Nick Milos Hotkey Essentials

Forum discussion about hotkeys for Obsidian

Discussion

There are so many wonderful hotkeys. The crazy thing about hotkeys, is that each hotkey can open up a whole new world of workflow possibilities… That said, this is how my personal setup has emerged. Every choice is deliberate to match my personal needs. Hotkeys are a personal thing, but hopefully there are a few moves here you dig. Enjoy!

Essentials

Some basics

Make new note — Cmd-n
Create note in new pane — Cmd-shift-n
Open the link you’re hovering over in a new pane (while in edit mode) — Cmd-click
Toggle edit/preview mode — Cmd-e
Open quick switcher — Cmd-o
Close active pane — Cmd-w

Formatting basics

Undo, cut, copy, paste, bold, italicize — Cmd-z,x,c,v,b,i

Intermediate

Open command palette — Cmd-p
Search and replace in current file — Cmd-f
Search in all files — Cmd-shift-f

Some faves for outlining

Swap line up — I mapped this to: Cmd-1
Swap line down — I mapped this to: Cmd-2
Toggle fold on current line — I mapped this to Cmd-3
Toggle line to bulleted of numbered list † — I mapped this to Cmd-4

†: Requires the plugin “Hotkeys++”

Formatting intermediate

Insert template — I mapped this to: Cmd-t

Advanced

Changing the view

Load workspace — I mapped this to: Shift-Esc
Manage workspaces — I mapped this to: Control-Esc
Toggle left sidebar — I mapped this to: Cmd-LeftArrow
Toggle right sidebar — I mapped this to: Cmd-RightArrow

Some secret weapons

Navigate back — I mapped this to: Opt-a
Navigate forward — I mapped this to: Opt-s

Programmed to my mouse

Open previous daily note — extra mouse button back
Open next daily note — extra mouse button forward
Open my Home note — When I click this mouse button, it types Cmd-o, 000, Enter

Setup and File Management

Open settings — Cmd-,
Show in system explorer — I mapped this to: Cmd-ctrl-opt-i
Reveal active file in navigation — I mapped this to: Cmd-ctrl-i
Move file to another folder — I mapped this to: Cmd-shift-i
Open another vault — I mapped this to: Cmd-ctrl-opt-o

Note Management

Toggle pin — I mapped this to: Cmd-shift-e
Note Refactor: Extract selection to new note - first line as file name †† — I mapped this to: Cmd-shift-r
Edit file title — I mapped this to: Cmd-l (then hit enter to return to the note)
Calendar: Open Weekly Note — I mapped this to: Cmd-shift-m

††: Requires the plugin “Note Refactor”
†††: Requires the plugin “Calendar”

Related Responses

Was supposed to learn VIM keybindings to make good use of the keyboard but found that it distracted me too much from getting things done. After watching your outlining video, I decided to take your suggestion and implement left-hand hotkeys myself to be more efficient in using both the keyboard and the mouse (which I found that I still needed to use even with VIM anyway), so much so that I made a note of these left-hand hotkeys should I forget them—which would become unlikely after frequently using them.

Left hand keyboard shortcuts

Pairs

• Navigate back and forward: Cmd + Opt + Z & Cmd + Opt + X
  • Was pleasantly surprised that you had a similar setting for navigating notes lol
• Toggle left and right sidebars: Cmd + Shift + A & Cmd + Shift + S
• Previous and next daily notes: Cmd + Opt + A & Cmd + Opt + S

Misc.

• Toggle highlight for sentence (Extract Highlights plugin): Cmd + Opt + Spacebar
• Toggle highlight for selection: Cmd + Shift + Spacebar
• Split horizontally (duplicate active pane): Cmd + Opt + D
• Reveal active file in navigation: Cmd + S
• Random note (Smart Random Note plugin): Cmd + Opt + R

Outlining (four of these hotkeys might be familiar)

• Swap line up and down: Cmd + Opt + 1 & Cmd + Opt + 2
• Toggle bullet and unordered list: Cmd + Opt + 3
• Toggle fold and unfold: Cmd + Opt + 4
• Fold and unfold all headings and lists: Cmd + Opt + - & Cmd + Opt + +
  • Best with full-sized keyboard

I have some frequently-used hotkeys that I deliberately didn’t change to left-hand; these are the ones where I would need to type out something, thus would require my two hands anyway.

• Create new note and in new pane: Cmd + N & Cmd + Shift + N
• Insert template (Templater plugin): Cmd + ;
• Jump to Link plugin: Cmd + '
• Move file to folder: Cmd + /
• Command Palette & Quick Switcher: Cmd + P & Cmd + O

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