My Obsidian Setup: The King of Note Taking Apps

[@ChrisLawley]

I have a new Obsidian video out that covers the new web clipper app, and goes into more detail about my daily note and launchpad document. Including diving deep into the dataview plugin. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKbGc5mlnbSNms0

[@legerdemain]

One of my fave things Obsidian Sync can do: sitting at a conference, taking notes on my laptop, and a slide comes up. I can pull out my phone and add a photo to the note WHILE I'm still editing the note on my laptop. The photo pops into my view on my laptop in a couple seconds.

[@Dr.Kyriazidis]

this is what Apple Pages can do 3 years now...

[@Foxhunter_DE]

You don't need sync for that. Just install your Vault in a Cloud of your choice. I'm doing that with Nextcloud, workes like a charm. Also done it with OneDrive and Dropbox.

[@Salmini-i6e]

@@Dr.Kyriazidishow?

[@sorengemmer]

@@SimplicityForGood Why the negativity?

[@j.d.5709]

Most of my note-taking is for personal learning and knowledge as someone who reads a lot of non-fiction and loves learning new skills. Or honing existing skills. So absolutely not just for content creators.

[@ChrisLawley]

Completely agree! I just see a lot of note taking videos that are about making videos.

[@muhammedalikilic5460]

@@ChrisLawley I feel like the Obsidian community is really diverse. All sorts of people intermingle. It is definitely not "mostly" content creators, that image is probably formed due to them making the content about it 😂

[@t0dd000]

I take a ton of notes as I read fiction as well

[@fatherotis]

Been waiting on this one! Really appreciate the approach you’re taking here. It’s refreshing to not feel like I have to build out this complex system with never ending backlinks to make Obsidian and note taking in general valuable to someone who is mostly just taking quick notes to remember things throughout the day. Excited for more in this series!

[@junechevalier]

I’m an author and I use Obsidian for worldbuilding, brainstorming ideas, and taking notes while doing research. 100/10 lifesaver

[@t0dd000]

Same! (Though I use Joplin.) I do all of my writing in it as well. Scene by scene. My work doesn't hit Word or LibreOffice until I'm ready to submit to editors.

[@alternatuber6698]

have any template?

[@camslam8245]

Love the takes, it's very similar to what I say!!! Just like you, I always say that Obsidian is for everyone who wants to take notes, and it DOESN'T need to get as complicated as we see in KZbin videos. At it's core, it's JUST files and folders. That's what I used it as when I started! No markdown, no links, just text in files. I hated having my notes everywhere and Obsidian has changed my life. And it's FUN! Great video.

[@wilfromonline]

This is amazingly invaluable. Just switched over today and followed this step by step. I couldn't be happier. Now I need that tutorial on setting up the Launchpad!

[@ChrisLawley]

Sponsorship: Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code LAWLEY for an extra 4 months free at surfshark.com/lawley

[@rpf23543]

ok, it protects you in the coffee shop or similar for unencrypted traffic, most webtraffic is anyway encrypted. However, if you use such a VPN service, they still have to provide Lawful Interception. And, the governments are far more evil than most of the hackers....so it does not protect you from that. Just saying...because many always thing with such a VPN service, they are "invisible" :-)

[@comradestannis]

Just curious: What is that keyboard you're using in that video?

[@timothyconnally2167]

I use obsidian for math studies. It has Mathjax built in. Mathjax is minimal syntax to activate LaTex, a very simple yet comprehensive math symbol syntax. I was nervous that it would take a long time to learn. It was easy. I figured the majority of what I needed in about an hour. It helps to keep your own obsidian note on LaTex and Mathjax scraped from online cheat sheets. This would be a good subject for a video. 😊

[@Elem40]

For those who have a NAS: You can store a local vault on the NAS to sync it with all of Your devices for free.

[@Kerats]

That was the first thing I looked into then realized I can store it in my iCloud too!

