iOS 15 Compatibility: There is a bug in Shortcuts on iOS 15 that prevents syncing of your shortcut library from the Shortcuts to MFC Deck. Until this bug is resolved by Apple (FB9585913), MFC Deck will be unavailable to download from the App Store.

MFC Deck Documentation

MFC Deck creates dynamic control decks and cards that run shortcuts, present information, send commands to your macOS applications, power NFC tags, and automatically run shortcuts. Display these decks and cards in Home Screen widgets, on your Apple Watch, and in assistant voice responses.

MFC Deck on iPhone

Table of Contents

System Requirements

MFC Deck requires the following:

If you want to take advantage of automatic shortcut running with the Trigger Server, Autocuts, or Background Automations, install these shortcuts:

Setup

When you install MFC Deck on a new iOS device, you will be presented with the MFC Deck Setup assistant. Follow the steps below to configure MFC Deck.

Setting up MFC Deck
Set up MFC Deck for the first time

Overview

Here is an overview of the main features of MFC Deck.

Decks

Decks hold a collection of cards. You can create as many decks as you want in MFC Deck, and you can also nest decks within other decks for greater organization. Learn more about decks here.

Decks can be displayed in many ways, as shown in the screenshot below:

MFC Deck Decks
Learn more about decks

Cards

Cards are the fundamental building block of MFC Deck. Cards can not only run shortcuts with parameters, they can persistently display the result of the last time the shortcut was run. Learn more about cards here.

MFC Deck Cards
Learn more about cards

Action Button

The Action Button contains useful functions for navigating and controlling MFC Deck. It appears as a button in the shape of the MFC Deck icon in one of four positions on the screen.

Action Button, Sheet, and Menu
Learn more about the Action button, sheet, and menu in MFC Deck

Trigger Server

Create triggers (similar to cards) to run automatically whenever MFC Deck’s Trigger Server is active in the foreground.

Trigger Server Monitoring

When you’re not actively using your iOS device, you can enable the Trigger Server to run periodic tasks throughout the day. When you need to use your device, swipe up to reveal the Home screen or push the Home button. When you return back to MFC Deck, the Trigger Server will continue processing any queued up triggers to run.

To exit the Trigger Server, tap the MFC Deck logo in the four corners of the screen.

Full documentation how to set up, create, and use the Trigger Server can be found here.

NOTE: The Trigger Server is part of MFC Deck Premium.

NFC

Use MFC Deck and your NFC Tags to create a control deck that runs shortcuts and other actions with just a tap. Or, manage multiple shortcuts using a single NFC Tag. Learn more about how to use NFC stickers with MFC Deck.

NFC Deck
Learn how to create an NFC Deck with NFC stickers and MFC Deck

Apple Watch

Your decks and a subset of cards are available for viewing only on Apple Watch.

Apple Watch and MFC Deck

Card actions cannot currently be run, and any card with no result will be hidden on the Apple Watch.

NOTE: If you use images in your cards, note that the sync can sometimes take several minutes before the correct image is displayed. Nested decks are currently not supported on Apple Watch. You will only be able to see the contents of the parent deck.

Siri Voice Response

You can display your small, medium, or large cards within Siri, making her responses much more visually appealing and information dense.

Siri response using MFC Deck

Widgets

You can display cards and decks on your iOS 14 Home Screen by adding a MFC Deck widgets.

Home Screen widgets
Learn more about using MFC Deck with Home Screen widgets in iOS 14

Settings

This section covers the various configuration options in MFC Deck’s Settings screen.

MFC Deck Settings
Dive into MFC Deck's Settings

Advanced

This section covers advanced ways you can use MFC Deck:

MFC Deck Autocuts

Learn how you can use the MFC Deck Autocuts shortcut to automatically run multiple shortcuts in a deck with individual settings for custom input, schedule, and frequency for each shortcut. Click here to learn more.

Run all these shortcuts at the same time

Personal Automations with MFC Deck Autocuts

Background Automations

New in Version 1.1.0 is the Background Automations feature which allows you to continually run shortcuts in the background on an interval. MFC Deck and the Background Automations shortcut implement a new Background trigger for iOS 14.

Learn more about background automations here.

Toggling apperance settings every 60 seconds with Background Automations

Sample Shortcuts

Visit the MFC Deck Shortcuts Gallery to see a list of shortcuts that work with MFC Deck.

If you have a shortcut that you’d like to feature, please send a feedback request from the MFC Deck Settings screen.

Examples

Here are some screenshots and descriptions on the kinds of cards, decks, and experiences you can create using MFC Deck:

MFC Deck Examples
See what you can create with MFC Deck

API

MFC Deck comes with over 30 custom actions to use in your own shortcuts. Learn also how to create rich cards with icons, text, backgrounds, and more by understanding the Card Result Format.

MFC Deck API
Learn about MFC Deck custom actions and the Card Result Format

Support

For technical support not covered below, go to the MFC Deck Settings screen and tap Send Feedback.

Localization

Help localize MFC Deck into your language. Information on the strings need to get MFC Deck localized is forthcoming. In the meantime, contribute a localization for the MFC Deck Helper shortcut by creating a pull request here.

Troubleshooting and Known Issues

Here is a list of troubleshooting tips and known issues with MFC Deck:

  1. MFC Deck doesn’t work on iOS 14.5 and 15: A bug exists that prevents the proper syncing of shortcuts to MFC Deck.
  2. Navigating in a sheet sometimes jumps forward and backwards. Close the sheet, reopen, and try again.
  3. Images on cards in Apple Watch take a long time to refresh after being changed on an iOS device. Syncing will improve with future versions of the app.
  4. Shortcuts and MFC Deck crashes when tapping Cancel in a shortcut. This is a known issue with the way Shortcuts handles x-callback-url, which MFC Deck uses to call a shortcut and return to itself after running. There is currently no workaround at this time. Read the section Exiting Shortcuts Properly in the API documentation for more details.
  5. Rearranging cards doesn’t work: You may need to tap the lock button twice when in Manual sort mode to enable Drag and Drop reordering of cards.

Version History

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