Apple’s latest acquisition, this rich and very well-designed app makes it easy to perform repetitive tasks.
Similar to IFTTT, Workflow is a now free automation app for iOS, that is to say it allows multiple tasks to be chained together in a flow automatically. For example, it is possible to take a photo, change its size, then send it by email in a single operation.
Obviously, Workflow has been designed to be as easy to use as possible, which makes it accessible to users who are not programming experts. We will show you through a simple example how to use it.
1 – Download and launch the application
On your iPhone or iPad, go to the App Store and type Workflow in the search box. Download the app and launch it. A presentation is then displayed and allows you to generate a Widget which will be easily accessible from the iOS home screen, by swiping to the right.
2 – Go to the Gallery
There is no point in reinventing the wheel, and Workflow has plenty of out-of-the-box workflows. English is mandatory to find happiness, but the organization into several categories is rather well thought out. Above all, it is possible to take an existing flow and modify it to adapt it to your needs.
This is what we are going to do. The goal is to take 3 photos, turn them into a GIF image, then send the image by MMS to a predefined contact.
At the top of the screen, type Gallery to display the library of already created flows. Then tap on the magnifying glass and enter shoot gif in the search box. In the results, tap on the box Shoot GIF with Photos, then on Get Workflow and finally on Open.
3 – Add the send function
The display then shows the different tasks of the flow: take photos, create a GIF and show the result (Quick Look). Swipe right to view the list of actions and scroll to find the section Sharing, then the action Send Message. Touch this action and move it to the right, then below the Quick Look task. Touch the + icon in front of the section Recipients and add the contact to whom the MMS containing the GIF should be sent.
4 – Manually enter certain values
In the task Make GIF, the display time of each photo can be changed. We will allow this duration to be entered manually. Swipe right to go through the Actions and type Ask for Input in the search box. Touch the action Ask for Input and move it to the right, then above the Take Photo task. Bang on Question to change the question asked, then on Input Type to choose Number in the list.
5 – Use magic variables
The number that went into action Ask for Input then becomes a “magic” variable that can be used in other tasks. Touch the area Second Per Photo of the task Make GIF, then Magic Variable. Magic variables are then displayed between tasks. Touch the one below the task Ask for Input to select it. The number entered by the user will then be used to define the display time of each photo. It is also possible to choose Ask When Run to activate a manual entry of the number at the time of the execution of the task Make GIF. In the task Take Photo, you can change the number of photos to be taken.
6 – Customize and start the flow
Click on the gear icon at the top of the screen to access the feed settings and change its name and icon. In the window Settings, it is possible to specify whether the feed is accessible from the application or from the Widget. Touch the word Done at the top of the screen to return to the feed. It is launched by touching the triangle-shaped play icon.
Workflow is an app with amazing possibilities, but it is as rich as it is complex. It is therefore advisable to first look at the flows available in the gallery and to be inspired by them, or even to modify them, to design the sequence of tasks that will best meet your needs.