I played a bit with it - and boy am i happy =)
I added some utility that i need for my use-case, namely the ability to also filter based on an yaml property (i.e. a tag or a custom one).
Folders and subfolders can be searched recursively (can be toggled).
I also added an “update” button, and changed the behaviour so that it doenst auto-update when you make changes to the settings (this leads to “flickering” and bad UI behavior once you have decently enough files and dataview queries take a couple seconds).
Maybe its useful for someone, for me it saves me the need to write some custom python scripts for basically the same functionality. As this is directly integrated into my workflow inside Obsidian, its a fantastic solution. Again, thanks for this!
Edit:
- changed the save behavior for the settings (as this was constantly triggering auto-updates). Now its only saving the settings to the frontmatter when “Update Selection” is clicked.
Edit2:
- updated the property handling for lists (like tags) to perform like expected for the filthering.
Bug:
If loading the note for the first time, the dataview block only gets rendered once i scroll past it in Obsidian. After that everything works as expected. Still not figured out what causes this behaviour.
// =======================
// 🛠 Helper Functions
// =======================
function debounce(fn, delay) {
let timer;
return function (...args) {
clearTimeout(timer);
timer = setTimeout(() => fn.apply(this, args), delay);
};
}
async function getStoredSelections() {
const file = app.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(dv.current().file.path);
let folder = "";
let template = "";
let filterKey = "";
let filterValue = "";
let recursiveScan = false;
await app.fileManager.processFrontMatter(file, (fm) => {
folder = fm["selected-folder"] || "";
template = fm["selected-template"] || "";
filterKey = fm["filter-key"] || "";
filterValue = fm["filter-value"] || "";
recursiveScan = fm["recursive-scan"] || false;
});
return { folder, template, filterKey, filterValue, recursiveScan };
}
// Modified storeSelections to be called only on button click
async function storeSelections(folder, template, filterKey, filterValue, recursiveScan) {
const file = app.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(dv.current().file.path);
await app.fileManager.processFrontMatter(file, (fm) => {
fm["selected-folder"] = folder;
fm["selected-template"] = template;
fm["filter-key"] = filterKey;
fm["filter-value"] = filterValue;
fm["recursive-scan"] = recursiveScan;
});
}
async function clearSelections() {
const file = app.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(dv.current().file.path);
await app.fileManager.processFrontMatter(file, (fm) => {
delete fm["selected-folder"];
delete fm["selected-template"];
delete fm["filter-key"];
delete fm["filter-value"];
delete fm["recursive-scan"];
});
}
// =======================
// 🧩 Build UI Elements
// =======================
const container = this.container;
container.empty();
dv.header(2, "🧩 Template metadata/property checker");
// Folder Selection
container.createEl("div", { text: "Folder to check:" });
const folderInputWrapper = container.createDiv();
folderInputWrapper.style.position = "relative";
folderInputWrapper.style.marginBottom = "1em";
const folderInput = folderInputWrapper.createEl("input", { attr: { placeholder: "Type folder path..." } });
folderInput.style.cssText = "width: 100%; padding: 6px 8px; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); box-sizing: border-box;";
const folderDropdown = folderInputWrapper.createDiv();
folderDropdown.style.cssText = "position: absolute; top: 100%; left: 0; right: 0; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); border-top: none; background-color: var(--background-primary); max-height: 150px; overflow-y: auto; z-index: 10; display: none;";
// Recursive Scan Toggle
const recursiveScanWrapper = container.createDiv();
recursiveScanWrapper.style.marginBottom = "1em";
const recursiveScanToggle = recursiveScanWrapper.createEl("input", { type: "checkbox" });
const recursiveScanLabel = recursiveScanWrapper.createEl("label", { text: "Scan subdirectories recursively" });
