Zettelkasten Forum


The Archive + Obsidian

After bouncing around, testing different tools and software in my Zettelkasten workflow, I have finally settled on the combination of The Archive and Obsidian.

The simplicity of The Archive really helps in my writing and making connections within my Zettelkasten. But sometimes I want a visual of my Zettelkasten and some added functionality to interact with my notes. This is where Obsidian comes in. Not to mention the mobile app as well on iOS makes entering things quickly, on the go, a breeze.

Does anyone else use these two brilliant applications in their workflow? Do you have any tips or tricks in using them together?

Comments

  • It is a 50% perfect solution with 50% dilution. :smiley:

    Just kidding. What are you using Obsidian for specifically?

    I am a Zettler

  • @Sascha I am using Obsidian for the mobile app and the graph view mostly. To see emergent topics in a visual rather than list format. As well, some plugins for daily journaling in the same vault, which The Archive ignores, and some plugins such as tag wrangler to mass edit tags as needed.

  • edited January 2022

    I do this too. I also like the graph view and the tag wrangler of Obsidian. I also rely on dataview for a variety of literature review efforts. But I head back to the archive when I start fiddling too much with the many distractions of Obsidian ;)
    (I also have my Zettelkasten indexed by Devonthink for more complex searches and to use the ai)

  • From my end, I find that Obsidian’s far from perfect outlining mode is useful for working on my zettelkasten when ever I need that function. But I find the sync wonky and the system slightly too cluttered sometimes (the Archive excels in that it does not get in my way, this is it’s best feature). However, I’m still needing some type of functional tool that replaces folding text or just opening the files on sublime text. Why is there not a good markdown outliner, this is something that I still wonder about.

    I wonder which types of complex searches you use through devonthink. I’m quite keen on keeping a plain text approach but am intrigued about different modes of cutting across our knowledge systems.

  • edited January 2022

    I sometimes use Absurdian and Logseq to view graphs, those these are of limited utility if it isn't possible to edit the connections between notes graphically. Logseq is the better of the two, especially if you like folding outlines. Both feature the nauseating Solarized color scheme, which has the salutary effect of propelling me back into Zettlr on Windows 10.

    Applying a distance metric to the graph could be useful (a hyperbolic metric), following network analyses I've seen. I think the digital ZK field could borrow from an extensive literature on network analysis.

    Digital ZKs could also benefit if they incorporated the automated review system developed by @Will Simpson. This is close to Piotr Wozniak's incremental reading facility in the spaced-repetition memorization program SuperMemo.

    GitHub. Erdős #2. CC BY-SA 4.0. Problems worthy of attack / prove their worth by hitting back. -- Piet Hein. Armchair theorists unite, you have nothing to lose but your meetings! --Phil Edwards

  • I'm testing Obsidian. It could be a solution for my zettelkasten the day The Archive will no longer be maintained.

    But I like to name file as 202203212135 Title.md and link to it with [[202203212135]] syntax. But this does not work with Obsidian (It needs complete filename link, like [[202203212135 Title]], but with auto-update feature, when the filename changed).

    @mmarco2121 how to you deal with the links on The Archive and Obsidian?

  • edited March 2022

    @xal said:
    I'm testing Obsidian. It could be a solution for my zettelkasten the day The Archive will no longer be maintained.

    What makes you think Obsidian will outlast The Archive? :smile:

  • @xal said:
    But I like to name file as 202203212135 Title.md and link to it with [[202203212135]] syntax. But this does not work with Obsidian (It needs complete filename link, like [[202203212135 Title]], but with auto-update feature, when the filename changed).

    That's I guess my biggest problem with Obsidian. Or better said, that's the feature I like the most about The Archive. Linking through searches in plain text is smart and future-proof. Also, the idea of an edit vs view mode doesn't make a lot of sense to me. That feature seems to be necessary only because you have difficult to read links or other markup.

    One thing I really like about Obsidian is the sliding pane plugin. It seems beneficial to have a simple way to keep track of the links followed when reviewing notes.

  • edited March 2022

    @xal said:

    But I like to name file as 202203212135 Title.md and link to it with [[202203212135]] syntax. But this does not work with Obsidian (It needs complete filename link, like [[202203212135 Title]], but with auto-update feature, when the filename changed).

    Hi,

    Can't you solve this apparent dilemma with aliases in Obsidian?

  • @GeoEng51 said:

    @xal said:
    I'm testing Obsidian. It could be a solution for my zettelkasten the day The Archive will no longer be maintained.

    What makes you think Obsidian will outlast The Archive? :smile:

    I don't know ;) I prefer the simplicity of The Archive. But my ZK notes must be future proof, so I test sometimes another plain text app.

  • @xal said:
    I'm testing Obsidian. It could be a solution for my zettelkasten the day The Archive will no longer be maintained.

    But I like to name file as 202203212135 Title.md and link to it with [[202203212135]] syntax. But this does not work with Obsidian (It needs complete filename link, like [[202203212135 Title]], but with auto-update feature, when the filename changed).

    @mmarco2121 how to you deal with the links on The Archive and Obsidian?

    Hi ! New comer here to help !
    What you want to accomplish is called "alias".
    You can achive it through two ways in Obsidian :

    • Frontmatter
    • Inline frontmatter.

    When you'll tip the name of your files, or its alias, Obsidian will find it for you.

    The front matter part : place it at the first line of your doc, like that :

    ---
    alias: My Note has a super alias !
    --- 
    My Note 
    

    For the inline frontmatter key and string, you can place it wherever you want to.
    alias:: My Note has a super alias !

    So no matter the title changes, you'll keep your alias as you wrote it, and the title keeps on to make its title's life.

    I use primarly Obsidian, thanks to its incremental suggestions of wikilinks completion, the possibility to tweak interface (really sensitivy eyes here), the typewriter scrolling that keep the caret in the middle of my screen (my neck is thanksfull) and keyboards gestion.

    I am on Windows, so I can't use Archive. However I don'y use the graph at all, I have to much notes, it is clunky at best, unusable. I use my Zettel for, well, Zettelkastening and I make my writing "bible" in there to (and I link my researches to new inspirations, articles, helps me a lot with worldbuiling), so I have HUGE indexes files and…

    graph

    My son would'nt eat that. And I would'nt mind it, because me neither. Graph is just a cool gadget, but I can't stop myself being surprised of people who calibrate their notes to make a "beautiful" graph, this is non-sens. I don't use a lot of plugin either.

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