[@kurt_hansen]

Or use syncthing to sync to all devices for free :-)

[@ezrashanti]

@@Elem40 with this workflow, will obsidian phone apps access the nas in the background. Like can I type in my IP/url and port in the settings and it will work just like if it were only local. no web browser required? Synology user here.

[@Elem40]

@@ezrashantiI think You can sync from Android devices by using the free Obsidean app and the synology drive app. However, iOS only allows syncing from iCloud.

[@EddieCortado]

I appreciate the unpretentious, deep look at Obsidian for iPad! I haven’t seen many, if any, demos using Obsidian on iPad OS, which you pointed out has some limitations when it comes to windowing. I use Apple Notes and create those dated daily notes using Shortcuts. However, Notes still doesn’t have templates so here we are with Obsidian.

[@EddieCortado]

iCloud Users: I strongly recommend going into Files on iOS and enable "Keep Downloaded" so that your Obsididan Vault is kept on your device.

[@jay.jarosz]

I've watched so many videos on Obsidian and this is the first time anyone mentioned the Home Tab plugin! I tried it and love it, thank you for sharing! 💜

[@ImGerald]

Thank you. Just got my iPad pro 13 M4, and was looking something like this to take notes while I'm learning cyber security and coding.

[@Ganimeworld]

Now that I'm working between different operating systems, I'm moving over to obsidian becuase it works on basically everything. This video was super helpful. Please make more dedicated obsidian videos. Thank you.

[@medhavimiddha9882]

Thanks a lot for this Chris. Waiting for more Obsidian videos.

[@graytonw5238]

I work in the Windows world because I support the needs of my customers as a freelancer, and I have a Windows desktop PC and a couple of Windows laptops. I recently bought a MacBook Pro though because I wanted to try Mac OS. I probably fit in a niche where I'd prefer apps that are truly cross-platform so I can use the across devices and ecosystems. I know Obsidian works for that, but I've been using MS OneNote, which works across Windows, Mac, and my Android tablet with OneDrive. I also just bought a mind mapping app called SimpleMind Pro, which does the same. Between those two apps I can work on notes and projects regardless of which machine I have in front of me.

[@ChrisLawley]

I do not miss the days when I had to find cross platform apps cause I worked in IT. Obsidian was really new then and I didn’t feel I could rely on it. I’m glad it’s gotten better over the years. Also your setup sounds perfect for that configuration.

[@waschbaerkaiser]

Finally a relatable video on note-taking. Well worth the wait. Thanks, Chris!

[@ChrisLawley]

Thank you!!

[@OnurSaltturk]

Your Obsidian Theme Configuration link doesn't seem to work. Can you fix it? Or could you share it any other way? I appreicate all your work.

[@drdentrepair5530]

Thank you for the video. Although I have tried so many different note taking apps like this, craft and many others I always seemed to come back to apple notes. So for the last year I have only used apple notes and so far it has done everything that I have needed.

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

GREAT 👍. Apple notes is very simple & effective note taking for apple ecosystem. Sometimes I wonder why people go to all other fancy complex notes apps when we already have inbuilt notes app in apple. Also using so many notes app is a big mess. Better to use only one & stick to it 😊

[@ChrisLawley]

Find what works with you and stick with it! We are all different. I really dislike when I see creators tell people they NEED to use this piece of software cause it works for the creator. My goal is to show you all a bunch of stuff and hopefully you can use that information to figure out what is best for you.

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

@@ChrisLawley Thanks Chris for sharing valuable info 🙏. I learn a lot from you always 🙏

[@Sunila_DragonladyCH]

Especially now you can create hyperlinks in notes. It's really powerful, especially on the go. I still use Craft for more complex ideas or projects, but notes is the base.

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

@@Sunila_DragonladyCH Can you give examples of a complex ides or projects you mentioned ? Trying to understand how CRAFT is helpful for complex projects ? Kindly give some light to this.

[@dashon-gk6on]

Nice video! Just started using obsidian. But really need your dataview from Launchpad. When is the tutorial coming?