recursiveScanLabel.style.marginLeft = "0.5em";
// Template Selection
container.createEl("div", { text: "Template file:" });
const templateInputWrapper = container.createDiv();
templateInputWrapper.style.position = "relative";
templateInputWrapper.style.marginBottom = "1em";
const templateInput = templateInputWrapper.createEl("input", { attr: { placeholder: "Type template filename..." } });
templateInput.style.cssText = "width: 100%; padding: 6px 8px; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); box-sizing: border-box;";
const templateDropdown = templateInputWrapper.createDiv();
templateDropdown.style.cssText = "position: absolute; top: 100%; left: 0; right: 0; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); border-top: none; background-color: var(--background-primary); max-height: 150px; overflow-y: auto; z-index: 10; display: none;";
// YAML Property Filter
container.createEl("div", { text: "Filter by YAML property (optional):" });
const filterInputWrapper = container.createDiv();
filterInputWrapper.style.display = "flex";
filterInputWrapper.style.gap = "1em";
filterInputWrapper.style.marginBottom = "1em";
const filterKeyInput = filterInputWrapper.createEl("input", { attr: { placeholder: "Property key..." } });
filterKeyInput.style.cssText = "flex-grow: 1; padding: 6px 8px; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); box-sizing: border-box;";
const filterValueInput = filterInputWrapper.createEl("input", { attr: { placeholder: "Property value..." } });
filterValueInput.style.cssText = "flex-grow: 1; padding: 6px 8px; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); box-sizing: border-box;";
const statusDiv = container.createDiv();
statusDiv.style.margin = "0.5em 0 1em 0";
// New "Update Selection" button
const updateButton = container.createEl("button", { text: "🔄 Update Selection" });
updateButton.style.cssText = "padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); border-radius: 6px; background-color: var(--interactive-accent); color: var(--text-on-accent); cursor: pointer; margin-top: 1em;";
const fixButton = container.createEl("button", { text: "🔁 Append missing metadata and tags" });
fixButton.style.cssText = "padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); border-radius: 6px; background-color: var(--interactive-accent); color: var(--text-on-accent); cursor: pointer; margin-top: 1em; margin-left: 1em;";
const resetButton = container.createEl("button", { text: "🧹 Reset selections" });
resetButton.style.cssText = "padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid var(--interactive-accent); border-radius: 6px; background-color: var(--background-secondary); color: var(--text-normal); cursor: pointer; margin-top: 1em; margin-left: 1em;";
container.appendChild(updateButton);
container.appendChild(fixButton);
container.appendChild(resetButton);
container.appendChild(statusDiv);
// State variables used by the Dataview query (only updated on button click)
let selectedFolder = "";
let selectedTemplate = "";
let filterKey = "";
let filterValue = "";
let recursiveScan = false;
let resultRows = [];
// Removed the shouldRenderOnLoad flag
// =======================
// 🌳 Data sources
// =======================
const folders = app.vault.getAllLoadedFiles()
.filter(f => f instanceof obsidian.TFolder)
.map(f => f.path)
.sort();
const mdFiles = app.vault.getMarkdownFiles().map(f => f.path).sort();
// =======================
// 🔎 Folder Input Logic
// =======================
function updateFolderDropdown(filter) {
folderDropdown.empty();
if (!filter) {
folderDropdown.style.display = "none";
return;
}
const matches = folders.filter(f => f.toLowerCase().includes(filter.toLowerCase()));
if (matches.length === 0) {
folderDropdown.style.display = "none";
return;
}
for (const match of matches) {
const optionDiv = folderDropdown.createDiv({ text: match });
optionDiv.style.padding = "6px 8px";
optionDiv.style.cursor = "pointer";
optionDiv.style.borderBottom = "1px solid var(--interactive-accent)";
optionDiv.onmouseover = () => optionDiv.style.backgroundColor = "var(--interactive-accent)";
