It’s easy to add new properties from the keyboard in Obsidian with the Add file propertycommand (Ctrl + ; by default). The thing is, I’ve never wanted or needed to do this. I use templates to keep a consistent set of properties across different note types, and adding new properties ad hoc would mess with this.
What I do need to do all the time is update these properties. For example, I use a list property called sources to track the (what else?) sources used in writing a given note. I’d like to be able to add things to this property easily from the keyboard, so that I can (for example) copy a URL from the browser, Alt Tab to Obsidian, and enter the information in my note.
I know I have a few options here:
- Just clicking in the properties pane (which doesn’t take very long, although because of the way list properties are renders can be imprecise)
- Switching to source mode and moving the cursor to the relevant key
- Moving focus to the properties pane, and then using tab, enter, etc. to select the relevant value field
- Trying some sort of custom approach with Linter, QuickAdd or Templater
All of these are a fair bit more inconvenient than a native command though, and I have to admit I’m surprised - I would have expected that most users would need to update existing properties far more often than create new ones.
I put this under help rather than feature requests because I’m not totally sure I haven’t missed anything obvious. I’m not totally adverse to changing my workflow, but I’d really like to be able to do this easily with the keyboard. Does anyone have any suggestions?