Posted by I was introduced to Obsidian (a new-released note-taking software) by a friend recently. Obsidian immediately stood out for me from other note-taking apps such as Evernote and Notion because it uses Markdown format and integrates Backlinking, all this while storing your files on a local folder.
It literally advertises itself as your Second Brain.
First thing first, What is Markdown?
Markdown is a lightweight markup language with plain-text formatting syntax.
Just think when you want to write a Bold Whatsapp message, instead of having pre-setup features on the app, you will manually configure *bold* to customize your text.
What are the benefits of using Markdown?
- Minimalistic – With Markdown you are able to work in a simple and uncluttered workspace
- Flow – It speeds up your process of writing and note taking without having to constantly hover to format your texts.
- Control – Markdown allows you to have the freedom over your work without being tied down to a certain editor.
Obsidian Backlinks
Most of our note taking apps are mono-directional linked. What Obsidian provide is the ability to perform bi-directional linking through Backlinks.
Essentially it not only takes you from A to B, but the app recognizes that if A includes B, it means that B is a part of A – in a larger scale this would enhance the information that is being input into your vault.
Individual, unconnected notes are useless, so Obsidian focuses on connections and links between notes, mimicking the billions of neural connections in your brain.
Medium.com – Author Hause Lin
With that said, Obsidian itself however does have quite a bit of a learning curve. So after personally spending some time probing around, I would like to show you how you can start to create your very own first note!
Getting Set Up
- You can download Obsidian from their homepage. It is available Free for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Creating your first Note
- Select ‘Create New Vault’.
- Once you have created your name and file save location, you will be brought to your workplace.
- Click on the ‘New Note’ to create your first note.
Navigating your view panel
The default view panel is on the Editor mode, this is where you will see your basic markdown notes. If you would like to see how your page rendered out you can switch your view mode to Preview.
You can also view and edit both screens side by side by selecting Split Vertically/Horizontally.
Obsidian also has a featured called Note Multiplexer, where you can view and edit several different notes at the same time simply by pressing “Control” key and left click on the page that you wish to open.
Obsidian Notes Formatting
Below I have curated an index of basic text-formatting supported by Obsidian.
How to Add Images
To add image to Obsidian you can either Copy and Paste, or by dragging it directly from your local file storage.
Everytime you embed an image into Obsidian it appears on your working pane and eventually made it look crowded. You can automatically group all the images into a Pre-Set folder by clicking Settings > File > Attachment Folder Path.
How to create Internal Links and Obsidian Backlinks
I will use following example for the purpose of demonstration.
- To create an internal link, simply type [[Spatula]] and then press “Control + Left Click” on Spatula. This will eventually open up a new page where you can input new notes on Spatula.
On the Right hand panel you will see:
- Linked Mentions : This shows you the Original Source of the page and any other articles that you have linked with this page.
- Unlinked Mentions : Obsidian searches your vault for every time ‘Spatula’ was mentioned and proposes it to you to create an interlink between the pages.
The Graph View gives you a bird’s eye representation of your notes. You can see how your notes intertwine with each other and this helps you make better sense of your information.
Obsidian Plugins
By going to Settings, you can deep-dive into the core of Obsidian and customize your Editor, Plugins,Hotkeys and Appearance.
Accessing the Help menu
Click on ‘help’ and you will open up the help vault which allows you to see all of the features and tips & tricks offered by the Software.
Aside from that, Obsidian also has a community forum where you can see all updates and other user’s experiences. Forum https://forum.obsidian.md/
Obsidian Limitations
Currently Obsidian does not have any built-in sync, and there is no mobile app yet. There is also no in house pdf export option available. However according to their developer’s Trello, it seemed that these features will be rolled out in the future.
Summary
Obsidian is still in beta phase but has already provided a very promising platform and a pretty solid foundation as a Note taking app.
I am currently using Notion and is heavily dependent on it’s cross-platform sync and in-house calendar features. I don’t see myself fully converting to Obsidian yet but I will be using it to take technical notes which I truly believe will help me make better sense of my ideas and change the way I learn.
Keep working ,impressive job!
Thanks!