How to setup a default set of Slide over apps with a shortcut

iOS
1

It’s easy to lose the slide over apps when you change one to a main app and then close it. I like to have a few apps always quickly available and it was surprisingly easy to make the shortcut to take care of this. Here’s a video showing how I did it.

2

I like the idea of putting this in the dock for easy access. Have you noticed the following problem? My shortcut works fine when run from within Shortcuts. However, if I try to run from Home Screen or dock I receive the attached error. Any ideas?

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3

It must be app dependent, this problem you have encountered.

I have just tried to replicate the error without luck. I tried while on the home screen - nothing happens.
With one app open the shortcut just goes ahead and does its job.
I put one of the apps into split screen and ran the shortcut. - It took the app and put it back into slide over.

4

The problem occurs with the same apps you use in your demo — 1Password and Files. I will chalk this up to the continued extreme bugginess / instability I’m observing in iPadOS 15 and Shortcuts.

In fact, while troubleshooting this problem I removed Files and left the single Open App action for 1Password. First time I ran it from the dock with another app open it worked as expected. Subsequent uses failed — it simply opened 1Password in the main screen (1Password was not a Slideover app at that point). If I edit the Shortcut to remove the Open App - 1Password and then re-add it, it works one time.

This is one of many problems I’m observing (and many have noted) with Shortcuts. Virtually unusable and a complete exercise in frustration. At least in my experience.

5

Very nice.

I have several “shelf” apps, and I would like to make them all available in a Slideover “stack” as you’ve done.

Suppose a window is already open and either already in Slideover or not:

  • If in Slideover I’d like to skip the “open in Slideover” step for this app.
  • If not in Slideover but open I’d like to put it into Slideover - and not open the app window again.

Is it possible:

  1. To detect state and perhaps skip the “open in Slideover” step?
  2. To detect state and convert a not-in-Slideover one into A Slideover one?

Obviously both by Automation.

Avoiding redundant work might speed this up. Admittedly I’ve not played with this method - so don’t know if speed is an issue.

6

I suppose it depends on how many slide over apps you want in the stack. I have 5 and that seems to be enough. Running it is not a long process and it doesn’t matter if the app is already open, either in slide over or as a main app.

If the app is already open it does convert to slide over. No need to detect state.

Nah… Speed isn’t an issue.

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7

So there’s no danger of it opening another window in Slideover?

8

With the apps I’m using… Not happened so far

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