Allow to open local file

@pwmd Thanks for the DevonThink (x-devonthink) tip, works great using Typora. The MD test-files I’m sharing between DT and Obsidian are stored in and Obsidian vault on iCloud and indexed in DT, not stored in DT.

This is added in v.0.7.1

https://forum.obsidian.md/t/obsidian-release-v0-7-1/1829

Changes

  • We now allow [File](file:///...) links in preview.
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Not sure if it works MacOS, iOS, Android, and Linux .

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[File](file:///...) works on windows

Do you plan to implement images too ?
currently
![File](file:///...)
<img src="file:///..."></img>
are not working

image

[png](file:///F:/%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87.png)

%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87 = “中文”

@Licat

Please open a separate feature request for embeds, thanks!

Please file a separate bug instead of appending to an existing feature request, thanks, otherwise we’ll never be able to close this… :laughing:

(Looks like someone already filed it: External-links with non-ASCII names do not work (Chinese, Cyrillic, etc))

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Yes I believe it works, at least it should. If you have repro steps that it doesn’t work for a certain OS, file a bug.

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would it possible for a plugin to open local files? something like ZimDesktopWiki Default Application

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Just to inform everybody who want to link to and open local files on a Mac: I have successfully used the markdown link provided by Hook to link to local files and folders.
Best regards

New Obsidian user here. I decided to finally organise my notes and Obsidian seems ideal! I’d be happy to pay even for the personal version. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to make arbitrary files in the vault linkable from the md docs in the vault.
The whole vault will be synced using Unison or SyncThing to other machines, so I need a way to do relative paths, to make the links work on any machine irrespective of the location of the vault. The [link name](file:///…) approach works but works with absolute paths, so it is tied to a single machine, almost completely negating the advantage of Obsidian operating over a regular folder.
I registered a handler to open ad-hoc URLs of the form zk://relative/path/to/file on one of my machines as a temporary solution, but I don’t want to have to do this on every machine.
Obsidian vaults are likely to be synced to other machines, so in my opinion all links should be relative, not absolute.
If there is a better solution to this use case, I’d be grateful.
Other than that, fantastic work!

@pbazant you are replying to an archived thread, with a slightly related topic. You would be better to create a new feature request. That way, people can vote for it if they agree that they want this functionality.

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While agreeing with @rigmarole, I’d also point you to Preferences → File → New Link Format, where you can tell Obsidian to use relative path to file instead of the shortest name possible.

I don’t quite follow your use case, but it sounds like that might help.

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@ryanjamurphy they are presumably talking about linking arbitrary files.

For example, linking to a zip file that is inside your vault. You cannot link to an attachment using the same format as images or markdown. You have to use file:///. But if using file:///, it requires a full absolute path, even if it is inside your vault.

(As far as I can test.)

So on different computers, that absolute path to the Obsidian vault may differ and the link would break.

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My bad, I’ll create a new request! Thanks.

If the external-links has a whitespace (e.g. [link](file:///F:/Program Files) ), it also does not work.
Also, I used many #, [] for my external files link…Don’t know if the MarkDown could use external-links like this, I’m a noob.


I saw a changelog of Obsidian Release v0.8.6 (Insider build), hope it can fix the whitespace problem.

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You should use %20 instead of spaces.

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It works, thank you.

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For those of you on Windows that are using this functionality often, you might find Path Copy Copy a useful tool.

It allows you to add custom ways to copy paths in Explorer’s contextual (right-click) menu.

Under Settings > Options, I’ve enabled “Encode whitespace using percent-encoding (e.g., %20)” - which automatically replaces any spaces by “%20” and then enabled “Copy Internet Path” under Settings > Command so that it appears in the main contextual menu.

Now when you right-click any file in Explorer, you can simply click “Copy Internet Path” and it will add the file URL to your clipboard, prefixed by “file:///” as well as replacing any spaces.

Update: Pairing this with an espanso match, this can really speed up your workflow. The below example allows you grab the above link from your clipboard and properly format it as an actual link in Obsidian by simply typing “:file”.

  # File link for Obsidian

  - trigger: ":file"
    replace: "[File]({{clipboard}})"
    vars:
      - name: "clipboard"
        type: "clipboard"
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For those of you trying to link to sources/documents in DEVONthink, there is a remarkably easy way to do it. In DT: index your vault, open the target note, then select the sources/docs you want to link to and Cmd-Alt-Drag & drop them into the note. Presto! the link(s) show up, properly formatted and named in Obsidian.

I’m on MAC and it does not seem to work for me neither. If I type for instance:

[link](file:///Users/username/Documents/foldername/filename)

I receive this message:

Any idea? Am I doing something wrong?

Any help is very much appreciated!