RoutineHub • Run Without Showing Actions

Run Without Showing Actions

a shortcut technique to ensure that shortcut actions are not displayed during shortcut execution

Description

Run Without Showing Actions

Background

A typical shortcut will display all of the executing actions if it is:

Run from the shortcuts editor using the right-pointing triangle.
Run using the Share Sheet.
Run from another shortcut using the Run Shortcut action with Show While Running enabled.

A long shortcut will run much more slowly if the executing actions are displayed. This is exasperated if the shortcut contains Repeat blocks.

Purpose

The purpose of this shortcut is to provide template actions that will prevent a shortcut from displaying the actions as they are executed (regardless of the mechanism used to run it). This is done by including actions that cause the shortcut to rerun itself with Show While Running disabled.

The actions in this template can be used for Share Sheet or non Share Sheet shortcuts. The original Shortcut Input will be preserved for subsequent use in the shortcut.

The shortcut includes several embedded comments to clarify the purpose of the template actions.

Tests

This shortcut was tested using iOS 13.3 (17C54) on an iPhone 8 Plus and iPadOS 13.3 beta 3 on a 10.5” iPad Pro.

Acknowledgments

Run Without Showing Actions is available exclusively on RoutineHub.co. Versions obtained elsewhere might be out-of-date.
The banner above was created using MediaKit Banners (Version: 1.2, Updated: 10/12/19).
Run Without Showing Actions automatically checks for updated versions using actions provided by Embed-a-Update (Version: 1.1.2, Updated: 10/13/19).

Latest Release Notes

1.0.4 - Dec. 17, 2019, 5:25 a.m.

- Changed variable type checks to be language agnostic. Prior to this change, this shortcut did not function properly if the iOS device was not set to English. Thank you @daidardi for reporting this issue.

Past versions

Feedback

@canibeanartist

According to one of the included comments, version 1.0.1 was released two years BEFORE the initial 1.0 release. Can you make me a Shortcut for time travel please?
Reply · 9 months, 2 weeks ago

@JimSauer Author

Haha, @canibeanartist, I wish I could! Who said no one reads comments? I've fixed the typo and made another minor change in v1.0.2.
Reply · 9 months ago

@daidardi

Is there a way to run in “no show” itself? I mean, without using two SC..
Reply · 8 months, 3 weeks ago

@JimSauer Author

Yes, that’s exactly what this shortcut does; it’s essentially a template. Download it, copy it, then insert your shortcut code after the comment that reads: ---- end of template actions
Reply · 8 months, 2 weeks ago

@daidardi

Maybe we didn’t understand each other. Where I can write to you. You can find me at https://t.me/daidardi
Reply · 8 months, 2 weeks ago

@JimSauer Author

You are welcome to contact me at reddit: u/_jimsauer has
Reply · 8 months, 2 weeks ago

@daidardi

I already wrote you u/daidardi
Reply · 8 months, 2 weeks ago

@daidardi

I’m trying so. https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/29595290782047ab87bc019a2680a44b But Shortcuts App crashes :/
Reply · 8 months, 1 week ago

@JimSauer Author

Sorry that you are having problems. I downloaded your shortcut and it runs just fine for me. I’m using iOS 13.2.3 on my iPhone 8 Plus and iPadOS 13.3 beta 3 on my 10.5” iPad Pro.
Reply · 8 months ago

@daidardi

I’ll try so.. Can you try too?
Reply · 8 months ago

@daidardi

It freeze! :/
Reply · 8 months ago

@JimSauer Author

Please try v1.0.4 to determine if your issue has been addressed. Thanks!
Reply · 7 months, 3 weeks ago

@daidardi

It seemd it works, but only starting on Shortcut app. Starting from sharing sheet it doesn’t work. Try with mine SC: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/9c9c21ffb83b4c7893771ad3f6a8b633
Reply · 7 months, 3 weeks ago

@JimSauer Author

Sorry I’m not certain why your shortcut, @Launcher, does not run as expected from the ‘Share Sheet’, but maybe since it so long and complex you’ve run into a memory issue. Through various versions of the Shortcuts app I’ve seen that shortcuts can sometimes run into memory issues if they are launched from the ‘Shortcut Widget’ or ‘Share Sheet’.
Reply · 7 months, 2 weeks ago

@dan428

Bit confused how to make use of this.. how is it different than doing what I usually do which is to just make an empty shortcut with a ‘run shortcut’ action.. this runs the target shortcut without showing the steps.
Reply · 7 months, 3 weeks ago

@JimSauer Author

Your approach works, but as you stated requires two shortcuts. ‘Run Without Showing Actions’’ is a standalone template that runs itself and will maintain any input that was passed to it (e.g., from Safari via the Share Sheet). Here’s a typical use case: you’ve developed a complex shortcut with lots of Repeat actions that you want to distribute that single shortcut to others that don’t necessarily understand all of the Shortcut app nuisances.
Reply · 7 months, 3 weeks ago

@didotx

Hi Jim, I have downloaded and executed the original version of your shortcut. When I run it from the share sheet, I still can see the initial part of the shortcut, up to the point where “run shortcut” is executed. In your Description you State ‘‘The actions in this template can be used for Share Sheet or non Share Sheet shortcuts “. Did I miss anything? I am looking for a method to completely hide all actions from the user and just run the shortcut. thanks! Dieter
Reply · 6 months, 3 weeks ago

@JimSauer Author

@didotx - First, I’d recommend downloading and using v1.4. Second, the behavior you describe is expected. Normally the action that includes the ‘Run Shortcut’ action would be relatively high (i.e., that is near the top) of the shortcut, thus MOST of the actions would be hidden. That’s particularly important with a long shortcut or a shortcut that include a loop with many interactions. In these cases, the display of the actions greatly slows the execution and the method provided is helpful.
Reply · 6 months, 3 weeks ago