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Plain text, Paper, Less (PTPL) Productivity Digest, text-based image by Author
This week: While Obsidian’s Bookmarks feature is powerful, a more universal form of inter-app deep linking would be better — Hookmark helps bridge the gap. A case study showing how I use embedded queries to keep track of my language learning flashcards, and how the same queries can easily be created in iA Writer and the Finder.
Digital or analog, a collection of notes over a certain size without a system to bring it into some kind of order, is of little practical use. We need a way to identify call up files, topics, and sentences that meet specified criteria, at will.
Our options are —
I like to use a combination of the above, depending on what I’m doing. Mine is a just-in-time approach, where the system evolves according to the demands I place upon it. I use strict metadata for my flashcards, ABC Notation music, and published articles, but these also live in a folder because this makes sense to me.
Nicole Van Der Hoeven made me laugh when she labelled folder-users, “heathens”, in a well-intentioned jibe in a video explaining Obsidian’s Bookmark feature. People seem get as attached to their preferred way of organising information as they do the way the toilet paper ’should‘ hang over the roll!
In an effort to keep my files free from being locked into any one app, I’ve held back from using Obsidian’s Bookmark feature. That, and the fact that it’s not working in my main vault due to what I assume is a plugin conflict!
Bookmarks in Obsidian are shortcuts that allow convenient access to your most used items. According to the official help files, Bookmarks can be created from —
That’s an impressive display of power, but I’m reluctant to rely on Obsidian’s take on Bookmarks. I’d much rather see a more universal solution for deep linking that also works in other Markdown apps, and fortunately, one exists.
I’ve written about Hookmark before, and I’m going to keep the fanfare going while no other inter-app deep-linking solution exists (for Mac users; if there’s one for Windows, I don’t know about it).
There are various methods of using Hookmark with Obsidian, and each have their pros and cons. If you’re a Setapp user, you already have access to Hookmark. If you’re yet to explore that most delicious of Mac playgrounds, using my affiliate link (plus the code ELLANE) will give you a nice 30-day free trial instead of the usual 7-days, and me a small commission.
While I’d rather use a more universal system for deep linking, I am content to use Obsidian’s Bookmarks (when I can get them working), for two reasons:
Here’s an example of how I use collections of embedded search queries in Obsidian, rather than the built-in Bookmarks. I used to use the latter, but came up with this alternative when Bookmarks stopped working for me (they work just fine in my other, simpler vault).
For my French studies, I collect phrases that I present to my language partners for checking. Once a phrase has been corrected, I change the metadata from Unverified, to Hard. Other levels are Good, Easy, and Archived. With the following embedded queries, I can view all cards that fit particular levels on one page, sorted by language partner and date last reviewed.
In this query, the search is looking for a file name containing F (for Flashcard), 84 (my code number for French), and .0 (code for Unverified).
```queryfile:F84.0```You can use any file name here, or use content: instead if you’re searching for specific metadata inside your files. For more information on embedded queries check out the Obsidian help files, and Michelle Mac’s excellent article on the topic. Another great way to teach yourself how queries work is to play around in the Search bar, with the Explain Search Terms option toggled on.
I like Obsidian’s embedded queries and am happy to rely on them to access my files, because I can easily create the same searches elsewhere, for example with Smart Folders in iA Writer, and Saved Searches in the Finder itself.
Here’s that Setapp link again in case you’d like to try out Hookmark (or Paste, or Popclip, or Clop, or Ulysses, or…): you’ll need to enter the code ELLANE to claim the 30-day free trial instead of the usual 7 days.
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