Apple has replaced the traditional volume rocker with a new, multi-function action button on the iPhone 15 Pro. The button can be assigned to perform a number of tasks, from turning on the flashlight to turning on the camera. Perhaps the most useful way to use an action button is as a shortcut; because a single button can perform multiple actions simultaneously or trigger various tools.

We’ve put together three best practices for using shortcuts to get the most out of your action button.

1. Multi-button shortcut – Federico Vittici Mac Stories created a method for two separate shortcuts that can be assigned to an action button. With MultiButton, if you press the action button once, the primary shortcut will be triggered, but if you press it twice in a row, the secondary shortcut will be triggered. This is a clever solution since Apple does not support multiple clicks of the action button. The MultiButton key combination is available at: MacStoriesViticci also has some suggestions for keyboard shortcuts to use with MultiButton.
2. Position based actions – YouTuber Dan Vittorini created a shortcut that performs different actions depending on the iPhone’s orientation when activated. If ‌iPhone‌ is in portrait orientation, it goes into silent mode. If you hold the phone with the upper left part, it takes a photo; if you hold it with the upper right part, it takes a video. Of course, you can customize them to your liking.
3. Shortcuts folder. Perhaps the easiest way to use an action button is to configure it to display a folder of shortcuts, which is a unique action only available to the action button. You can customize this to show all your shortcuts or just your favorites; so when you press an action button, you get a menu of the most useful shortcuts. To set this up, open the Settings app, select Action Button, scroll to Shortcut, tap Select Shortcut…, then select Show Folder and select the folder you want.