optionDiv.onmouseout = () => optionDiv.style.backgroundColor = "transparent";
optionDiv.onclick = async () => {
folderInput.value = match;
folderDropdown.style.display = "none";
};
}
folderDropdown.style.display = "block";
}
// =======================
// 🔎 Template Input Logic
// =======================
function updateTemplateDropdown(filter) {
templateDropdown.empty();
if (!filter) {
templateDropdown.style.display = "none";
return;
}
const matches = mdFiles.filter(f => f.toLowerCase().includes(filter.toLowerCase()));
if (matches.length === 0) {
templateDropdown.style.display = "none";
return;
}
for (const match of matches) {
const optionDiv = templateDropdown.createDiv({ text: match });
optionDiv.style.padding = "6px 8px";
optionDiv.style.cursor = "pointer";
optionDiv.style.borderBottom = "1px solid var(--interactive-accent)";
optionDiv.onmouseover = () => optionDiv.style.backgroundColor = "var(--interactive-accent)";
optionDiv.onmouseout = () => optionDiv.style.backgroundColor = "transparent";
optionDiv.onclick = async () => {
templateInput.value = match;
templateDropdown.style.display = "none";
};
}
templateDropdown.style.display = "block";
}
// =======================
// 🔁 Event Bindings
// =======================
document.addEventListener("click", (e) => {
if (!folderInputWrapper.contains(e.target)) folderDropdown.style.display = "none";
if (!templateInputWrapper.contains(e.target)) templateDropdown.style.display = "none";
});
// Debounced input handlers to update dropdowns, NO frontmatter storage
folderInput.addEventListener("input", debounce(async (e) => {
updateFolderDropdown(e.target.value);
}, 200));
templateInput.addEventListener("input", debounce(async (e) => {
updateTemplateDropdown(e.target.value);
}, 200));
// Filter and toggle handlers also do NOT store to frontmatter
filterKeyInput.addEventListener("input", debounce(async (e) => {
// No action needed here other than allowing input
}, 300));
filterValueInput.addEventListener("input", debounce(async (e) => {
// No action needed here other than allowing input
}, 300));
recursiveScanToggle.addEventListener("change", async (e) => {
// No action needed here other than allowing toggle
});
// Event listener for the "Update Selection" button
updateButton.onclick = async () => {
// Update the state variables used by the Dataview query from input values
selectedFolder = folderInput.value.trim();
selectedTemplate = templateInput.value.trim();
filterKey = filterKeyInput.value.trim();
filterValue = filterValueInput.value.trim();
recursiveScan = recursiveScanToggle.checked;
// Store the now-finalized selections to frontmatter
// This frontmatter change will trigger Dataview's re-render
await storeSelections(selectedFolder, selectedTemplate, filterKey, filterValue, recursiveScan);
// Removed the explicit call to scanAndRender() here!
// Dataview's reactivity will handle the re-render after frontmatter update.
// Optionally, provide immediate feedback to the user
statusDiv.setText("Selections updated. Re-rendering...");
};
resetButton.onclick = async () => {
await clearSelections();
// Reset state variables
selectedFolder = "";
selectedTemplate = "";
filterKey = "";
filterValue = "";
recursiveScan = false;
folderInput.value = "";
templateInput.value = "";
filterKeyInput.value = "";
filterValueInput.value = "";
recursiveScanToggle.checked = false;
// No need to reset shouldRenderOnLoad flag
dv.paragraph("Selections cleared. Please choose folder and template again.");
scanAndRender(); // Re-render to show empty state (will be empty due to cleared state)
};
// =======================
// 🔎 Scan and Render Logic
// =======================
async function scanAndRender() {
// Removed the conditional check based on shouldRenderOnLoad
statusDiv.setText("Scanning notes...");
// Clear previous results by clearing the container element
// This ensures that the new output replaces the old one.
container.findAll(".dataview.table-view").forEach(el => el.remove());
container.findAll("p").forEach(el => {
// Only remove paragraphs that are part of the Dataview output,
// not the initial instruction paragraph.