[@theoya]

I dropped in thinking the devices in the thumbnail were android and was hoping to see some slick ideas on an android workflow. Apparently I'm just blind. Regardless I stayed to see what you had, and while there wasn't a lot for me, I just wanted to say that I appreciate seeing Obsidian videos that aren't geared towards the 500 other self-help productivity gurus on KZbin. Thanks for keeping the audience in mind.

[@samuelitooooo]

I'm still figuring out my setup (I don't wanna copy everything verbatim), but I do wanna thank you for showing the Border theme. Aesthetics are big for me, and this is both nice to look at and has the balance that I want in terms of flair (e.g. colored headers, bold, italic, which I personally want) and focus (de-emphasizing and even hiding buttons and sidebars).

[@Rororororororo-oj5tf]

My favourite plug in is Things Log - it takes all the completed tasks from things3 and then syncs it into the daily note. REALLY useful because it also syncs the added notes on the tasks, which means i can schedule everything in my day and then write in the things tasks what happened or why the task was canceled maybe or if i just want to write a quick note from my iphone and sync it to obsidian rather than opening up obsidian and typing there. Love it. It also sync's the project above it, so when viewing on the daily note - everything looks nice and organised with emojis on the projects.

[@ChrisLawley]

I like the sound of this, I’ll check it out. Thank you!

[@ericl3441]

I have always been interested in Obsidian i would love to see more vids on this app.

[@KJMB]

whoa whoa whoa.... can we get some more details on that iOS shortcut to launch a quick note like that? That's amazing EDIT: Oh it's right there in the description, I just got too excited, thanks you so much!

[@joedhoe]

Can't wait for the daily note video :)

[@toranshaw4029]

Ta for this, as I've added a few of the plugins you've mentioned, to try. 🙂 I will certainly be interested in the Dataview video, as that is something I really need to learn but don't know where to start!

[@redjinnee2008]

Awesome video, I've been using Obsidian for a while, and wanted to see what plugins I'm missing, this video def helped me install few plugins that can improve my workflow, Would love to see the video about Dataview plugin

[@xkrismiles]

14:33 Stunning mechanical keyboard collection!

[@ChrisLawley]

Thank you!

[@WarrenCBennett]

As a new Obsidian user, I've been looking for videos to help me set it up. I am stealing your layout. I'm going ot adapt it to how I do things, but it is a good template to work from I think. Thanks for uploading this.

[@WarrenCBennett]

BTW The IOS/IPad version looks different than the Windows version. I am using both but it is something to keep in mind.

[@Roop007]

I have a suggestion for the shortcut. Like, if the file is anything other than text, save it to files. I myself couldn’t get it to work, but it does sometimes

[@alexoliveperez3189]

What a great video Chris. Superuseful and well explained. Thank you.

[@ChrisLawley]

Thank you!!

[@TerryGrier]

Great video. I am starting up a small business and I feel so pushed into using Google Workspace ... And I love how you seem to use apps and a lot of apple centric things. I would love a video about how you "run your business" without google

[@flench04]

I would personally enabled slash commands. And for those doing research, Surf allows you to open web links in Obsdian, something that I can't live without anymore. And if you have a stylus, I would use Ink for handwritten notes or diagrams.

[@1dripy-e5s]

I love obsidian and with cloud everything sync seamless. I use it for journal and my book notes. I love linking notes, tags and using metadata. I have like like 4 plugins.

[@TonyTylerDraws]

Even though I use Apple Notes, this has given me a few ideas

[@tomsop]

Can’t wait for the Dataview video.

[@mchisolm0]

Definitely looking forward to more. Getting started with Obsidian and struggling because iCloud apparently deletes some of the folders that Obsidian uses and then it has to resync them to load the app.

[@DeanClark-g6y]

Syncthing is free and open source. You can easily sync your vault between all your devices so you don't need a cloud service or a server.

[@mypradasatthecleanerss]

4:15 looking at you Notion! I think 50% if not more of Notion’s users aren’t aware they don’t actually have control over their data

[@willhelliwell]

Especially after the Russian sanctions announcement!

