Use case or problem
Currently, in a brand-new note with no properties, the entire properties section is completely hidden.
This means that even if a new user wants to add a property, they have to either use a keyboard shortcut or find the command in the Command Palette — trivial for experienced users, but a potential barrier for newcomers.
Proposed solution
Add an option to always display the Properties section header along with the “Add property” button, even when there are no properties yet.
This would let beginners more intuitively add their very first property.
I’d say that the auto-hide-when-empty behavior is only beneficial when you have many notes that don’t need properties at all.
But when the majority of notes do need properties — which is increasingly the case with Bases — this behavior becomes a hindrance rather than a convenience.
Besides, for users who prefer not to see properties, they can always set the display to Invisible in Settings.
Supplement: Considering the diversity of users who use Obsidia —my previous suggestion was clearly not reasonable enough, so perhaps adding an option would be more versatile…
Moreover, this option could only appear when the Properties are set to Visible.
On one hand, it provides users with a choice; on the other hand, it serves as an explicit reminder: “When you have no attributes, it will (or will not) be hidden.”
Thanks to @Pch for pointing out my blind spot！
Current workaround (optional)
- Use the hot-key
Ctrl+; - Use the command “Add file property”
- Input
---in the begining (Thanks to @_tttt for teaching this)
Related feature requests (optional)
This is a split repost of the original post:
Two beginner-friendly suggestions for Note Properties - Basement - Obsidian Forum
I searched “property show” in #FR and checked the first 20 posts, didn’t see duplicate
