Easier access to community plugins instructions and repo's from their settings

[janpeeters]

I often run into the following. After I’ve started using a community plugin I often want to read a bit more about how it works (instructions/manual) and see development matters (issues, feature requests etc) .

To get there, I have to go into Settings to Community Plugins, search the respective plugin, click the title and there I can read the instructions. If I want to visit the Github repo I have to click again on the link under the plugins name.

I realize that you want information about a plugin also available for inactive plugins but it would be very convenient if at the top of each plugins’ settings section there was a space for links to instructions/manuals, the github repo and coffee sponsorship.

This might be something that can be solved by plugin developers (Like @haouarin does with Text Generator but for the majority of plugins this information is not available in the plugin settings window.

So my request is two fold.

• Plugin developers: please add manual/instructions, repo info etc in your plugin settings window for easy access.
• Obsidian developers: Maybe you could revisit how these two sections relate to each other. Somehow getting to the instructions and repos asks for more clicks and could usability-wise be improved. Also these two sections (settings and instructions/manual/repo) can be more effectively connected.

Thanks!

[autismrules]

YES PLEASE. It’s very frustrating to constantly go back and forth.

[theolivestory]

Use case or problem

When looking at the specific options for a plugin, I often find myself having to go back to documentation to understand those options. Documentation is found where we can browse and install community plugins. From there i can go to options, but i can’t go back to documentation.

Proposed solution

Just insert a button named Documentation (or other) in plugin options, linking to the page where we can read the doc, install the plugin and going back to options.

[PKMian]

Use case or problem

I’m often dealing with plugins and their options and it’s inconvenient that there is a button to go from a Community plugin to its options (via the Options button or Cog), but not the other way around.

Proposed solution

A button / method on each plugin’s options page which jumps the plugin’s page (which shows its README, and Options, Enable, Hotkeys buttons, etc).

Thanks.

[CawlinTeffid]

I would like to see this. There is already precedent: in the Settings > Community Plugins list of installed plugins, the plugin names link to their description pages.

[SomeDude]

Yes you can go the plugin documentation via the community plugins tab in the settings but it takes longer depending on how much plugins you have installed and its quite annoying that there isnt a simple back button or hotkey for it.

1. Escape usually works as a back button but not here.
2. Navigate Back with Ctrl+Alt+<- doesnt work either

I suggest its changed in the following ways:

1. A direct link to the specific plugin documentation site
2. The github link should always appear on top of the specific plugins page
3. Simple Navigational Back and Forward buttons for the entire settings tab, on top of each site and it does not move up when the user scrolls down
4. The hotkeys to the corresponding commands “Navigate Back” & “Navigate Forward” should work in the settings window when theyre opened.

[oldjove]

+1 for this. I constantly finding myself wanting to navigate from the plugin options to the documentation. It’s particularly frustrating that there’s a button in the documentation for the options but no easy way to get back. I totally support the suggestions of @SomeDude

[oldjove]

I should add that I’ve just tried the Quick Plugin Switcher plugin and it provides a nice way around this issue. I’d still like to see this functionality introduced in core though.

[ksdavidc]

@oldjove

Quick Plugin Switcher plugin

Plugin seems to be defunct. Any other ideas?

[fedderw]

Pretty self-explanatory, why is this what the plugins settings page looks like? Why wouldn’t you put the plugin info there Instead of in another settings menu (which also doesn’t let you go back and forth)?

Wreaks absolute havoc on my ADHD brain. I never learn how to use these plugins because I get distracted somewhere along the way.

[scholarInTraining]

The per-plugin settings pages are designed by the individual plugin developers. I too wish more of them had documentation links! Obsidian could encourage that by changing the sample plugin to include such a link in its SettingsTab and then asking some existing popular plugins to do the same.

PS: for quickadd in particular there is more documentation in multiple pages on the GitHub repo so I end up needing a browser with multiple tabs open anyway…

[fedderw]

Yeah, this is not a dig at QuickAdd by any means. I’ve rarely, if ever, seen a plugin do this - which is why I think the problem is the design side of Obsidian rather than the plugin developers.

