Siri Shortcuts

by Sergei Zaplitny

iOS 12 presented a new feature called Siri Shortcuts. It allows using Siri in any application. I've been waiting for this kind of feature since Siri first appeared and now I am pleased to introduce Siri Shortcuts in the apps (both aTimeLogger and TimeTrack)

The following operations are possible now

  • start activity
  • stop running activity
  • pause running activity
  • resume activity

The rules below apply both to aTimeLogger and TimeTrack

Step 1
  1. Open the app and start activity (e.g Development)
  2. Pause the activity
  3. Resume the activity
  4. Stop the activity
Step 2

After performing the actions specified above in Step 1, the following shortcuts will appear in Settings / Siri & Search:

  • Start Development
  • Stop activity
  • Pause activity
  • Resume Development
Step 3

We’re not done yet. We need to assign a phrase for each Siri shortcut. It is unnecessary to use the same phrase as the name of the shortcut. For example, you can say "I'm going to bed" for the "Start Sleep" shortcut and Siri will start Sleep activity when you say this phrase.

Step 4
Limitations

Siri does not pass dynamic information to an app. That's why:

  • comments cannot be saved
  • you have to create a separate "Start" or "Resume" shortcut for each activity type you are going to start or resume