Obsidian offers several ways to organize your notes. A panel on the left shows your files and folders. You can also navigate and organize your Vault using macOS’s Finder, Windows’ File Explorer, or any other file browser you prefer. The Obsidian app reflects any changes you make in real time. But the real magic comes from links.
(Credit: Obsidian/PCMag)
Type two square brackets and a few letters inside them, and Obsidian drops down a list of any notes that match what you typed. You can then select a note to link it to the one you’re currently editing. Or you can type something entirely new to create a new linked note. Clicking the resulting link opens the new note. The idea is that you can connect ideas to each other and, over time, create a network of documents. It’s like a personal wiki. You can even view a graph of your entire Vault that shows how all your notes interconnect. Depending on your perspective, this network-style setup might either seem like a gimmick or an interesting way to explore how your ideas relate to one another.
Obsidian also lets you sort your notes alphabetically, by creation date, and by update date. You can add tags to notes by putting a hash (#) before any word you want to become a tag. You can even view multiple notes at a time in a split window.
A built-in quick switcher (use the Ctrl/Cmd-O keyboard shortcut) allows you to jump to any note in just a few keystrokes. A command palette, which is available in the sidebar or accessible by the Ctrl/Cmd-P keyboard shortcut, lets you run hundreds of commands—everything from following the link under your cursor to renaming the current file. It’s like a complete command line for your documents, but with a search function. Other note-taking apps are increasingly adopting similar features.
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What’s great about Obsidian is that you don’t have to use all its features if you don’t want to. Alternatively, if these options aren’t enough, you can add even more functionality via extensions.
