Thread by @NickMilo

The most powerful note-taking app

- Obsidian

But most of us don't know how to write in it

Here are 17 Shortcuts that will make your writing flow and save you tons of time 👇

1. Square Brackets for INTERNAL LINKS

Use this to make links to other notes.

Put the note title in double brackets [[ ]]

You can also call it whatever else you want other than its title.

Great for writing mid-sentence.

Put the note on the left, and type away!

2. Brackets + Parentheses for EXTERNAL LINKS

Use this when you have a link to another website.

Remember to add this before the site title so it will link: https://

3. Exclamation points for IMAGES & VIEW

Use this when you want to show an image in full view in your note.

All you have to do before the link is add: !

4. Carets for BLOCK REFERENCES

Use this to link to something specific in another note.

Write the note title and add ^

It will generate a reference number to that specific line in the other note.

5. Hashtags for TAGS

Use this when you want to draw relationships with your notes.

The aesthetic depends on the theme you choose. Here's LYT Mode.

6. Asterisks for ITALICS and BOLD

Use this whenever you want to add emphasis to your writing.

7. Tildes for STRIKETHROUGH

Use this when you're editing and want to omit something or use it for humor.

Always use ~~ (two tildes) on each side of the text you want to strikethrough.

8. Numbers & Dashes for LISTS

Use this when you're in need of some ordered or unordered organization and grouping.

The format and aesthetic depend on the theme you choose. Here's LYT Mode again.

9. Right angle brackets for BLOCKQUOTES

Use this to add some fancy formatting to your note, or even add quotes!

Here's one I've been pondering lately:

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe” - [[Carl Sagan]]

10. Hashtags for HEADERS

Use this to break up your writing and add hierarchy to your writing.

Based on the theme you choose yours will look different.

11. Backticks for CODE and FENCED CODE

Use this to add add code at the root level into your note, use it for the Obsidian Plugin called Dataview, or use it for some different formatting.

The aesthetic will depend on the theme.

12. At sign for ALIASES

Use this when you have other terminology or programming for your notes.

You'll have to program the aliases yourself in your own PKM. Here's an example.

13. Underscores for HORIZONTAL RULE

Use this to create a divider between blocks of text in your note.

Your horizontal rule will look different unless you use the LYT Mode theme here.

14. Equal signs for HIGHLIGHTS

Use this when you're reading a source note or you want to highlight something in your own note.

You can get creative with your own aesthetic in your theme.

15. Dashes and Square Brackets for TASK LISTS

Use this when you want to get things done!

- [ ] for undone tasks
- [X] for done tasks

16. Vertical Bars and Dashes for TABLES

Use this when you have charts and data to make sense of.

Make sure you add | -- | for every column there is.

17. Square Brackets & Carets for FOOTNOTES

Use this to add cross-references and extra source material for your notes.

All these shortcuts are in Markdown language, the simplest and safest Plain Text formatting language.

All computers use Markdown.

Mastering these Markdown shortcuts will have you flying through your notes at the speed of LYT.

Now, which one of these did you not know about?

If you enjoyed this thread, consider Liking & Retweeting the first tweet.

My name is @NickMilo. I show you how to be a better note-maker.

The noise is deafening, but I promise to focus on the high-value signal.

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