Disable notes from graph view

Similar to to filter the graph view-request I would like to control what notes that show up in the graph view. However, I propose that this could be an toggle-able attribute of each file or folder.

Some exemples:

  • The template for the Daily Notes, I want to be able to edit it in Obsidian but not include it in the graph view.
  • The Daily Notes themselves I want to be able to show or not show in the graph
  • Some notes I use for planning and they include several different larger areas and make the graph view really cluttered, I would like to disable/enable their viewability in the graph view.
  • Some notes I use as a reference with a short description but they show up quite often in different fields and clutter the graph view.

The big difference to other proposals from filtering the graph view is that I would like to choose the default behaviour for each file or folder whether they should show up in the graph, rather than filtering the entire graph until it shows what I would like.

19 Likes

Hey everybody,
I might not be the only person to wish for this, but I might be the first to express it.

I’d like it to be possible to flag certain notes to not appear in the graph view.

Sometimes I write a longer text, that is not necessarily part of the network of notes, but references them. The longer the text becomes, and the more references are being made, they will have so much gravity within the graph view, that they tend to obscure the networks shape.
Are there others out there interested in this?

Best wishes.

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You can filter the graph as of 0.9.0.

https://forum.obsidian.md/t/obsidian-release-v0-9-0/5975

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I think this is a good ideas.
Even with the filter function, there are many “node” that i think is redundant in the graph.
For example: when i read paper (paperXXX), i would like to make many small notes (paperXXX 1; paperXXX 2…).
This is a part of my graph:


So I would also like to put a command/string/code inside the node, so that it wont show those redundant nodes on the graph.

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Is the request to permanently remove certain nodes from graph view?

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yes.
Continue from the example above: I would like to hide all paperXXX1…paperXXXn
So in each of those nodes, i will put a < noshow > or something like that.

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Sortof like something that would enable my workflow - ability to turn off Daily notes from graph view(because my new page template inserts a daily note link and time stamp in everpage, and this clutters the graph view.)

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I think this should be possible with tags? Add a #report tag and then exclude it from the graph.

Or, exclude a folder of notes.

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You can do this with the new graph filter feature as long as your daily notes have something in common like a tag, title etc.

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That is a great tip @sam.baron!

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I just noticed, that I do not actually how how to filter for a specific search term, and the manual does not explain it either. Can you help me out :slight_smile:

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I know that it can be done using tags, but I was asking for the specific option to exclude daily notes from the graph view. I ve tried typing in the specific query every single time, and it is annoying. atleast, if we had sticky filter queries

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You can put a - in front of the search term.

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You’re right, applying the search filter is not a proper substitute. I’ve been doing it now, and it is OK, but not ideal.

@sam.baron, many thanks for the help though :slight_smile:

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Happy to help. You might consider revising your post title to be more specific because technically Obsidian can already remove certain notes from graph view.

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Use case or problem

Although the graph view is very useful, I don’t always find it useful to be able to find ALL notes there. For example, daily notes: You can create a whole lot of them, and most often, not really useful to see 300 of these notes in the graph view.

Also it sometimes makes me think whether I’d want something to show up in the graph. And if no, maybe I shouldn’t create that note. Because it’ll also clog up the graph, make everything less clear and make the graph slower. I think the graph view is great to get an overview over your notes, but seeing unnecessary notes there takes away from the clear organized overview.

Yes, you can use the search function to exclude certain folders, but it gets pretty annoying to type in a certain query everytime you want to use the graph. Not to mention that the search query can become pretty long if you want to search for something, and at the same time want to exclude a bunch of folders.

Proposed solution

Best option imo is to simply create a checkbox in the right click menu of folders (and maybe separate notes) that says something like “hide from graph view”. If that option is selected, all notes in that folder won’t be displayed in the graph view.

5 Likes

@Soncro: I like it. Maybe, for flexibility, there could be a graph view search keyword that, if included in the filter query, would revert the graph to temporarily including all of those hidden notes, folders, etc. If the keyword method is not preferred, maybe there could be a hotkey to toggle this functionality.

Thanks.

2 Likes

Ah yes, the option to see everything would indeed be useful. You can choose between a checkbox or a query like you mentioned, both have their pros and cons. A checkbox would be easier, though you’d also want to make sure the search menu doesn’t become overly complicated. A query would be a little more difficult to remember, but also leaves the menu a bit cleaner. I personally think a query would be better, since you wouldn’t mark folders as “hidden” without reason. Something simple like ‘path:all’ would suffice I think, since Obsidian already has the ‘path’ filter. But that’s up to the developers.

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I edited the title to add permanently to reflect the difference between the current filters and what you’re requesting. Personally, it sounds like this could be confusing for users, i.e. “why is note X not showing up any more?” because the filters and the ignored folders don’t live in the same interface.

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You think so? Some other software developers I work with also have the tendency to “make everything fool-proof”, but for that you need to look at your target audience. Windows has the option to hide certain folders, but I suspect the average Obsidian user is a little more intelligent than the average Windows user. To prevent that kind of confusion, it could also be possible to show a little message on top “x files are hidden from the graph-view”.

But then again, I’m no developer, maybe I’m just overestimating the average user.