Skip to content
simplebuild

Tutorials: Automation

Let your computer and phone do the repetitive jobs: shutdowns, files to rename, shortcuts.

  1. How to create a shortcut on iPhone for everyday tasks

    With the Shortcuts app you can chain several actions and run them with one tap, with your voice or at a set time. Here is how to pick a ready-made one from the Gallery, build your own, and make it run by itself.

  2. How to keep your Mac on with the lid closed

    Closing the lid puts a MacBook to sleep. Apple's way to use it closed is with an external power adapter, display, keyboard and mouse. For long jobs with the lid open, there are the sleep settings and the caffeinate command.

  3. How to rename many files at once on Windows and Mac

    How to give dozens of photos or documents tidy names in one go: on Mac with the Finder's Rename feature, on Windows with PowerRename, Microsoft's free tool with a preview. Plus a PowerShell command for those who want to go further.

  4. How to schedule your PC to shut down automatically (Windows and Mac)

    How to make your computer shut down by itself after a set time or every evening at the same hour, using the commands already built into Windows and the Mac's Terminal, and how to cancel the shutdown if you change your mind.

  5. How to use ChatGPT: first steps and what not to share

    ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence program that answers questions in writing. How to get started, how to write clear requests, why every answer must be checked, what never to type into it, and how to stop your conversations being used to train the models.

← All topics