Apple added some helpful new shortcut actions to iOS 14.5. We have already talked about one with which you can get a new “Take screenshotsAction in one of your programmed shortcuts. Joining is a new action for your device Orientation blockThis lets you fine-tune when you want (almost always) and when you don’t (Netflix time).
At least that’s my preference. You can use the orientation lock as you like. To turn it on and off for each app, all you need to do is create an automation to start the app with or without an activated orientation lock. You can even have the automation reset your orientation lock to your default settings once you’ve closed the app.
Before I start, remember that you can toggle the orientation lock on and off at any time by swiping in from the top right corner of your iPhone and tapping a lock icon with a clockwise circle around it:
Setting up automation to turn the orientation lock on or off for a specific app is easy. Launch the Shortcuts app and tap “Automation” Tab below. Create a new “Personal automation ” and scroll down and tap “App” when prompted for the type.
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Make sure you enable the app that you want to automate before selecting it “Is opened,” “Is closed,” or both, depending on how you want to customize your orientation lock. (And you can always do a second automation later if you want to toggle the lock to a setting when starting an app and toggle it back when you close it.)
Then tap “Choose” In the “App” section, select which app (or apps) your automation should work with. You can select multiple apps at the same time. This is useful if, for example, you want to customize your orientation lock for all of your streaming apps. There is no need to run a separate automation for each individual app.
On the next screen you need to add one Action. Tap the blue button and navigate to Scripting> Set orientation lock (under the “Device” section). By default, the action is set to “Switch” the orientation lock, that is, to set it to the opposite of the state it is in before the automation is run.
If you want to force a specific power on or off state, tap the blue Switch Link in the action and turn it on “Turn.” Finally, do the same with the word “On” to turn it on “Out,” if that’s your preference.
When you’re done, tap Next in the top right corner to check your automation one last time. Feel free to turn off Ask Before You Run if you don’t want to be disturbed. Depending on how you’ve set up your automation, you can now use the orientation lock at any time and automatically turn it off when you don’t.
