Here’s how it works: under the hood on both iOS and iPadOS, files and folders stored in the Files app have paths such as this one: Behind the Scenes: FileSystem Paths and the Files AppĪt a high level, FS Bookmarks was made possible by a recent discovery: if you combine the base URL scheme of the Files app with the native filesystem path of a file or folder, you’ll be able to reopen that item directly in the Files app. There are some fascinating technical details involved with the creation of FS Bookmarks and how it all works behind the scenes that I’d like to explain, so let’s dig in. In addition to serving as a response to Ryan’s challenge, FS Bookmarks provides a solution to a longstanding problem of the iPad Home screen: the inability to turn it into a Mac-like environment with shortcuts to frequently used files and folders. FS Bookmarks was designed to abstract the complexity involved with retrieving the filesystem paths used by the Files app.Ĭreating a folder launcher with FS Bookmarks, which can be run from the Home screen.

Best of all, you don’t need to know or even see Scriptable’s JavaScript code at all: FS Bookmarks takes care of installing the necessary scripts for you you just need to pick the files and folders you want to create launchers for, and that’s it. With the launchers created via FS Bookmarks, you’ll be able to reopen any document in the Files app (in Quick Look preview mode) or navigate to any folder you want to quickly access. FS Bookmarks is a hybrid Shortcuts- Scriptable tool that takes advantage of a native Files API (which I will call “ bookmarks”) to expose the filesystem path of any file or folder stored in the Files app. At first, I thought it couldn’t be done: unlike the Mac’s Finder, Files doesn’t let you create aliases to folders or place files on the Home screen the Shortcuts app can create Home screen icons, but it doesn’t have access to documents located outside Shortcuts’ iCloud Drive container.Īs I detailed on Adapt yesterday, I’m happy to introduce FS Bookmarks, a shortcut that lets you create direct launchers for files and folders stored in the Files app. In this post, you’ll find some free shortcuts and a preview of an exclusive one available with a Club MacStories subscription.Ī couple weeks ago on our iPad-focused podcast Adapt, Ryan challenged me to figure out a way to turn the iPad’s Home screen into a desktop-like environment with icons to reopen files and folders directly in the Files app. The Shortcuts Corner is a regular section of our MacStories Weekly newsletter, exclusive to Club MacStories members, where I share advanced shortcuts and respond to readers’ requests for automation.

Mac create new file shortcut