Edit transcluded (embedded) notes (blocks) in place (likely requires WYSWYG first)

Hello, everyone.

I started to use the Make.md plugin and their Flow functionality works quite well.

@jmbenedetto How long have you used it?

tempting to try and rip the flow editor out of make.md so it’s a ā€œdoes one thing onlyā€ plugin

6 Likes

Yes, please do. (make.md developer)

I’ve also repeatedly mentioned how great it’d be if Obsidian just implemented it in core.

Just to provide context, the flow feature in make.md was a pre-requisite to get wysiwyg tables and some other features for make.md. Allowing editing notes was a bonus since it was minimal work and was highly requested.

6 Likes

Most of the issues with the flow feature comes when other plug-ins gets involved due to how different plug-ins target the editing view differently (and certain things like keyboard bindings).

1 Like

hey thanks for replying.

I’m curious if you might have any comments on your design of the editable transclusion feature in make.md, such as any of: high level explanation of the solution, challenges or particularly interesting parts, tips for a possible obsidian implementation, or how you would do it differently if writing it again from scratch?

2 Likes

The basic flow for flow editor is:

  • Spawn a new leaf from Obsidian (check HoverEditor, the leaf spawning implementation is based on it)
  • Replace the embed in the markdown view by parsing the markdown and replacing the found syntax with the a codemirror widget containing the new leaf DOM
  • Load the file into the leaf
  • Add listeners for view height changes, certain keyboard events, active editor changes, block level information changes if it’s block/heading level

There’s a lot of special considerations, some of which are not implemented since I’ve been focused on getting the rest of make.md to 1.0 instead.

If you’re serious about this, feel free to either open an issue on make.md github or send me a message on discord @jpc, I’m happy to answer questions. I don’t usually logon to the forum, probably every once in a few months.

6 Likes

It would be nice to hear from the Obsidian devs where this feature request stands in their line of sight, seeing as people are beginning to consider building plugins. I would hate to see someone (like zerkshop) spend an inordinate amount of time developing this feature as a standalone plugin only to find Obsidian implementing it in the near future. The ability to edit transclusions stands among the most active feature requests on the forum right now, after all, and has been marked as ā€œvaluableā€.

Is there no word from any Obsidian dev in this entire thread?

I get the sense that addressing this FR would involve also addressing how transclusions are done at the foundation. Given that the only way to reference blocks right now is with a plugin that adds ugly strings of text (e.g. ^f93j4f) to our blocks, I get the feeling that the entire embed/transclusion functionality in Obsidian is due for a major overhaul. At this point it feels more like scrapbooking than any kind of modern technology.

3 Likes

+1 to this. Currently working on a project for YouTube where being able to directly edit transcluded files would save me a ton of pointless jumping around.

1 Like

This could satisfy an element of one of my feature requests: Note Composer enhancement: Cut and paste block/line from search

1 Like

Encourage everyone to download and use this plugin for copying and pasting block and section links.

Given the complexity of developing an editable transclude, the topic of future proofing, markdown standards, and the relatively few folks that use internal links (I’d wager most folks don’t grok transclusion), I doubt this ability will rise above anytime soon.

+1 I think this would really save me some time for referencing characteristics for my characters in my novel.

1 Like

Encourage everyone to download and use this plugin for copying and pasting block and section links.

Sure, if you want to add an ugly string of text to the end of every referenced block in your vault.

Also, that plugin does nothing to help edit blocks in place.

Besides, pretty much everyone here is already using that.

What we want is to be able to edit those transclusions without having to change notes or use the dreaded hover editor.

Everyone already knows how to make them in the first place.

relatively few folks that use internal links (I’d wager most folks don’t grok transclusion)

Are we even on the same planet? That’s just completely unsubstantiated and honestly is more likely to be false. Transclusions and internal links are one of the most popular features of Obsidian. That is more clear than not.