Mark Van Alstine

I enjoy coding, Apple Shortcuts, spending time with my family, and learning new things.

📍
Michigan, USA
Brief
Engineer / Tech Nerd / Dad
Mark Van Alstine boosted:
2026-03-09

Monthly Top on RoutineHub 2026-03-01
talk.automators.fm/t/19102

Mark Van Alstinemvan231
2026-03-09

@fistfulofdave would be great if Hyundai could implement

Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Work Chronicles comicsworkchronicles
2026-03-04
Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Haunted LineageHauntedLineage
2026-03-01

- Eagle River – Railroad Tracks: Long ago, in the 1800s, a man worked on the railroad tracks. One day, he was riding on the back of a. . . Read: hauntedlineage.com/directory/e

Mark Van Alstinemvan231
2026-02-26

@jarunmb certainly! This is my current backup solution

icloud.com/shortcuts/dbdfdb996

As for a cancel button, are you talking about cancelling an already running shortcut? You can tap the stop button to kill it

Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Chris Wu 🪐MuseumShuffle
2026-02-26

I opened feedback in July 2024 (FB14239014) that the Shortcuts app is not adjusting properly to accessibility text sizes. Such a bummer to see that's still the case.

I also just realized that the Shortcuts app ignores any per-app accessibility text settings when you run a shortcut for that app.

The Shortcuts app with the largest accessibility text sizes in place. All of the words are split up and/or cut off.
Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Pete Prodoehl 🍕rasterweb
2026-02-26

I’ve been trying to incorporate Apple Shortcuts into my workflow. I’ve got a few useful things now but happy to hear any recommendations.

Mark Van Alstinemvan231
2026-02-26

@jarunmb I have an auto backup that runs every so many days. It's a life saver when you need it

Mark Van Alstine boosted:
2026-02-26

💾
I really like using Apple Shortcuts, but damn they really need CYA features added:

-Auto backup
-Cancel button
-Save button instead of immediate

#Apple #Shortcuts ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mark Van Alstinemvan231
2026-02-02

@donkey @matthewcassinelli sort of, but it relies on using the x-callback url scheme and is a bit finicky to use

Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Rodrigo Araújormaraujo
2026-02-02

The app has been entirely rewritten in SwiftUI, and the result is a more beautiful app, less crashes and better usability all around.

Also, widgets *FINALLY* update correctly!

Image showing an screenshot of Charty 2.0 series editing view, alongside the text: Completely new interface. Charty has been entirely rewritten on SwiftUI with improved controls and more customization
Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Rodrigo Araújormaraujo
2026-02-02

And everything is ready for iOS 26, including new Liquid Glass icons!

Images of Charty’s three new Liquid Glass icons (light, dark and tinted)
Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Rich Aestheticrichaesthetic
2026-02-02

Here’s how to schedule light mode and dark mode on a time schedule on macOS. In system settings you can only choose Auto which does it via sunrise sunset.

youtu.be/vpVGPWmeqz0

Mark Van Alstinemvan231
2026-01-16

@wiersdorf did you find a fix?

Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Ashton Wiersdorfwiersdorf@fosstodon.org
2026-01-16

I need help reproducing a bug in Apple Shortcuts. If you have an iPhone, please try out this shortcut:

icloud.com/shortcuts/70ad266b5

What it is supposed to do is replace spaces with “:” like s/ +/:/ on the input text.

If I put in *specifically* the string “Blog teaching” (tags for a note I’m writing) it comes up *empty*. Every other input I’ve tried has worked.

I’m on iOS 26.2. Please let me know if you are able to reproduce and/or know how to file a bug with Apple.

#apple #iOS #shortcuts

Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Rich Aestheticrichaesthetic
2026-01-16

Really hope Apple Home & Shortcuts get some better time based automations like recurring every # duration of minutes/hours.

Mark Van Alstine boosted:
Steph Vee :blobcatcoffee:st3phvee
2026-01-16

🔗 stephvee.ca/blog/tutorials/how

I'm trying to reduce my reliance on third-party apps for basic everyday tasks, and Apple Shortcuts helps with that! In this post, I show you how I created a simple shortcut that reminds me to get up and start moving after thirty minutes of seated inactivity.

A pixel art recreation of the Apple Shortcuts icon, drawn by me in Aseprite.
Mark Van Alstine boosted:
2025-11-07

Cool #Shortcuts automation I started to run weekly to cleanup @drafts.
I often create temporary lists or notes that I definitely don’t need to keep long term.

It annoyed me that they clutter up my INBOX workspace. Now I tag them „autoclean“ and if they are not updated since ten days they get auto trashed 💪

icloud.com/shortcuts/89a18a4c3

Screenshot from the iOS Shortcuts app that demonstrates the linked Shortcut
Mark Van Alstine boosted:
2025-10-29
Mark Van Alstinemvan231
2025-10-29

@martinschuhmann what are you building?

Client Info

Server: https://mastodon.social
Version: 2025.07
Repository: https://github.com/cyevgeniy/lmst