if (!el.textContent.startsWith("Start typing folder and template names above") &&
!el.textContent.startsWith("Selections loaded. Click 'Update Selection'")) { // Also exclude the loaded message
el.remove();
}
});
container.findAll("h3").forEach(el => el.remove());
if (!selectedFolder) {
statusDiv.setText("Please select a folder from the suggestions.");
dv.paragraph("No data to show.");
return;
}
if (!selectedTemplate) {
statusDiv.setText("Please select a template from the suggestions.");
dv.paragraph("No data to show.");
return;
}
const template = dv.page(selectedTemplate);
if (!template) {
statusDiv.setText(`Template not found: ${selectedTemplate}`);
return;
}
const requiredKeys = Object.keys(template).filter(k => !k.startsWith("file") && k !== "tags");
const requiredTags = Array.isArray(template.tags) ? template.tags : [];
let pages;
if (recursiveScan) {
// Exclude the current file from the recursive scan
pages = dv.pages(`"${selectedFolder}"`).where(p => p.file.path !== dv.current().file.path);
} else {
// Exclude the current file from the non-recursive scan
pages = dv.pages().where(p => p.file.folder === selectedFolder && p.file.path !== dv.current().file.path);
}
// Apply YAML property filter if key and value are provided
if (filterKey) {
if (filterValue) {
// Filter for pages where the property exists
pages = pages.where(p => p[filterKey] !== undefined);
// Now, refine the filter based on the property type and value
pages = pages.where(p => {
const propertyValue = p[filterKey];
if (Array.isArray(propertyValue)) {
// If the property is a list, check if it includes the filterValue
// Case-insensitive comparison for list items
return propertyValue.some(item =>
typeof item === 'string' && item.toLowerCase() === filterValue.toLowerCase()
);
} else if (typeof propertyValue === 'string') {
// If it's a string, perform case-insensitive comparison
return propertyValue.toLowerCase() === filterValue.toLowerCase();
}
else {
// For other types (numbers, booleans), check for direct equality
return propertyValue === filterValue;
}
});
} else {
// If only key is provided, filter for notes that have the key
pages = pages.where(p => p[filterKey] !== undefined);
}
}
resultRows = [];
for (const page of pages) {
const missingKeys = requiredKeys.filter(k => page[k] === undefined);
const currentTags = Array.isArray(page.tags) ? page.tags : [];
const missingTags = requiredTags.filter(t => !currentTags.includes(t));
if (missingKeys.length > 0 || missingTags.length > 0) {
resultRows.push({
note: page.file.link,
path: page.file.path,
missingKeys,
missingTags
});
}
}
dv.header(3, "📋 Notes missing metadata or tags");
if (resultRows.length === 0) {
dv.paragraph("✅ All notes have complete metadata and tags.");
} else {
dv.table(
["Note", "Missing keys", "Missing tags"],
resultRows.map(r => [
r.note,
r.missingKeys.length ? r.missingKeys.join(", ") : "—",
r.missingTags.length ? r.missingTags.join(", ") : "—"
])
);
dv.paragraph(`🔍 Number of notes with missing metadata or tags: **${resultRows.length}**`);
}
statusDiv.setText("");
}
// =======================
// 🔘 Button click to fix metadata/tags
// =======================
fixButton.onclick = async () => {
if (resultRows.length === 0) {
statusDiv.setText("No notes to update.");
return;
}
statusDiv.setText("🔄 Updating metadata and tags...");
const template = dv.page(selectedTemplate);
if (!template) {
statusDiv.setText(`Template not found: ${selectedTemplate}`);
return;
}
let updatedCount = 0;
for (const { path, missingKeys, missingTags } of resultRows) {
const file = app.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(path);
if (!file || !file.path) continue;
await app.fileManager.processFrontMatter(file, (frontmatter) => {
for (const key of missingKeys) {
if (frontmatter[key] === undefined) {
frontmatter[key] = template[key] !== undefined ? template[key] : "";
}
}
if (!Array.isArray(frontmatter.tags)) {
frontmatter.tags = [...(Array.isArray(template.tags) ? template.tags : [])];
} else {
for (const tag of missingTags) {
if (!frontmatter.tags.includes(tag)) {
frontmatter.tags.push(tag);
}
}
}
});
updatedCount++;
}
statusDiv.setText(`✅ Done! Updated **${updatedCount}** notes. Refreshing results...`);
await scanAndRender(); // Explicitly re-render after fixing
};
// =======================
// 🏁 Load Saved Values on Start
// =======================
(async () => {
const stored = await getStoredSelections();
// Load stored values directly into input fields and toggle
folderInput.value = stored.folder;
templateInput.value = stored.template;
filterKeyInput.value = stored.filterKey;
filterValueInput.value = stored.filterValue;
recursiveScanToggle.checked = stored.recursiveScan;
// If stored selections exist, update the state variables and perform initial scan
if (folderInput.value.trim() && templateInput.value.trim()) {
// Update the state variables used by the Dataview query from input values
selectedFolder = folderInput.value.trim();
selectedTemplate = templateInput.value.trim();
filterKey = filterKeyInput.value.trim();
filterValue = filterValueInput.value.trim();
recursiveScan = recursiveScanToggle.checked;
// Explicitly call scanAndRender() on initial load if selections exist
await scanAndRender();
} else {
// If no selections are loaded, the initial message is shown
dv.paragraph("Start typing folder and template names above, then click 'Update Selection' to scan notes.");
}
})();