How to use Alfred, CloudApp and Trello to quickly share ideas with your team.

Save time with this speedy productivity hack. ⚡️

One of my all-time favourite apps for sharing visual information quickly is CloudApp — an easy-to-use screen recorder that brings video, webcam, annotation and GIF creation together for quick and easy sharing.

Note: This tutorial was featured as a Productivity Tip on the CloudApp blog!

When you use CloudApp as often as I do, you start to find unique ways to integrate it into your workflow to increase your productivity.

For instance, I found that by combining it with Alfred (a productivity application for Mac) and Trello (a web-based project management application), I was able to quickly share UX design iterations to solicit immediate feedback from my team.

This little trick saves me at least 30 seconds each time I use it — and since I use it multiple times per day, those minutes add up fast.

How to Set Up This Workflow

Setting Up CloudApp

1. Navigate to the preferences pane in CloudApp
2. Select Direct link from the link sharing dropdown.
3. Ensure Auto-Upload is turned on for screenshots.

Setting Up Alfred

1. Navigate to the Snippets tab in Alfred
2. Set your Snippet Keyword to: -
3. Turn on Auto Expansion

4. Create a new Snippet and set the Name to: CloudApp Image Shortcut

5. Set your Keyword to: !img

6. Paste this into the Snippet section: ![---image---]({clipboard})

7. Save.

Putting it All Together in Trello

Now that everything is set up, you can easily embed images in Trello cards!

1. Take a Screenshot
2. Navigate to your Trello card
3. Type !img and Alfred will automatically replace it with the proper link.
4. Voila!

That’s it!

As a productivity nerd, I’m curious to hear what unique workflows others are using with apps like these. Leave a comment, or hit me up on twitter.

About the Author

Justin Veenema is founder and Production Manager at BrandStories™ — a video production company that helps brands unleash the power of video marketing. He’s also a photographer, educator and advocate for pineapples on pizza.

You can connect with him on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.