The idea of being able to edit the preview directly could be very dangerous. Let me explain why i say such a thing…
The Theory
It seems clear that the app revolves around 2 distinct modes: edit & preview. There is good reason and precedent (vim, TiddlyWiki, emacs, etc…) for this not to mention the underlying rationale that we are at all times editing our very own text files in markdown.
I believe that each mode should rather be strenghened as much as possible for its unique place and that the user should always have a very clear direction of where they need to go to get what they need done - and be able to get in & out of that functionality as quickly as possible.
The Practice
Currently the shortcut key Control+E allows you to toggle between edit & preview mode and this is critical but not enough IMHO and the remainder is where I see the biggest gap in the app so far…
For multiple states to work the app requires very clear, quick & easy navigability between the various app sections/panes. The main spots you can be in at any point in time are:
- Choosing a file via the File Explorer or Search Pane
- Editing a heading (via File Explorer or Header of file pane)
- Editing a file
- Previewing a file (or many)
Currently, where Obsidian falls down is that I don’t know where in this morass of possibilities I am at any point in time AND I cannot figure out how to navigate between one and the other via the keyboard.
I think it is critical that the Architect gets these states nailed down at this early state AND how the transitions happen between them. The last thing we need is another potential “state” that the app can be in at any one time. This is one of the things people are sub-consciously referring to when they refer to an app with “feature bloat”.