and Essentials versions, it is priced so that anyone can have the best outliner available for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Head over to the Omni Group today and try it for yourself.

Mac Power Users 494: Our Home Offices



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On this week’s episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I talk about our home offices: how they are setup, what equipment and furnishings are used, and, of course, what nerdy toys are around. Then, we discuss the pros and cons of working from home.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.

  • The Omni Group: We’re passionate about productivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad.

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

  • Linode: High performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs. Get a $20 credit.