[@FractalG07]

Great video, just a little feedback: if you could set your camera separate from your desk it would prevent little shakes as you type on your iPad. :)

[@프리미엄유튜브]

Hello, in 0:47 here the vertical monitor is the iPad? or just portable monitor? if its iPad, anyone know how to set that as a vertical in Mac mirroring mode?

[@tomwalsh2189]

Hi Chris, the style settings link in your description doesn't work. Could you check this please?

[@ChrisLawley]

It’s an Obsidian plugin. I was hoping the deep link would work, but I guess it doesn’t all the time (Probably platform dependent and how Obsidian is installed). Just go the plugin page and search Style Settings. Sorry about that.

[@mypradasatthecleanerss]

I used to have so many issues with syncing Obsidian using iCloud. Often Obsidian would take minutes to open my vault and then I’d also get file conflicts. I must say though it’s been much much better since iOS 18 and being able to pin folders on iCloud, so that they stay downloaded.

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

That's why moved to CRAFT notes app which is buttery smooth to sync & use it.

[@ChrisLawley]

Obsidian sync fixes that. It’s so good and worth the money. With other cloud services Obsidian can optimize, they have to wait for those cloud services to sync.

[@brockburkett2559]

Super helpful! I just set my Obsidian up with most of this. interestingly, on my PC and iPad, the Home tab does not let me instantly create a new note when I put in something like you did. I don't see any settings on this in the plugins area

[@biocajun86]

12:05 Hey, Chris! Shortcuts for Obsidian is actually the largest thing keeping me from going to Obsidian Full time. Well, that and hand written notes. Would you by chance do a video on how to create shortcuts for Obsidian (like your quick capture shortcut)?

[@ChrisLawley]

The CaptureCut shortcut that I talk about, it’s linked in the description of this video, is the one I use the most. I’ll add an obsidian/shortcuts video to the list.

[@flashlightning6742]

Handwritten notes are a big one! I need an app that I can simply grab my Apple pencil and start writing/drawing, text entry is second to freehand writing for me personally. There don't seem to be any good whiteboard based notetaking apps that can fill the same crossplatform niche as Obsidian.

[@aketo8082]

Thank you. Is there a chance to add text an picture in the same line, like in Word?

[@dean-fx]

Already mentioned this to you on Mastodon, but it needs to be said again... These videos are awesome! I always get so much out of them, no matter what it is. As someone who considers themselves a power-user with obsidian, I still got good pointers out of this (let alone an awesome CSS, Thank you for sharing!). Keep em' coming!

[@jessiebrown-rn7kp]

@ about 13:00 you show us generated Linked Mentions.. is that from a plugin, or a feature that should already be happening with Obsidian? I am getting turned around in the guides

[@SovereignThrone]

I think that's built in :) you can refer to stuff with tags (#) or link it with a mention [[file/topic]]

[@Solsoda-pf3qf]

Thanks

[@laurar7062]

completely overwhelmed

[@mooseroo2005]

From an old fashioned comp sci perspective, what's the database technology behind these new markdown/db apps like Obsidian, LogSeq, Notion? I'm showing my rust, but I'm genuinely curious on learning more about this. Think it's changing the way I organize my "scattered-as-shit" notes! I may have joined the Church of Whatever This Is.

[@GardenOnTopIndia]

What icon pack are you using? The default one is not very good.

[@crizfms]

also when searching with your theme on omnisearch it shows transparent..where can i go to get the window to not show transparent

[@t0dd000]

Most of my notes are not notes … I take notes for work. For how-to reminders, recipes, snippets, en clippings, etc. And for introspective brain musings (usually in journal form). But the heaviest use I have for applications like these is for creative writing. Now, I prefer Joplin over Obsidian. (I used both side by side for a long time until finally I ditched Obsidian.) I write poetry, short stories, and I'm working on a novel. These notebook management applications are perfect for that. I do all of my scene-by-scene revisions in Joplin into eventually I'm forced by the publishing industry to move up Microsoft Word for the final reviewable draft. I can use Joplin to trivially share work publication as a webpage so people can critique my work. When I'm done, i just flip the switch to turn it off. Anyway. Lots of writers out there is Joplin, Logseq, and Obsidian.

