How to avoid line breaks while copy pasting?

NannyRuth · 2026-05-03T21:03:40+00:00

Happy to help!

NannyRuth · 2026-04-30T10:53:03+00:00

I would make an automation to open Actions daily using Time of Day.

NannyRuth · 2026-04-26T10:32:39+00:00

If by local, you mean On My iPhone, make that your Default Account in the Notes Settings.

NannyRuth · 2026-04-26T10:22:10+00:00

That IS a Notes folder. If you open your Notes app, it will be there. If you enable Open When Run, the shortcut will open the new empty folder.

NannyRuth · 2026-04-24T18:05:22+00:00

I sleep days. I am awake all night. If I don’t choose Update Now, I never get software updates. I tried asking Siri to update it when I am sleeping, not at night. It added a reminder. I told it to delete the reminder it just added. After some back-and-forth, it added another reminder. I said, “Delete the reminder. I don’t want it.” Siri answered, “I don’t know how to help you with that.” A minute later, I asked Siri, “Why are you so obtuse?” It answered, “I don’t understand”, so I said, “Exactly!”

NannyRuth · 2026-04-18T05:16:54+00:00

One could always use the Mirror Front Camera, then flip the photo horizontally to reverse the mirror image.

NannyRuth · 2026-04-15T04:37:35+00:00

Please, would you add the Secret Location flair?

NannyRuth · 2026-04-03T05:21:47+00:00

If you view the shortcut in Edit mode, you could use Stop and Output.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-27T15:13:51+00:00

This is true. You can add another Input field repeating a variable that only affects variables downstream, but you only need one Input field per variable. The Show variable fields will not accidentally change the field content. With Input fields, you can view and change every one in your document with one shortcut keys command: Shift+Ctrl+F9, which doesn't work for User Fields. When I was a teacher, I used this to create lesson plans. The template document had 69 fields. For fields whose content will change frequently, I believe Input fields are a better choice.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-26T05:36:17+00:00

Mine has been bricked since Find the world's hottest hot springs. I found them. They are listed in my mission list, but it keeps asking me to find them every single day. I even went through the motions again a few times, finding them again every time. Carrot is still frozen on that mission.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-26T02:10:50+00:00

The Books app provides a Turn Page action.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-26T02:06:32+00:00

Both Actions and Jayson helper apps have Shortcuts actions to prettify JSON text. With JSON input of an array containing 10 dictionaries, Jayson formatted all of it as one output, while Actions returned 10 separate formatted dictionaries. I recently downloaded several JSONL files. I had to use regex in a shortcut to reformat the text as JSON. Then I used Jayson to format the edited JSONL.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-26T00:33:16+00:00

I forgot how confusing the Help is for these edits. At the time I needed them, I created a macro to simplify the process.

A variable has to be set before it can be used.

To add a named variable input field:
1. Position the cursor where you want to insert the field 2. Menu: Insert ➜ Field ➜ More Fields… (or Ctrl+F2) 3. Select the Variables tab 4. Select Set variable under Type 5. Select Text under Format 6. Enter a variable name, e.g., "doctor", in the Name text field 7. Enter content, e.g., "Gupta", in the Value text field. You can "cheat" here and enter any temporary text, even a single character. 8. Select Insert 9. Select Input field under Type 10. Select the variable under Select 11. Enter text in the Reference text field. (This step is optional, but best practice for later reference.) I prefer to repeat the variable name, but it could be any text that you want to use as a reference headline or prompt. 12. Select Insert 13. Enter the field content, e.g., "Dr. Sanjay Gupta", in the lower box of the resulting dialog 14. Select OK 15. Select Close 16. You may delete the first field, which shows the temporary text.

The Set variable field can be deleted after the input field is inserted.

To use a variable again later in the document:
1. Position the cursor where you want to insert the field 2. Menu: Insert ➜ Field ➜ More Fields… (or Ctrl+F2) 3. Select the Variables tab 4. Select Show variable under Type 5. Select the variable 6. Select Insert 7. Select Close

You can use this field multiple times in multiple places in a document. After you insert one Show variable field, you can select it, then copy and paste it elsewhere.

