Siri Shortcuts allows you to use your frequently-used Contacts Journal activities (like adding a Log) from within Siri's voice interface and/or the Apple Shortcuts app.
- Siri Shortcuts be triggered by voice, so you can say "Hey Siri, <custom phrase>" to start adding a Log or a ToDo
- Shortcuts are 'interactive', so you can complete the task of adding a Log or ToDo by just talking to Siri, without typing anything, and without opening the Contacts Journal app!
- Shortcuts are customizable, so you can configure their default values. For e.g. you want to always add a Log to the same contact, title and/or Location)
- You can even create multiple Shortcuts from the same base shortcut. For e.g. you can have different shortcuts that "Add a Log for John" and "Add a Log for Anna".
- The shortcuts are also available in the Apple Shortcuts app, and support input/output parameters, so they can integrate with other apps in the Shortcuts app.
- You can also save a link to the shortcut to your home screen, to access it even more quickly.
Shortcuts List
- Add Log: create a new Log, with a given contact name. You can also specify the title, log note, and location.
- Add ToDo: create a new ToDo, with a given contact name and due date. For 'due date', you can use natural language like "Tomorrow at 5pm", or give it an explicit date and time. You can also specify the title, note, and location.
- Get Logs: shows a list of Logs, for a contact (or for all contacts). You can limit the results to see only "last 7 days", or "last 30 days". This is a great option to access via Siri, to review a contact's Logs without having to open the app!
- Get ToDos: shows a list of ToDos, for a contact (or for all contacts). You can limit the results to see only "due today", "due next 7 days", "due next month", or "overdue". This is a great option to access via Siri, especially if you want to quickly see all ToDos for today.
- Add Contact: add a new contact into CJournal, with a given name and company name. You can also optionally add a phone number, emails address, and/or home address, and also specify if the contact is Private or not. You can also add text for the contact's notes field.
- Get Contacts: search for contacts using the contact name. You can also search by phone number, email address, company name, or address fields. This shortcut returns a list of contacts, with their contact information, which you can use to either link to the other CJournal shortcuts, or with other shortcuts from other apps.
Getting Started
You can add Siri Shortcuts from within the Contacts Journal app, from the More -> Siri Shortcuts page.
Tap on one of these shortcuts, and you'll be presented with the "Add to Siri" page:
Here you can customize the 'phrase' that you want to use to trigger the shortcut from Siri, as well as customize the action's by setting 'defaults' for the parameters that go into the shortcut. In this e.g. "Meeting" is chosen from the list of 'Log Titles' (though you can keep it blank, in which case you will always be prompted to enter the Log Title when this shortcut is 'run').
Once saved, you can see the shortcut you added in the Apple Shortcuts app, where you can 'trigger' it by selecting the shortcut. You can also customize the shortcut by tapping on the ... button