[@matthewmerendo2676]

How do these shortcut things work? I'd love to have that one that lets you add a note with a quick action... and how is your vault synced to your mobile devices? You do use Obsidian Sync, then?

[@crizfms]

i am starting to use your font but i would like for the colors of headings from light mode to stay the same in night mode i’ve been going over and over the theme options but can’t seem to be able to…. could you help me

[@thebrothersdesign8016]

Hi, i didn't find the config file for border in the description. Could you paste the link please ?thx

[@jay.jarosz]

How'd you get that "Files" toggle in the File Explorer? I couldn't find this in the theme you use nor in any of the plugins. Also the "My Obsidian Theme Configuration" link in the video description doesn't seem to be loading anymore.

[@tylerschuster2850]

That shortcut seems super helpful. How do I set that up?!

[@iFunnyV2]

How does obsidian handle hand written notes?

[@sda1008]

Please make a complete tutorial on Obsidian (for IPad) searching for a nice in depth xray of this app😊

[@maxwhalen8975]

What is the shortcut to add a link with comment to notes? Lots of talk of functionality that is not shown

[@jeffhale1189]

Thanks for sharing. Blessings on your day.

[@electromorphous]

Does anyone know how he made the caret/cursor blinking animation smooth? It's a real distraction for me, I like to turn off the blinking completely and haven't been able to find a way to do so.

[@bkmaker672]

Thanks for the video. What is the name of the extension for adding your own fonts?

[@karmacarms]

Hi Chris, great video, for work I created a few .ppt presentation with how to do daily task CRMs , Databases etc. I have been thinking to move them to either Notion or Obsidian, In obsidian I like the mind maps , I am using Notion for daily note taking and saving stuff I have read about. Would Obsidian be a better tool for creating notes/guides ?Thx

[@deathmetalpopart]

I use syncthing to duplicate files across my devices rather than have it hosted anywhere. I only use Obsidian on my desktop and phone, so it's setup to sync when I'm on my home wifi

[@summerfondue]

Thanks for this video. Grabbed a few plugin ideas from you! 👍🏼

[@ChrisLawley]

Great to hear!

[@Foxhunter_DE]

Many links in your description are broken, and the config link is missing completely.

[@tamatay4940]

How do u split the number row from the letter row on your keyboard? Is it a custom keyboard, an app or am i missing something else?

[@slowook]

has Obsidian Global search function like Notion has(Shift + cmd + K) ??

[@builtbywalsh]

Man I love Obsidian. But Im noticing more and more that I need the flexibility of the apple pencil, and the extra muscle movement of using a pencil to fully reinforce my learning. I can't move to obsidian until they have better pencil support. And I don't want to have multiple note taking apps, I'd prefer to go all in on one.

[@rauld.rodriguez2399]

I was thinking the same and found some plugins for that. See for instance Excalidraw

[@GyanPrakash]

I use Goodnotes and Notability but this looks promising 😊

[@ChrisLawley]

Both those are great. Obsidian is more for people that use a keyboard, while those other two favor the Apple Pencil.

[@wayanbarre]

This was so helpful to start with Obsidian. Gives a very good starting point. Thanks! Just a quick question: you upload 2 fonts: Menlo and Jetbrains Mono. But it seems that the them just uses Jetbrains. Am I wrong? Also, am I the only one unable to differentiate bold and non-bold text with this font? The difference is so minimal that I'm wondering if I did a mistake while installing the font.

[@wayanbarre]

Just found the answer re the bold thing! CSS snippet -> body { --bold-modifier: 500; }

[@josh-parker]

If anyone is more familiar with HomeTab than me could someone explain how to make it create new notes in the current folder. I have it set up when clicking the new note button but I don’t see how to do it for HomeTab

[@mrd6869]

They need to bring AI automation into this. They have a chat CoPilot but it cant take actions. Something that could take action like how Cursor/Aider codng assistants can take control of my linux terminal and VS editor. You'd be able to do deep brainstorming with that.

