![](https://help.apple.com/assets/63A24242BFFB1C67B5512B26/63A24245BFFB1C67B5512B35/en_GB/389e356d55e928d40def9c16d476e5e0.png)
Intro to using prompts in a shortcut on iPhone or iPad
If you want to display or enter information while your shortcut is running, use the Ask for Input, Show Alert or Show Notification action, or use an Ask Each Time variable.
Using actions and variables in this way lets you create shortcuts that are more dynamic — you can set up a structure for what occurs in your shortcut, but you don’t need to fill in all the information as you build the shortcut. Instead, you can leave certain options to be decided at runtime.
![Text shortcut containing prompts.](https://help.apple.com/assets/63A24242BFFB1C67B5512B26/63A24245BFFB1C67B5512B35/en_GB/6ef08bf5bf9b906a35b6805b24113fb9.png)
For example, you can create a shortcut that asks questions about your day and enters the answers in a journal. Or you can create a more complicated shortcut with prompts that fill out each portion of an email template, combine all the portions, then send the email.