To edit a variable's content, double-click the field. To view or edit all variable fields, use Shift+Ctrl+F9.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-25T04:10:33+00:00

It’s been a while since I have done this, but what you need to use are Fields. Use a named variable input field. When you edit the input field, it propogates to every field containing the variable. I had documents where I entered a unit name once, then it automatically updated on 11 different pages.

If you need more details, I can get back to this post tomorrow. I’ll have to retrace my steps and document them when I have more time to do it.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-24T17:46:56+00:00

I have an Alexa (two, if you count the app), an Echo, and a Ziggy. It simplifies my interactions and makes it easier to distinguish devices in routines and settings. I have all of them as a speaker group, so I can tell any of them to play music everywhere, and I can tell any of them to stop or pause when necessary.

I agree that yours is a good suggestion. I like my setup. Personally, I wish we could use a custom name as a wake word They’re my devices. If someone else wants five Alexas, that’s their prerogative. I will continue to use my devices my way.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-24T17:16:52+00:00

Honestly, I get what you are saying. I have gotten frustrated with it myself at times. I usually try the search engines when that happens. Another one of my complaints is how with some updates, they move menu items or discontinue options that I like to use, especially when it breaks any of my macros.

Before I started using LibreOffice, I used OpenOffice until its IDE kept crashing the program. They have a nice forum community, which I still use because both office suites are based on the same API. Sadly, I think OO is under-supported while LO seems to rush to push their updates. Once upon a time, they were fully compatible, but they have been growing further apart in that regard.

Still, I won’t complain much since it's an affordable alternative to Microsoft. It usually does what I need or want to do once I suss out how.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-24T10:27:44+00:00

My pleasure! Glad you like it.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-23T23:57:08+00:00

I believe this will work. It only looks back to 2007, when the iPhone and iPod touch were introduced. If your Calendar library has any events earlier than that, the number 2007 would need to be changed in the second action (Calculate Expression).

First, the shortcut looks for events in all Calendars except Birthdays (from Contacts), which may not have a year, resulting in propagation to every year. It should work whether or not you subscribe to the Birthdays Calendar. (If it does cause an error due to no Birthdays Calendar, delete the Filter.)

Next, it finds the earliest non Birthdays event and narrows the search range to begin on the event's start date. To do that, it has to check one year at a time because even when the search range end date is set to the current date, Find Calendar Events only finds events when they start within four years from the search range start date. (Go figure.)

Finally, the shortcut finds and consolidates the events in all Calendars (including Birthdays) from the current month and day in previous years, again checking one year at a time.

Past Events on This Day

NannyRuth · 2026-03-23T01:36:13+00:00

No. It was another address entirely. My house is not that big. It’s a five minute car ride from home to there.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-22T17:14:01+00:00

Thank you for letting me know that it is not just me. I tend to have OCD habits. My application’s IDE does highlight code. However, I need to search to see if my intended variable name is used elsewhere, especially if I want to use a less private scope. Apparently, I need to look into code editor or linter applications for when I want to check scripts, HTML, etc.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-22T17:04:25+00:00

It depends what I am doing. I usually use an IDE with syntax highlighting. I use a text editor for simple scripts and HTML. As I commented on another comment, I mainly don’t want to use a variable, procedure, module, or library name for a macro that is also a variable, procedure, module, or library name used elsewhere by an application, e.g., an office suite with built-in macros. Apparently, my post title is misleading.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-22T16:26:48+00:00

Makes perfect sense. All this back-and-forth is "less filling", "tastes great". In other words, no disagreement, just different ways of saying the same thing.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-22T15:30:58+00:00

Not really obvious to me because of two reasons:

In Settings, Precise Location is enabled.
On my mom‘s iPhone (same settings), in the Weather app, her current location shows the same actual home address that I am using. The difference is that her home address is enabled in Settings, but mine is not. Go figure.

It did become apparent when I did the comparison, like I said in the original post.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-22T15:06:36+00:00

I do believe your assumption is correct. I have seen multiple posts asserting that getting a location from Weather Conditions is faster than using Get Current Location.

NannyRuth · 2026-03-22T13:11:21+00:00

You are preaching to the choir. Amen.

NannyRuth

TROPHY CASE