Add Shortcuts to the Mac’s Dock, Menu bar, or as a Quick Action

0:02
In this video, we’re going to look at how we can easily access our shortcuts on the Mac, we can add a shortcut to the dock to the menu bar, or even use the key command. Now we’re solely going to focus on the Mac. In this video, I have a separate video on how we can easily access shortcuts on the iPad and iPhone. Let’s see how we can easily access your shortcuts on the Mac. Let’s go to my Mac. Now, as I mentioned in the introduction, we have a number of different ways to access shortcuts on the Mac, we can access them through the menu bar through the dock through quick actions keyboard commands, we can also access some through the shortcuts app itself. In order to run a shortcut from the shortcuts app, all we have to do is just click on the play button here with each shortcut. So that’s pretty simple. Let’s look at how we can add them to the menu bar. To add them to the menu bar, all we have to do is just drag the shortcut we want to run over to the menu bar.

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So let’s go ahead and do that. All I do is just drag this I want to read over to the menu bar here. And when we go up to the menu bar here, you’re going to say I have a new icon. And when I click on it, I can select that shortcut. I can also edit the shortcut. Let’s go ahead and edit this shortcut here. I double click on it. And then if we go over to the shortcut settings, which is in the upper right hand corner, where we have these horizontal lines, when I select this, I can go and pin it to the menu bar. So now I click on this, I close that shortcut. And when we go up to the top here, we can see we have both of those shortcuts there. To remove it from the menu bar, we just go back over to the menu bar here. I Control click on it, I hold down the control key and I click and you’re going to see removed from menu bar. So that’s how we work with shortcuts from the menu bar. Let’s keep it simple. Let’s go with the dock. How do we add a shortcut to the dock? Well, all we have to do is just select the shortcut, I’m going to go with this I want to read, maybe I access this a lot, I want it in my dock.

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In order to add a shortcut to the dock. What we do is we select it, and then under File in the menu bar, you’re going to see at the very bottom add to dock I selected. And what it does is it adds that shortcut to the dock. So now all I need to do is just click on this to run that shortcut. To remove it from the dock. All we have to do is just drag it up, and it removes it. We can do that with any one of our shortcuts. What about keyboard shortcuts, maybe I want to run a shortcut via a keyboard shortcut. Well, then we have to go and edit the shortcut again. So I’m just going to go to I want to read a double click on it. I’m in my editing mode, and then we go back over to our settings here, click on it, and then you’re going to see add keyboard shortcut. I click on this, I type in what that keyboard shortcut is. And it’ll run that shortcut when I use that keyboard shortcut. Now when you do use any one of these quick actions or keyboard shortcuts, I’ll talk about quick action shortly. What it does do is it adds a new action here to the shortcut. So if I were to remove this, I’m going to turn this off, you’re going to see that that action is no longer there. So it does add a new action when you use any one of these options here. So now we know how to add it to the menu bar. We know how to add it to the dock. We know how to run it with a keyboard shortcut. Now what about the services menu? Well, first, let’s take a look at what the Services menu is. I’m going to hide shortcuts here. When we go up under finder in the menu bar, we can be in any applications right now I’m in the Finder, but under any application, you’re going to see an option here for services. This is the Services menu. If I were to open up my books app, and I go over to books here, you’re going to see I have services here. What we’re able to do is run any shortcut from the Services menu. In order to add a shortcut to it. Let’s go back over to my shortcuts here.

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What we need to do is go in edit it I’m added in my I want to read we go over to our settings are for this shortcut, and you’re going to see Services menu. When I selected this, it does add a new action again, just like with keyboard shortcuts, I select it. We can see we have a new action here. And now when I close this and we go up under Finder here, under services we have I want to read I could be in another app. Let’s go ahead and hide this. And we’re gonna hide my books app. And let’s say that I was in my calendar here. Whereas my services app, well, I just go up under calendar here. And then we go over to services I want to read, I select I want to read, and it’ll run that shortcut.

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The last option is for quick actions, what are quick actions, let’s go ahead and hide this. Well, quick actions allow us to perform quick actions on a selected file. So this one works a little bit different than all of the other ones, you can basically put any shortcut into the menu and to the doc, or even use it as a keyboard shortcut or access it through a keyboard shortcut or the Services menu. But with our quick actions, we need to select a file. So if I go over to my screenshots here, let’s say I wanted to convert this image, I can do that through a quick action. So I select it. And then when we hold down the Ctrl key and click, you’re going to see quick actions. And from here, what I’m able to do is convert the image create a PDF markup or rotate left, what we can do is we can add shortcuts here. Now this menu only shows when we have a file selected. So if I were to deselect a file, and now I Control click, we can see that it is no longer showing that quick action is no longer showing. So if I were to add the I want to read, the only way I’m going to access that shortcut is if I have something selected, so just know that that is how it works. Basically quick actions work for shortcuts where you have to select files.

6:43
So I’m going to go back over to my shortcuts here, I have this shortcut here, rename file shortcut, I need to select the files before I can rename them. So this is a great shortcut for adding as an extra. So now I just double click on it. And then I go over to where I can edit it. And you’re going to see, uses quick action, I select it, we go over to our Finder here, make sure that that is selected, we can see it is also adding it to my Services menu. I’m going to close this, we’re going to hide it. And now when I go up under finder where my Services menu is, you’re going to see, I can rename any files, I do not have any files selected. So you may not want to place it in here, what you may want to do is make sure that it’s just a quick action. Being that I had it added to my finder as a quick action. When I select these files here, I want to rename them, I Control click on them, hold down the Ctrl key and click and then you’re going to see quick actions. And the quick action rename file shortcut is now in there. So now when I select this, what it’s going to do is rename those files. So really with selected files, you really want to add them as a quick action, I would highly recommend that you really don’t need to add them to the menu bar or to the dock and lets you use it a lot because it’s easy to click on that shortcut without having anything selected. So I like to use these type of shortcuts where I select my files, I like to use these type of shortcuts as quick actions. So I’m going to remove this quick action here renaming the files from my Services menu. So then it’s no longer accessible from here. So how do I do that, I just go back over to my shortcuts. And then we go over to my rename file shortcut, double click on it, we go over to our settings here in the upper right hand corner, and then I’m going to remove it from the Services menu. So now the only way that I can run this shortcut is if I first select files, and then I can access it from a quick action, it’s not going to be available in my menu bar and it is not in my dock.

The only way it’s going to be available to me is through a quick action. But being that I want to read here is not reliant on anything being selected. I do like to have this one in my menu bar as well as possibly in my dock or in the Services menu. I can also use keyboard shortcuts easily with this shortcut. So that’s how we can easily access our shortcuts on the Mac, we can add them to the menu bar, we can add them to the dock we can access them through a keyboard shortcut the Services menu or as a quick action. To add them to the menu bar or as a quick action or through the Services menu. You have to edit the shortcut and then go over to the shortcut settings. From there you can select how you want to access that shortcut. This is also where you can add a keyboard shortcut. If you want to add it to the doc what you need to do is select the shortcut and then go up under File in the menu bar and you can add it to the doc So that’s how we can easily access our shortcuts including how we can add it to the dock menu bar or even use a key Command on the Mac