[@EricWelander]

I’ve been looking forward to this video since I saw you post on Threads you were working on it. I use Obsidian too as a content creator and for work and it’s great to see how other people use it. Now I’m looking forward to your next Obsidian videos (along with iPad stuff as well of course).

[@mimjimsaghafi5051]

I am looking forward to see handwriting tips

[@__Edwin__]

can you help with something similar with notion

[@iliyatodorov9320]

Big fan of the channel 👍 Wonderful tutorial ! Question: - Is it possible to export notes to .docx or .pdf format?

[@rauld.rodriguez2399]

As usual, there’s a plugin for that. Check the Community plug-in section

[@_S_P_A_C_E_M_A_N_]

@@iliyatodorov9320 you can export to PDF natively. There are plugins that extend the functionality though

[@lost7123]

that i cant take handwritten notes is a dealbreaker for me, but overall is has some amazing features

[@Sub0x-x40]

theres a plugin being developed where u can, i follow the dude on youtube cant rememebr its name but it looks amazing

[@Marsalis00123]

I also recommend plugin update tracker, to keep up with all the plug in updates :)

[@fodaveg]

Have you given the latest version of Bear a chance? With things 3 i always thought bear would be a good option for you as they share the gorgeous design. Also, as an ADHDer myself, obsidian is too much for me. when i'm in obsidian my goal is to make obsidian things, but in bear my priority is note taking... so much time wasted on that app... Anyway, good video!!

[@makesushi]

3:30 theres 1 more option!! syncthing! :)

[@Pixelhuh]

Oh man! And i thought i was the genius who discovered that and made a workaround LOL

[@Foxhunter_DE]

@@Pixelhuh It works with literally every cloudservice. I never understood why people pay for Obsidian Sync.

[@Pixelhuh]

@@Foxhunter_DE to be fair, as far as im aware, in the obsidian setup, it doesn't prompt you that you can use other cloud services, it just shows you their sign in and thats it

[@Foxhunter_DE]

@@Pixelhuh Of course, but did you only use OneDrive because of MS is not promoting other? ;)

[@Tomas_F.]

Still no custom sorting of folders and notes? Then I'm staying with OneNote :/

[@code_sparks]

Geat content. Thanks!

[@johnvr1]

So, you replaced Craft with Obsidian?

[@comradestannis]

Damn... What is that keyboard you're using in that video?

[@Dhruv-jf1ho]

where's the stylesheet link :(

[@plasticocean7511]

Cant believe you didnt cover graph view!

[@MostafaElmaragane-yl8dt]

is notion better than obsdian or vice versa

[@Foxhunter_DE]

That depends on your needs. Downside of notion: You not own your data. That is a red flag for me.

[@marklstreet]

I'll try and then go back to apple notes to keep it simple XD

[@JC-Alan]

Funny your vault is called 'The Brain', as it' what I also named mine :)

[@ChrisLawley]

I did it as a Pinky and The Brain reference. Which 100% makes me Pinky.

[@PapaQuebec]

Am I the only one that caught 'House Choirs' which I think meant to say House Chores?

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

THX CHRIS 🤗💚💚💚

[@ChrisLawley]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

@@ChrisLawley🤗👍

[@ryd3v]

You can save to iCloud, and sync with your pc, and other iOS devices for free.

[@ethannewfuse1143]

Still waiting on more Obsidian videos, it's been 2 months and looks like people aren't caring about it :(

[@Avolosik]

Do you still use Draft?

[@ChrisLawley]

Yes, but for more the intended purpose now. It’s a place where I write text snippets and send them to other apps. Or if I need to strip rich text I put it there. I also have a bunch of actions in drafts I still use.

[@aloussase]

Your keyboard wall :o