Things gains automation superpowers today, with a huge update for Apple Shortcuts. We’ve prepared a gallery with some great shortcuts for you to try out, and you can also build your own.

Try a shortcut from our gallery

A “shortcut” is a quick way to perform a sequence of actions in your apps with just a tap. You can create and manage shortcuts in the Shortcuts app on your Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Today’s update greatly increases the number of actions that Things can perform, and we’ve prepared some ready-made shortcuts to show you what’s possible. Simply visit our gallery, add one to your own device, then run it to see what it does.

Open Shortcuts Gallery

This feature requires Things 3.17 and macOS 13 Ventura, iPadOS 16, or iOS 16.

Build your own

If you’re technically inclined, you can also build your own shortcuts. There are nine entirely new actions for you to explore. They let you create full-blown projects with headings and to-dos, query your database, edit items, duplicate them, and much more. It’s a massive upgrade if you love automation.

The best way to get started is to download a few shortcuts from our gallery and modify them to suit your own needs. Also, be sure to check out our technical documentation for a deep dive on how it all works.

Have fun! 🤖

Things has been updated for full compatibility with iPadOS 16 and macOS 13 Ventura, including support for the all-new window management feature: Stage Manager.

Stage Manager

This year, iPadOS 16 introduces Stage Manager – an entirely new way to work with multiple windows. After turning it on, you’ll be able to open up to four windows at the same time, resize them, and even drag them around.

We’ve fine-tuned Things’ window layout, animations, and performance to make sure everything works great on our end. If you have a keyboard attached, these shortcuts will come in handy:

• Open a new Things window: ^ Ctrl ⌘ Cmd N
• Add another app’s window to the current set: ^ Ctrl 🌐︎ Globe ↑
• Remove a window from the current set: ⌘ Cmd M
• Close a window: ⌘ Cmd W
• Toggle full screen: 🌐︎ Globe F
• Cycle between all windows in the current set: 🌐︎ Globe `

Stage Manager is also available on macOS 13 Ventura. For more information, be sure to check out Apple’s documentation.

Other Improvements

Of course, today’s update includes a long list of OS-compatibility fixes under the hood, but there are several noteworthy enhancements as well:

• As many of you requested, you can now tap calendar events on iPhone or iPad to jump to their relevant date in the Calendar app. This works in the Today, Tomorrow, and Upcoming lists.
• We’ve added support for iPadOS 16’s new pop-up menu style, which makes it far easier to get at Things’ Markdown formatting when you right-click on your trackpad.
• In projects on the Mac, you can now select both headings and to-dos at the same time; this makes it easier to grab exactly what you want.
• We’ve added support for macOS Ventura’s new Share menu. Also, when you filter a project or area by tag, and then select ••• → Share → Copy Link, your link now includes the tag filter parameter. ✨

These updates are available now for download on the App Store. Remember to update your OS before you try the new features.

Enjoy!

We’ve just updated Things for iOS 16 – you can now personalize your Lock Screen with three beautiful new widgets! Quickly glance at a list, instantly add new to-dos, and track your progress throughout the day.

Once you’ve updated to iOS 16, tap and hold your Lock Screen until you’re in edit mode. Now you can add widgets above and below the clock; we’ve made three for you to enjoy.

Quickly glance at your lists

With the List widget, you can put your to-dos directly on your Lock Screen. By default, it shows your Today list, but you can customize it to show any list you like – your Inbox, your Deadlines, or perhaps a shopping list. It’s totally up to you! You can even use tags to filter the list to focus on something specific.

iOS 16 also makes it possible to create multiple Lock Screens, so you can put different widgets on each one and switch between them throughout the day.

Instantly add new to-dos

The New To-Do widget puts Things’ familiar ⊕ button right on your Lock Screen. With just a tap, the app will launch with an empty to-do, ready for you to type.

Track your progress throughout the day

Like your Fitness rings, Things’ new Progress ring inches forward as you advance toward your goal: completing all the to-dos on your Today list. You can also tap the widget to jump straight into the list.

Apple Watch Ultra

Things is ready for watchOS 9 and Apple Watch Ultra. We’ve updated Things’ layout to make sure it looks great on the gorgeous new display. And since the app syncs over LTE, you’re always up to date – even if you don’t have your iPhone with you.

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Things 3.16 is available now for iPhone and Apple Watch. We hope you enjoy the new widgets. Have fun!

Apple Shortcuts, Keyboard Shortcuts, and Major Performance Gains – Things 3.15 is here for macOS Monterey and it’s all about speed. 🚀

Apple Shortcuts for Mac

Life-hacking corner-cutting super-nerds rejoice! Apple has brought the Shortcuts app to Mac and we’ve built integration with Things. This means you can run shortcuts seamlessly across all your devices. 🎉

For those who haven’t tried the Shortcuts app yet, here’s a simple example. Say you want to do something over and over, such as create a to-do in your “Personal” list and apply the tag “Errand”. Instead of filling out the details every time, you can create a shortcut that fills it out for you. Use Things’ Add To-Do action in the Shortcuts app to set this up:

Give your shortcut a name, like “Add an Errand”, and then try running it:

• On iPhone, you can say “Hey Siri, add an errand.”
• On iPad, you can hit Cmd Space and type “add an errand”.
• On Mac, you can assign a keyboard shortcut, or use the new Shortcuts menu at the top of your screen to quickly get at your favorites.

Try it yourself

We’ve created a few example shortcuts for you to download and try out. Click one to add it to your Shortcuts library. Once you’ve added a shortcut, you’ll be able to customize it to suit your own needs.

Of course, you can also create your own from scratch in the Shortcuts app. Have fun experimenting and looking for ways to speed up your workflows – but beware! 🤓

For more information about the Shortcuts app, see Apple’s documentation.

Major Performance Gains

Over the past months we’ve put a ton of work into improving performance. We’ve changed how lists operate under the hood and unified large portions of our Mac & iOS code. The resulting speed boost will be most noticeable for those with very large databases and many projects, but the app will generally be snappier for everyone.

There were also a few situations where Things would behave differently on Mac & iOS. As an added benefit, our work on code unification has eliminated such quirks, providing a more consistent experience across devices.

International Keyboard Support

Another improvement in this release is for shortcuts of a different kind: keyboard shortcuts.

With the release of macOS 12 Monterey and iPadOS 15, keyboard shortcuts can adapt to your specific keyboard layout. Apple’s own apps have adopted this behavior on Mac and iPad, and we’ve now built it into Things.

If you have a US keyboard, your shortcuts won’t change. On non-US layouts, shortcuts involving letters will mostly stay the same, but shortcuts with special characters will now be easier to type – and some that were previously impossible to use can now be typed for the first time!

Check out our updated keyboard page for your layout. You can also look in the menus on Mac, or hold down Cmd on iPad.

Further Improvements

We’ve also brought many of the great new improvements from our recent iOS release to the Mac:

• Widgets let you choose which list the “+” button saves to.
• Things uses time-sensitive notifications so your reminders get through even when you’re in Focus mode.
• When importing from Reminders, Things also imports your tags.
• Things integrates with Quick Note: View a list in Things, then switch to Apple Notes and click the “Add Link” button.

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All these improvements are available now in Things 3.15 for Mac and Things 3.15.5 for iPhone & iPad.

Don’t forget that if you want to use Apple Shortcuts on your Mac you’ll need to upgrade to macOS 12 Monterey first. We hope you enjoy using Shortcuts across your devices and look forward to seeing what you build with it!