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The Inbox

Questions macros park instead of popping up a window, and where to answer them: the menu bar, the iPhone and the command line.

A macro that needs a decision usually opens a window and steals your focus. Ask later parks the question in the Inbox instead and waits. You answer when you get to it.

Ask a question #

Add an Ask later (Inbox) step. Give it a question, two to four buttons, and the button to use if nobody answers:

Archive the newsletters, asked whenever I get to it
When
  1. Every Mon at 09:00
Do
  1. Ask later: “Archive the 12 newsletters this week?” (Archive / Keep)
  2. Show “You said {{ answer }}”
Open in Switchboard to try it

The macro stops at that step and the question goes into the Inbox. After expires (4 hours unless you set it) the default button is used and the macro goes on. The macro's own timeout does not run while it waits.

Where to answer #

  • The Mac's menu bar. The Switchboard glyph shows a number while questions wait. Open its menu: each question is at the top with its buttons.

  • The iPhone. Questions appear at the top of the Activity tab with their buttons. A quiet notification (no sound, no interruption) tells you one arrived. This needs iCloud sync on, in Settings > Sync on the Mac.

  • The command line. switchboard inbox lists them. switchboard inbox answer 3f9a Archive answers one.

The first answer wins. A question that is already answered, or has expired, shows as gone on the other devices.

Good defaults #

The default is what happens when you do not answer, so pick the one that does nothing harmful. "Keep" and "Not now" are better defaults than "Delete".

Good to know #

  • The Inbox lives in the running engine. If the engine quits, the macro that was waiting ends with it.

  • A dry run never asks: the step answers with the default and the rest of the macro carries on.

  • Cancelling a run takes its question out of the Inbox.

See also #

Ask later (Inbox), An error dialog appears