Utility Actions

These helper actions handle the glue work in your shortcuts: measuring boards, grouping items, refreshing thumbnails, and finding the right boards to act on. They shine when you position items dynamically or process boards in bulk.

Get Board Width

Returns the width of a board in pixels. Useful for calculating item positions.

Parameter	Description
Board	The board to measure

Returns: Number (width in pixels)

Get Board Height

Returns the height of a board in pixels. Useful for calculating item positions.

Parameter	Description
Board	The board to measure

Returns: Number (height in pixels)

Group Items

Groups multiple items together so they move as one when you drag any of them.

Parameter	Description
Board	The board containing the items
Items	The items to group together

Returns: Grouped items

Update Thumbnail

Refreshes a board’s thumbnail — the preview image shown in the board list — after you make changes via Shortcuts.

Parameter	Description
Board	The board to update

Tip: Run this at the end of your shortcut so the board thumbnail reflects your changes immediately.

Find Boards

Searches for boards matching specific criteria. Use it to get boards to pass to other actions.

Parameter	Description
Folder	Limit the search to a specific folder
Name Contains	Find boards with matching names
Sort By	Order results by name, date created, or date modified
Limit	Maximum number of results

Returns: List of matching boards

Common Workflow Patterns

Centering Items

To center an item on the board:

1. Get the board width with Get Board Width and divide by 2.
2. Get the board height with Get Board Height and divide by 2.
3. Use those values as the X and Y position.

Creating a Grid Layout

To arrange items in a grid:

1. Get the board width with Get Board Width.
2. Divide by the number of columns.
3. Use that spacing for X positions.
4. Repeat for Y with row spacing.

Batch Processing

To process multiple boards:

1. Use Find Boards to get matching boards.
2. Loop through each board (Repeat with Each).
3. Perform actions on each board.
4. Run Update Thumbnail on each board when done.

Example: Create a Tiled Layout

This pattern creates a 3-column grid of notes:

1. Create Board “My Grid”.
2. Get Board Width, divide by 3, and save as colWidth.
3. Repeat 9 times:
   • Calculate column = (index mod 3) x colWidth + 100
   • Calculate row = (index / 3) x 300 + 100
   • Add Note at X: column, Y: row
4. Update Thumbnail.

Tips

Save commonly used position calculations as separate shortcuts, then call them from your main automation for cleaner, reusable workflows.