Bring Back Automatic Previews

Hover previews now always requires holding Cmd/Ctrl. :sob:

Feature request to restore this as an option.

My whole system is built around automatic hovering please can I have the option to have this option!

9 Likes

Hi @KaneDodgson,

This was removed also by user request: Standardize mouse hover+ctrl for hover preview
Could you please use the template and describe your use case?

1 Like

If restoring automatic hover preview, i hope obsidian add the option for users who want to keep the ctrl+hover.
The option could be implement the same as auto convert HTML option.

2 Likes

Because the backlinks panel does not show the full context of the backlink the instant hover allows me to instantly see the whole note/paragraph and not just a partial sentence or two. This means I do not have to click into every backlink to find something or more importantly discover something of value for the context I am writing. It would be good to have an option to have this switched on or off. My workflow is noticeably more cumbersome this morning. It may seem petty but for me the ease of just rolling my curser around a page or backlink panel for information and inspiration seems to have an extra (for me unnecessary) step involved.

Previously I could be typing with one hand and hovering over a sequence of links with the other. I know this sounds petty, just better for me the old way

2 Likes

I will explain using the template but it will have to be later or over the weekend, got a project deadline to finnish today

In that case please also add your support for this: Show more context on backlinks and search panes

Just adding my voice that I like the new behavior better, please keep it available.

2 Likes

Seems like these could amount to another request for a toggle wall entry.
I’ve seen a toggle wall discussed, but don’t remember a formal FR for one.

2 Likes

What? Will we have to hold Cmd/Ctrl to open automatic previews while in preview mode? I sincerely hope this will not be forced on us. I’m new with Obsidian, but the quick and handy automatic link preview was THE feature that made me realize how powerful internal links are and how Obsidian would change and improve the way I take and review notes. To the ones who would respond that pressing Cmd/Ctrl is not much extra work, I would say it is a major source of friction. When reviewing, memorizing, skimming and brainstorming through your notes, the ability to quickly and effortlessly look at internal links without having to constantly keep a hand on the keyboard is one of the things that makes Obsidian a joy to use at the moment. I understand users who complain it causes problems when too many links are used, but there has to be another way to deal with this.

I was actually thinking the other day how much I hope automatic previews will be included in some way in the mobile app and if it would be done in a convenient way. That this feature on desktop now will require extra steps to use is a major step backwards in my opinion, and I can’t imagine @KaneDodgson over here and I are the only ones whose workflow depends on this …

Sorry for this long dramatic rant from a beginner, but this feature really made me fall in love with Obsidian… Sad to see that I might no longer be able to have one hand on my chin in deep thought :thinking: and another one on the mouse :computer_mouse: while looking at my links

3 Likes

Actually, the proposed solution in the FR was to add toggle option for automatic preview vs ctrl+hover preview

This was removed also by user request: Standardize mouse hover+ctrl for hover preview

1 Like

I gotta chime in here as well, the automatic previews are pretty essential to my workflow also. So I would respectfully object to making ctrl + hover the default Obsidian-wide. To my knowldege, there was only this thread discussing the behaviour as an issue, so I don’t know to extent to which the concerns there reflect the whole userbase.

That being said, as was discussed elsewhere, a solution is making ctrl + hover necessary for search and backlinks only. I can see how that behaviour might be beneficial there. As for the rest of Obsidian, if this automatic hover preview behaviour is really problematic for most or even many users (which I personally doubt) we can strike a good balance by making it a toggle.

2 Likes

Yes, I’ve seen many requests for toggles but don’t remember a formal one for a toggle wall.
The problem with adding toggles randomly is that it’s easy to reach the point where the UI becomes too complex. Which brings the question of do users want that number of toggles and how best to manage them.

I agree with you on the UI becoming complex with too many choice on toggle wall.
But in this particular case, I think it just an initial set up for their particular workflow and habit (just like default view mode or auto convert HTML). The user just need to make the change once for their workflow.

I think many, maybe most, toggle requests are initial set up preferences.
Others will be sessional.
That would be one way to start organising a wall.

1 Like

+1

Until this other request (Allow for embedded query results from embedded search block) hopefully gets implemented, my workflow depends on automatic previews. I like to collect pieces of information from various notes into a single note using queries but unfortunately, at the moment, we can only list the results but not embed them yet. So the best thing I can do is hover over each link. I would hate having to press ctrl every single time.

As for the UI clutter, I believe only the most important/popular options should be shown in the settings panel anyway. The rest could be edited directly in the config file by experienced user (which frankly are the majority of Obsidian users).

2 Likes

I’m glad I’m not the only one who would find my workflow broken if automatic previews are taken away and not brought back.
I agree with @pattman that this is most important when it comes to the text block itself.
Personally, I’m not yet depended on it for search and backlinks, but as @elwee notes, it can be valuable to have it even there.

All in all, as @KaneDodgson puts it over, if we need to use Cmnd/Ctrl just for automatic preview, the workflow for many of us will get noticeably more cumbersome.
Strongly hope this will be reconsidered.

2 Likes

In 0.11.13, we will add some configuration toggles for the preview plugin.

7 Likes

Thanks for being so responsive and listening to users. I appreciate this community!

2 Likes

This topic was automatically closed 24 hours after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.