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Apple’s Writing Tools have become a valuable asset for Mac users, offering an intelligent way to proofread, summarize, and even compose text with the help of Apple’s own models and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. While these tools are far from perfect, they provide a quick and efficient way to streamline the writing process. However, macOS users who rely on Ulysses for their writing tasks have faced a notable shortcoming—Apple Intelligence isn’t built into this popular writing app. Luckily, there’s a simple yet effective workaround that allows users to fully harness the potential of Writing Tools without the hassle.
Workaround to Invoke Apple Writing Tools in Ulysses
For those who rely on Ulysses for writing, one key frustration has been the lack of an Apple Intelligence button in the app’s header. Unlike other native Apple apps like Mail and Pages, Ulysses doesn’t offer an immediate integration for Apple’s Writing Tools, forcing users to go through additional steps to invoke the feature.
When writing in Ulysses, after selecting the desired text, users typically wait for the blue Apple Intelligence snippet to appear—except sometimes it doesn’t. Other times, it only shows up after the cursor is placed on the selected text. This unpredictability can be frustrating, but fortunately, there’s a trick to make the process more consistent.
The solution? Create a custom keyboard shortcut. By using tools like Keyboard Maestro or macOS’s built-in keyboard shortcut settings, you can easily set up a shortcut that allows you to trigger the Writing Tools menu with just a key combination. In this case, the shortcut involves pressing Option + Shift + W, which instantly opens the Writing Tools popup. This simple but effective trick eliminates the need for manual navigation through menus and makes the writing process smoother and more efficient.
Expanding the Use of Writing Tools Across macOS
The beauty of this workaround is that it’s not limited to just Ulysses. The custom keyboard shortcut works for any selectable text within macOS, including Safari. This makes it a game-changer when browsing the web or working with online content. Instead of waiting for Safari’s Reader mode to load and then using its Summarization tool, you can quickly activate Writing Tools to summarize the text or proofread it on the fly.
In addition to text summarization, Writing Tools also offer a range of other features that enhance productivity. Whether you’re looking to tweak your text, generate new content, or quickly proofread, these features can save time and improve the quality of your work.
What Undercode Says:
The clever workaround described above provides an easy solution to one of the most annoying limitations of Apple’s Writing Tools for Ulysses users. By assigning a custom keyboard shortcut, users can make this feature consistently available, leading to a more seamless and efficient writing experience. The integration of Apple Intelligence into macOS apps like Ulysses may not be perfect yet, but this workaround shows just how flexible Apple’s ecosystem can be when it comes to optimizing user experience.
This method has several advantages. First, it addresses a specific pain point that many users face—unpredictable access to Writing Tools. Second, it introduces a level of customization that allows users to adapt Apple’s ecosystem to their own needs, further enhancing productivity. While Keyboard Maestro is a popular tool among power users, even macOS’s built-in shortcut settings offer a viable solution that doesn’t require third-party software.
The ability to use Writing Tools across various applications, such as Safari, further underscores the versatility of this trick. As users continue to rely on their Macs for everything from writing emails to browsing content, having quick access to Apple Intelligence’s suite of tools is a significant productivity booster. For anyone who hasn’t yet explored these features, now is the time to start integrating them into your workflow.
The only limitation of this workaround is that it still relies on a manual action (selecting the text and invoking the shortcut), but it’s a minor inconvenience compared to the benefits it offers. Apple continues to refine its ecosystem, and as more apps like Ulysses are integrated with Apple Intelligence, the process will only become smoother. Until then, this simple hack can significantly improve the writing experience for Mac users.
Fact Checker Results:
- The method of using Keyboard Maestro to create a shortcut for Apple Writing Tools is a valid and effective workaround.
- The shortcut works across macOS apps, including Safari, enhancing the accessibility of Writing Tools beyond just Ulysses.
- The integration of Apple Intelligence is still a work in progress for many apps, but this solution offers a practical fix.
Prediction:
In the coming months, it’s likely that Apple will refine its Writing Tools and expand their integration into more third-party apps like Ulysses. As the ecosystem becomes more robust, features like automatic text summarization, grammar correction, and content generation will become even more seamless, making them an indispensable part of the macOS user experience. With increasing reliance on AI and intelligent writing assistants, Apple may also introduce more customizability options, allowing users to tweak the tools further for their own workflows.
References:
Reported By: 9to5mac.com
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