Create Shortcuts

Creating shortcuts is the most common action in Lora and the fastest way to turn long, messy links into something simple and memorable.

Overview

Every shortcut belongs to a single workspace. Within that workspace, it must have a unique slug, a destination URL, a folder, and a visibility setting. These four fields are required. Everything else — such as dynamic parameters, geo rules, or comments — is optional.

How to create a shortcut

There are three ways to start creating a shortcut. You can press C on your keyboard to open the creation modal from anywhere in the app. You can click the Create Shortcut button in the upper left corner of the workspace. Or you can go directly to https://app.uselora.com/new in your browser; if you are logged into Lora, you’ll be redirected to the creation page.

Once the creation form is open, enter a slug (for example /handbook), paste the destination URL (such as https://confluence.acme.com/hr/handbook), select a folder (for instance HR), and choose a visibility option. After saving, your shortcut is live immediately.

Visibility

Visibility is a required setting for every shortcut. You must decide who can access it before it can be created.

• Workspace makes the shortcut available to everyone in the workspace.
• Unlisted creates a shortcut that can only be accessed by people with the direct link; it does not appear in search.
• Private keeps the shortcut visible only to you.

This ensures that every shortcut has a clear access policy from the moment it is created.

QR codes

Every shortcut in Lora automatically generates a QR code when it is created. You don’t need to configure anything - the QR code is ready to use right away.

You can download the code from the shortcut details page and place it wherever your team needs fast offline access, such as posters, office doors, or training materials. The QR code always follows the visibility rules of the shortcut, so private or unlisted shortcuts remain protected.

Optional shortcut features

Beyond the required fields, the creation dialog includes advanced features you can enable when needed.

Dynamic shortcuts

Dynamic shortcuts use placeholders in the destination URL. Instead of a fixed link, the destination becomes a template that fills in values when the shortcut is opened.

Placeholder syntax

There are two formats, both equivalent:

• Simple: {ticket}. Fastest to type for one-parameter shortcuts. Supports the | raw modifier ({path | raw}).
• Standard: {argument name="ticket"}. Required to set a default value (default="..."). Also supports | raw ({argument name="ticket" | raw}).

{ticket} and {argument name="ticket"} behave the same way. You can mix both styles in one URL. Lora stores the destination exactly as you typed it.

Placeholder names start with a lowercase letter and contain lowercase letters, digits, hyphens, or underscores (1–50 characters). Use the same name in multiple spots when you want a value reused. Lora only asks once.

Default values

A default fills in when the visitor doesn’t supply a value, so the link still works without a prompt.

https://example.com/{argument name="lang" default="en"}

• /lang → https://example.com/en (default kicks in).
• /lang/fr → https://example.com/fr (visitor’s value wins over the default).

Defaults only work in the standard format.

Raw mode (no URL encoding)

By default, Lora URL-encodes every value, so react hooks becomes react%20hooks in the destination. If you actually need raw characters in the URL, like a path segment that already contains slashes, append | raw:

https://example.com/{argument name="path" | raw}

Use it sparingly. Raw values can change what the resulting URL means.

How visitors supply values

Lora reads placeholder values from two places, in this order:

1. Path segments after the slug (positional). For /jira/{ticket}, opening /jira/ABC-123 sets ticket = ABC-123. With multiple placeholders, segments map to them in declaration order.
2. Query string (by name). For /search?query=react, the query parameter overrides any positional value with the same name. If a key appears more than once, the last value wins.

If a required placeholder is missing, Lora shows a small prompt page with one input per placeholder. Submitting redirects through the same URL. Defaults appear as the input’s hint text.

Examples

Single placeholder (simple form):

Slug	/jira
Destination	https://jira.acme.com/browse/{ticket}
Usage	/jira/ABC-123 → opens Jira ticket ABC-123

Multiple placeholders (standard form):

Slug	/gh
Destination	https://github.com/{argument name="org"}/{argument name="repo"}
Usage	/gh/acme/web-app → opens the acme/web-app repository

Optional value with a default:

Slug	/lang
Destination	https://example.com/{argument name="lang" default="en"}
Usage	/lang → English; /lang/fr → French

Query string override:

Slug	/search
Destination	https://acme.com/search?q={argument name="query"}
Usage	/search?query=react+hooks → searches for “react hooks”

When to use dynamic shortcuts

Dynamic shortcuts work well for tools your team uses with changing parameters: issue trackers, search, documentation sites, dashboards with filters, or any URL that follows a fixed pattern.

A shortcut with a fixed destination returns a 404 on a non-empty path tail. /handbook/extra on a static /handbook is almost always a typo, so Lora doesn’t silently drop the extra segment.

Geo-targeting

Geo-targeting routes users to different destinations based on their location. This lets you create a single shortcut that serves the right content for each region — no need for separate links per country.

How to set up geo-targeting

1. Open the shortcut creation or edit page.
2. In the Geo-Targeting section, click Add location.
3. Select a country from the dropdown.
4. Enter the destination URL for that country.
5. Repeat for each country you want to target.

The original destination URL acts as the fallback — any user whose country is not in the list will be redirected there.

Example

A single /careers shortcut with geo-targeting rules:

Country	Destination URL
🇩🇪 Germany	https://acme.com/de/karriere
🇺🇸 United States	https://acme.com/careers
🇫🇷 France	https://acme.com/fr/carrieres
Fallback	https://acme.com/jobs

When a user in Germany clicks /careers, they land on the German careers page. A user in Brazil (not in the list) lands on the fallback URL.

When to use geo-targeting

Geo-targeting is useful for localized content such as careers pages, support portals, legal documents, or region-specific tools. It keeps your shortcut namespace clean — one slug, multiple destinations.

Device targeting

Device targeting redirects users to different destinations depending on their device type. This is ideal for download links, app-specific resources, or platform-dependent tools.

How to set up device targeting

1. Open the shortcut creation or edit page.
2. In the Device Targeting section, click Add device.
3. Select a device type (iOS, Android, macOS, Windows).
4. Enter the destination URL for that device.

The original destination URL acts as the fallback for any device type not in the list.

Example

A single /download shortcut with device targeting:

Device	Destination URL
iOS	https://apps.apple.com/app/acme/id123
Android	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.acme
macOS	https://acme.com/download/mac
Windows	https://acme.com/download/win
Fallback	https://acme.com/download

When a user on an iPhone clicks /download, they land directly in the App Store. A user on a Linux desktop gets the fallback page.

Masked URLs

Masked URLs keep the original destination hidden, showing the shortcut itself in the browser bar. This is useful for branded or sensitive links.

Masking requires technical prerequisites. The destination site must allow embedding inside an iframe. If the target website blocks embedding with headers such as X-Frame-Options or Content-Security-Policy, masking will not work. In those cases, the shortcut will behave like a normal redirect.

Comments

Shortcuts can include comments for context or internal notes. For example: “This link is for internal HR use only. Updated quarterly.” Comments appear in the shortcut details page but are not visible to end users.

Edit Shortcuts

Shortcuts can be updated at any time. To make changes, open the shortcut’s details/edit page. From there, you can directly update the slug, destination URL, folder, visibility, tags, or any advanced settings such as geo-targeting, device targeting, masked URLs, and comments. Once you save, the shortcut is updated immediately, and the changes are live for all users who have access to it.

How to open the edit page

There are two ways to open the edit page of a shortcut:

1. Use the three-dots menu next to the shortcut and select Edit.
2. Add a + to the end of the shortcut slug in your browser.

For example:

• Entering /handbook+ will open the details/edit page for the /handbook shortcut.
• Entering /jira+ will open the details/edit page for the /jira shortcut.