This technical guide walks through creating a custom macOS Shortcut called “Das Wort des Tages” that retrieves and displays the daily German word using Apple Shortcuts. The article provides a step-by-step guide for creating the German Word of the Day shortcut on macOS.
What is Apple Shortcuts
The Shortcuts app enables you to create personal shortcuts with multiple steps from your favorite apps. Start from hundreds of examples in the Gallery or drag and drop to create your own.
Shortcuts includes over 300 built-in actions and works with many of your favorite apps including Contacts, Calendar, Maps, Music, Photos, Camera, Reminders, Safari, Health as well as any app that supports Siri Shortcuts.
Use the Shortcuts app to:
- Get directions home, send your ETA and start listening to the news, just by asking Siri
- Add a home screen icon that calls a loved one
- Make animated GIFs
- Make PDFs from Safari or any app with a share sheet
- Get directions to the nearest coffee shop in one tap
- Tweet the song you’re listening to
- Get all the images on a web page
- Send a message including the last screenshot you took
- And so much more…
Shortcuts can be launched from the Today widget, from Search or by asking Siri. You can even add an app icon to your home screen for your favorite Shortcuts.
Shortcuts opens up incredible possibilities to automate things you do regularly on your iPhone and iPad. So, building a German Word of the Day Shortcut will be easy on both.
Prerequisites to building a German Word of the Day Shortcut
- macOS with Apple Shortcuts installed
- Active internet connection
- Basic understanding of Apple Shortcuts interface
Shortcut Configuration Steps
1. Launch Apple Shortcuts
- Open the Shortcuts application on your Mac
- Click the “+” button to create a new shortcut
2. Shortcut Naming
- Rename the shortcut to “Das Wort des Tages”
- This descriptive name reflects the shortcut’s purpose of displaying the German word of the day
3. RSS Feed Retrieval
- Add a “Get Item from RSS Feed” action
- URL:
https://feeds.feedblitz.com/german-word-of-the-day - Configure to retrieve 1 item from the feed
4. Display Configuration
- Add a “Show RSS Items in Quick Look” action
- This will display the retrieved German word in a Quick Look preview
5. Shortcut Refinement
- Consider adding error handling
- Optionally, include a notification if feed retrieval fails
Technical Implementation Details
Feed Source
The RSS feed https://feeds.feedblitz.com/german-word-of-the-day provides daily German vocabulary updates, ensuring fresh content.
Action Sequence
- Retrieve RSS Feed
- Extract First Item
- Display in Quick Look
Potential Enhancements
- Add text-to-speech pronunciation
- Implement daily automatic trigger
- Create log of previous words
Troubleshooting
- Verify internet connectivity
- Check RSS feed availability
- Ensure Shortcuts permissions are granted
Conclusion
This shortcut provides a simple, automated method to learn a new German word daily directly from your Mac.
Useful Links
German Vocabulary – Your daily German | https://yourdailygerman.com/german-word-of-the-day/
Apple Shortcuts Guide | https://support.apple.com/en-us/guide/shortcuts/
Shortcuts. The subreddit devoted to Apple Shortcuts | https://www.reddit.com/r/shortcuts/