Considering the plugins are so essential to making Obsidian competitive with other tools, they should really do a better job of this.

[ksdavidc]

Use case or problem

When you are looking at the options page of a plugin, such as this:

often questions come up that require going to the repo page for that plugin. However, that means to the community plugins, then typing the name of the plugin then finding the plugin, then clicking the link. If there are several changes to be made, this is cumbersome.

Proposed solution

Automatically include the url to the link somewhere in the options page. The name of the plugin is on that page, and the repo information is in the community plugins page, so I imagine it might be possible to include repo in both places. For example, the name of the repo could actually be a link to the repo. Handy dandy.

Current workaround (optional)

Related feature requests (optional)

[CawlinTeffid]

Alternately, include a link to the community plugins page.

[ksdavidc]

I am not sure what you mean. Do you mean a link like Plugins - Obsidian? on my system that sends me to my browser, and then back to obsidian, but that seems rather indirect. I prefer a direct link to the repo, if possible, as I am often going to see if there are issues, or to check details of the implementation.

[CawlinTeffid]

I mean a link directly to the in-app page you ended up on — the app can do that without going thru the web. It would be more consistent with the existing behavior in the list of installed plugins in Settings > Community Plugins, and would save a little time for those who just want to check the README docs.

And in the plugin’s settings a “Report a problem” link pointing to the GitHub issues page.

[ksdavidc]

I see. Yes, that is kind of what I want, except I find that sometimes Obsidian doesn’t render these in app pages perfectly (not certain why, but I would imagine it is the plugin author’s error, not obisidian’s) and it would be nice to be able to have the actual external link, as well tha tI could cmd-click to open in my browser.

[CawlinTeffid]

The in-app pages already contain a link to the GitHub repo, up in the top area.

[ksdavidc]

I may not be understanding you. I admit I do not precisely understand what you mean by in-app page. I am not very good (yet) about using correct terminology for Obsidian, so the fault is mine, so bear with me.

What I want is a command-clickable link to the repo that is available in:

1. at least the plugin’s setting page, as show in the image in the OP, (suggested route: replacing the text “Add links to current note”, which is the name of the plugin, but separately okay too).

2. also, now that I think of it, in the community plugins sub-page of the obsidian settings page
   

   

Most importantly WHY?

One thing is that whichever location, I want a link that I can (sometimes) use to take me to my browser (not obsidian’s version of the page, which is what I am taking you to mean by in-app page) because (in addition to rendering problems mentioned above), I often need/want to sign in to GitHub at that stage, and it is more convenient to do that from my browser.

In general I have two use cases for plugin settings:

Sometimes I want to go to a particular plugin, and I know which plugin it is, so I go down the list at the left of the Obs setting page, and that takes me to the plugin’s setting page. Great. But, then I find out I need information from the repo, so I want a link there.

Sometimes I don’t actually know which plugin it is, or what it is called, so I go to the Obs community plugins subpage and do a search for the plugin. Then I can go to the options, but sometimes I know that I want to directly go to the repo, but to do so, I have to open the plugin’s info page (probably not the right term. The one that currently has the repo link in it) to get the link. Having the link there would save me a step.

Furthermore, if I have the core Search plugin, this is more convenient than using the community plugins page to search. However, it only sends me to the plugin settings page, not the plugin info page (which I would like but is off-topic) which has the repo link. So having it in the settings page would be nice since I could get there from the settings page. (However, it would be even nicer if the settings plugin could send me to the plugin info page as well as the plugin settings page.)

One other common occurrence is that plugins are updated. In that case, I want to be able to see what the changes were, which is often not stated in the plugin info page. This again would be aided by having the links in the right place. This is discussed in a separate topic.

[Oneechan69]

Use case or problem

I often find myself looking at plugin documentation and I either have to google the GitHub repo, or search in the plugin store for it.

Proposed solution

There are buttons for each plugin under Community Plugins. A button with a document icon should be added that takes the user to the plugin documentation in the plugin store, or to the GH repo if the plugin isn’t in the store.