Faeri's Obsidian

Notebook Navigator - Settings (Navigation)

8 min read

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Navigation

Appearance

Displays an image above the navigation pane. Changes with the selected vault profile.

In data.json

Default:

      "navigationBanner": null
Pin banner

Pin the navigation banner above the navigation tree.

In data.json

Default:

  "pinNavigationBanner": true

Sync mode:

  "syncModes": {
    "pinNavigationBanner": "synced"
  }

Disabling sync mode will set pinNavigationBanner to "local".

Show note count

Display the number of notes next to each folder and tag.

In data.json

Default:

  "showNoteCount": true
Show current and descendant counts separately

Display note counts as “current ▾ descendants” format in folders and tags.

In data.json

Default:

  "separateNoteCounts": true

Show indent guides

Display indent guides for nested folders and tags.

In data.json

Default:

  "showIndentGuides": false

My settings

I set this to true.

Root item spacing

Spacing between root-level folders and tags.

In data.json

The slider ranges from 0 to 6, but higher values can be entered manually in the JSON file.

Default:

  "rootLevelSpacing": 0

Tree indentation

Adjust the indentation width for nested folders and tags.

In data.json

The slider ranges from 10 to 24. Any number not in that range will be ignored in favor of the default value, 16.

Default:

  "navIndent": 16

Sync mode:

  "syncModes": {
    "navIndent": "synced"
  }

Disabling sync mode will set navIndent to "local".

My settings

I set this to 10.

Item height

Adjust the height of folders and tags in the navigation pane.

In data.json

The slider ranges from 20 to 28. Any number not in that range will be ignored in favor of the default value, 28.

Default:

  "navItemHeight": 28

Sync mode:

  "syncModes": {
    "navItemHeight": "synced"
  }

Disabling sync mode will set navItemHeight to "local".

My settings

I set this to 20.

Scale text with item height

Reduce navigation text size when item height is decreased.

In data.json

Default:

  "navItemHeightScaleText": true

Sync mode:

  "syncModes": {
    "navItemHeightScaleText": "synced"
  }

Disabling sync mode will set navItemHeightScaleText to ”local”`.

My settings

I set this to false.

Behavior

Collapse items

Choose what to expand/collapse all button affects.

  • All folders and tags (“all”)
  • Folders only (“folders-only”)
  • Tags only (“tags-only”)

In data.json

Default:

  "collapseBehavior": "all"

Keep selected item expanded

When collapsing, keep the currently selected folder or tag and its parents expanded.

In data.json

Default:

  "smartCollapse": true

Auto-select first note

Automatically open the first note when switching folders or tags.

In data.json

Default:

  "autoSelectFirstFileOnFocusChange": false

Expand on selection

Expand folders, tags, and properties when selected. In single pane mode, first selection expands, second selection shows files.

In data.json

Default:

  "autoExpandNavItems": false

My settings

I set this to true.

Spring-loaded folders

Expand folders and tags on hover during drag operations.

In data.json

Default:

  "springLoadedFolders": true
First expand delay

Delay before the first folder or tag expands during a drag operation (seconds).

In data.json

The slider ranges from 0.10 to 2.00, in increments of 0.10. A more specific value can be set in the JSON file directly. The maximum delay is 3.00 seconds, even if a higher value is set. The minimum delay is 0 seconds, even if a lower value is set. Default:

  "springLoadedFoldersInitialDelay": 0.5

My settings

I set this to 0.25.

Subsequent expand delay

Delay before expanding additional folders or tags during the same drag operation (seconds).

In data.json

The slider ranges from 0.10 to 2.00, in increments of 0.10. A more specific value can be set in the JSON file directly. The maximum delay is 3.00 seconds, even if a higher value is set. The minimum delay is 0 seconds, even if a lower value is set. Default:

  "springLoadedFoldersSubsequentDelay": 0.5

My settings

I set this to 0.25.

Shortcuts

Show icons for shortcuts and recent items

Display icons for navigation sections like Shortcuts and Recent files.

In data.json

Default:

  "showSectionIcons": true

Show shortcuts

Display the shortcuts section in the navigation pane.

In data.json

Default:

  "showShortcuts": true
Shortcut badge

What to display next to shortcuts. Use ‘Open shortcut 1-9’ commands to open shortcuts directly.

  • Position (1-9) (“index”)
  • Item counts (“count”)
  • None (“none”)

In data.json

Default:

  "shortcutBadgeDisplay": "index"

My settings

I set this to "counts".

Disable auto-scroll for shortcuts

Don’t scroll the navigation pane when clicking items in shortcuts.

In data.json

Default:

  "skipAutoScroll": false

Show recent notes

Display the recent notes section in the navigation pane.

In data.json

Default:

  "showRecentNotes": true
Hide notes

Choose which note types to hide in the recent notes section.

  • None (“none”)
  • Folder notes (“folder-notes”)

In data.json

Default:

  "hideRecentNotes": "none"
Pin recent notes with shortcuts

Include recent notes when shortcuts are pinned.

