A Workflow to quickly capture ideas on mobile

Feature requests
,
1

Platform

iOS
[ x] Android

Obsidian Mobile version: v0.0.xx

1.4.2 (94)

I would like to quickly capture an idea without any overhead. That means, I do not want to think about a title or so, just key in a snippet. This note should go either to root or a dedicated folder. At home on the PC, I could add Title and any structural information.
Do you have any hint/workflow to use Obsidian on my mobile that way?

2 Likes
2

For me this is a huge one!
Like many others, I was switching from Logseq only because of mobile app and this stumbling step annoys the hell out of me every time I use it.
I want to swipe something out of my mind as quickly as possible, and I will have to follow up for a moment anyway next time at the PC.

Please :pleading_face: give us a share-ObsidianINBOX target and I will :moneybag:

3

I have a little workaround: GitHub - djsudduth/keep-it-markdown: Convert Google Keep notes dynamically to markdown for Obsidian, Logseq, Joplin and Notion using the unofficial Keep API. Also, import simple markdown notes back into Google Keep.
This non-registerd Python program allows me to download the Notes from Google Keep and play it into Obsidian.
Be careful. Not all functions work and Google might change the access to keep without notice one day.
But at present it is there and I have it running on my PC. Does a nice job. The good thing: Google Keep has very nice extra options, like taking pictures from within the app, tags and much more. It starts much easier than than Obsidian (sorry!) into a quick note.

4

The Lumberjack plugin was created for this purpose.

Install it and enable it. Then, create a shortcut on your homescreen to the url obsidian://timber. Tap that shortcut to create a new blank note with a UUID title and with the cursor ready to go for you to start typing.

1 Like
5

As someone who’s been trying to limit plugins/apps on my smartphone (also Android), I’ve been thinking about exactly this and came up with the following:

Setup:

  • Having/Creating a template that has the information needed in it to sort it later
    • Daily note for me, has the added benefit of inserting the date as a title placeholder (otherwise see ‘Optional’ section below)
    • Using frontmatter (or not!) to auto-insert the date (double curly brackets), a (semi-)dedicated tag (mine is ‘unsorted’ for now), any information you may need later (I use ‘alias’ and CamelCase type keywords as I later pull up a dataview table and that helps make sense of things, filling this last helps not lose track of your thought)

Mine looks like this:

---
date: {{date}}
tag: unsorted
alias:
---

but you could also have something like

{{date}} #unsorted

In use:

  • Open Obsidian
  • Swipe down to open command palette to either
    • Open new daily note (if that’s the option you’ve chosen)
    • Apply template (select as applicable)
  • Write down what you need

Optional:

  • if using the ‘alias’ field the way I do: think-up KeyWords that’ll help remind you what it contains later
    • this is mostly because I use the Daily Notes version, which creates it into its own folder, and doesn’t require a title per se
  • otherwise the title is where I’d put that keyword, any word that stands out from what you just typed could do if you’re planning on sorting it short-term

Upside:

  • Obsidian only
  • Easy setup
  • The template can be changed as your needs evolve
  • The dataview plugin can help you build a list/table to sort later but isn’t necessary (I can share the query I use, I’m hoping to refine it over time)

Downside:

  • it’s not a widget, obsidian needs to load, the less it has to load and the faster the device is the faster it’ll be, but you’ll need to hang onto that thought
  • if you already have a Daily Notes system in place and want to avoid it getting messy, it should save to the root and might end up looking disorganised

Note: I’m using a separate vault on my mobile and laptop. If you have yours synced, this may not be a good option for you.

(My logic: I intend for my mobile vault to be pretty much just a way to capture thoughts, and maybe some task lists that I can carry around more easily/without the distractions my laptop brings with it. My laptop has my main vault, and many sources of distraction/procrastination.)

I’m sorry this is far longer than I’d anticipated, hopefully it might help someone in the same situation we are, for me there being a tag to retrieve the note later is the most needed feature for a ‘thought capturing’ note, or it could get lost very quickly.

1 Like
6

Obsidian is superb on desktop, but I find it a little too clunky on mobile, especially with all the plugins I have installed.

Sometimes, while scrolling on social media, I find something interesting to add in a zettelkastel note… But instead of directly opening Obsidian mobile, I just save it in Google Keep first or just screenshot it, and then later transfer it to Obsidian, usually via the desktop app. Taking a screenshot or making a note on google keep is just easier on mobile

So my suggestion is, why don’t we have a Quick Capture Bar in the notifications area for the mobile app? (I have Android in mind, I don’t really know how it will work on iOS)

Basically, in this bar we can have commands like “Add Note,” “Screenshot,” etc., and with the option to save it in a specific Obsidian folder.

12 Likes
7

Yes,took the thought out of mind too. Am tired of switching from one app to obsidian for the quick capture.

8

Use case or problem

I would like to quickly create notes.

Proposed solution

An option in the context menu (long press in the app icon) with an option to create a new note.

1 Like
9

I use the Lumberjack plugin on iOS. I see there is a discussion on how to use it on Android as well here.

10

To use the URL’s of Lumberjack (obsidian://log and obsidian://timber) on Android you can use Automate (Free), Tasker (Paid) or Shortcut to URL (Free).

URL schemes

  • Run the obsidian://log command to open Obsidian and log a new thought in your daily note at an appended line and start writing immediately.
  • Run the obsidian://timber command to create a new draft in a designated inbox folder and start writing immediately.
11

And with MacroDroid (free / paid).

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