Is there a task on your Mac that you repeat often, maybe daily or even several times per day? you may set up a Quick Action to automate a task with the click of a button. Some are already pre-configured, and you can find them in the Finder window, Services menu, or Touch Bar if your Mac has one.
Let’s delve into how to use Quick Actions onMacOS.
Difficulty
What You Need
Mac computer
Automator app
Create a Quick Action using Automator
If you’ve never used Automator on MacOS, it can feel a bit intimidating at first. But once you use it to create a Quick Action, you’ll see just how easy it is to use.
As an example, we’ll walk through creating a Quick Action to scale images. Since we regularly need to resize images to a specified width, this allows us to select the images, click the Quick Action, and automatically scale our images so that the width is 500 pixels.
Step 1:Open Automator from your Applications folder and clickNew Document.
Step 2:SelectQuick Actionfor the document type and clickChoose.
Step 3:On the top left of the Automator window, confirm thatActionsis selected. Then pick an item from theLibrary. For our example, we’ll select Photos.
Step 4:To the right, you’ll see the actions that are available per the Library item you pick. Here, we want Scale Images. So, we drag Scale Images from the list to the workflow area on the right side.
Depending on the action you select, you may be asked if you want to make copies of the items you’re editing so that the originals can remain intact. If so, you can automatically add the Copy action to the workflow. PickAddorDon’t Addper your preference.
Step 5:Complete any details necessary for your action. For our example, we set the pixel size to 500.
Step 6:Before you save your Quick Action, review the information at the top of the workflow side of the window and make any adjustments needed.
This information includes what the workflow receives and from where, plus any input needed. These settings allow you to narrow down the options to perform the Quick Action such as file types or specific applications.
Additionally, you can choose the Quick Action’s Image and Color if you like.
Step 7:When you finish, go toFile>Savein the menu bar. Give your Quick Action a meaningful name and clickSave.
Congratulations - you’ve just set up one of thebest Mac tricksfor productivity.
Now that you have your Quick Action created, it’s time to put it to work.
Use a Quick Action on a Mac
As mentioned, you’re able to access Quick Actions in Finder, the Services menu, or if your Mac has one, the Touch Bar.
Start by selecting the item(s) you want to use for the Quick Action. Then, perform the action with one of the following:
You should then see the Quick Action take place. As long as you don’tdisable the Touch Bar, you can use it for Quick Actions.
Hide or show Quick Actions
You can decide which Quick Actions display in Finder and the Touch Bar.
Step 1:Open yourSystem Preferencesand selectExtensions.
Step 2:On the left, chooseFinderorTouch Bar.
Step 3:On the right, use the checkboxes to mark the Quick Actions you want to display in that location. You’ll notice a few built-in Quick Actions such as Rotate and Markup in addition to those you created.
You can then close your System Preferences.
Delete a Quick Action
While you cannot delete the Quick Actions built into MacOS, you can remove those you create yourself and no longer need. Because you can show or hide Quick Actions as described above, you might only delete one you know you will never use again, such as an experimental Quick Action you set up.
Step 1:Head back toSystem Preferences>Extensions.
Step 2:Select eitherFinderorTouch Baron the left.
Step 3:Right-click the Quick Action on the right and pickMove to Trash.
You won’t be asked to confirm this move. But if you change your mind afterward, you’re able to open yourTrashfolder and right-click the item toPut Backthe deleted Quick Action.
Quick Actions on a Mac help you perform tedious or repetitive tasks faster and easier than manual work.
You can create Quick Actions for some of the most common tasks on your Mac. From scaling orresizing imagesto splitting orcombining PDFsto renaming or moving files, there are many possibilities.