In data.json

Default:

  "pinRecentNotesWithShortcuts": false

My settings

I set this to true.

Recent notes count

Number of recent notes to display.

In data.json

The slider ranges from 1 to 10. Values greater than 10 can be set manually in the JSON file, however it requires the vault cache to be rebuilt.

Default:

  "recentNotesCount": 5

Folders

Show folder icons

Display icons next to folders in the navigation pane

In data.json

Default:

  "showFolderIcons": true

Show root folder

Display the vault name as the root folder in the tree.

In data.json

Default:

  "showRootFolder": true

My settings

I set this to false.

Inherit folder colors

Child folders inherit color from parent folders.

In data.json

Default:

  "inheritFolderColors": false

My settings

I set this to true.

Folder sort order

Right-click any folder to set a different sort order for its children.

  • A to Z (“alpha-asc”)
  • Z to A (“alpha-desc”)

In data.json

Default:

  "folderSortOrder": "alpha-asc"

Sync mode:

  "syncModes": {
    "folderSortOrder": "synced"
  }

Disabling sync mode will set folderSortOrder to "local".

Folder notes

Enable folder notes

Folders with a matching note file are displayed as clickable links.

In data.json

Default:

  "enableFolderNotes": false

My settings

I set this to true.

Default folder note type

Folder note type created from the context menu.

  • Ask before creating (“ask”)
  • Markdown (“markdown”)
  • Canvas (“canvas”)
  • Base (“base”)

In data.json

Default:

  "folderNoteType": "markdown"
Folder note name

Name of the folder note without extension. Leave empty to use the same name as the folder. (placeholder text: index)

In data.json

Default:

  "folderNoteName": ""
Folder note name pattern

Name pattern for folder notes without extension. Use {{folder}} to insert the folder name. When set, Folder note name does not apply. (placeholder text: _{{folder}})

In data.json

Default:

  "folderNoteNamePattern": ""

"Folder note name" vs "Folder note name pattern"

  • Folder note name — a static name that every folder note gets, like index. Every single folder note would be called index.md regardless of what the folder is named.
  • Folder note name pattern — a dynamic name using {{folder}} to insert the actual folder name, so each folder note gets a unique name based on its folder.
Folder note template

Template file for new markdown folder notes. Set template folder location in General > Templates.

In data.json

Default:

  "folderNoteTemplate": null

Folder labels are styled as links and open folder notes on click. When off, folder notes still provide name, icon and color metadata.

In data.json

Default:

  "enableFolderNoteLinks": true
Hide folder notes in list

Hide the folder note from appearing in the folder’s note list.

In data.json

Default:

  "hideFolderNoteInList": true
Pin created folder notes

Automatically pin folder notes when created from the context menu.

In data.json

Default:

  "pinCreatedFolderNote": false
Open folder notes in new tab

Always open folder notes in a new tab when clicking on a folder.

In data.json

Default:

  "openFolderNotesInNewTab": false

Tags

Show tags

Displays tags section in the navigator.

In data.json

Default:

  "showTags": true
Show tag icons

Display icons next to tags in the navigation pane.

In data.json

Default

  "showTagIcons": true
Inherit tag colors

Child tags inherit color from parent tags.

In data.json

Default

  "inheritTagColors": true
Tag sort order

Right-click any tag to set a different sort order for its children.

  • A to Z (“alpha-asc”)
  • Z to A (“alpha-desc”)
  • Frequency (low to high) (“frequency-asc”)
  • Frequency (high to low) (“frequency-desc”)

In data.json

Default

  "tagSortOrder": "alpha-asc"

Sync mode:

  "syncModes": {
    "tagSortOrder": "synced"
  }

Disabling sync mode will set tagSortOrder to "local".

Show tags folder

Display “Tags” as a collapsible folder.

In data.json

Default

  "showAllTagsFolder": true
Show untagged notes

Display “Untagged” item for notes without any tags.

In data.json

Default

  "showUntagged": true
Retain tags property after removing last tag

Keep the tags frontmatter property when all tags are removed. When disabled, the tags property is deleted from frontmatter.

In data.json

Default

  "keepEmptyTagsProperty": false

Properties

Show properties

Display properties section in the navigator.

In data.json

Default

  "showProperties": true
Show property icons

Display icons next to properties in the navigation pane.

In data.json

Default

  "showPropertyIcons": true
Inherit property colors

Property values inherit color and background from their property key.

In data.json

Default

  "inheritPropertyColors": true
Property sort order

Right-click any property to set a different sort order for its values.

  • A to Z (“alpha-asc”)
  • Z to A (“alpha-desc”)
  • Frequency (low to high) (“frequency-asc”)
  • Frequency (high to low) (“frequency-desc”)

In data.json

Default

  "propertySortOrder": "alpha-asc"

Sync mode:

  "syncModes": {
    "propertySortOrder": "synced"
  }

Disabling sync mode will set propertySortOrder to "local".

Show properties folder

Display “Properties” as a collapsible folder.

In data.json

Default

  "showAllPropertiesFolder": true

Graph View

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