#68

This has the potential to be really useful for me. It might even get to to put more of other people’s texts into (part of) my vault, something I’m usually not included to do. But the note titles do seem a bit long. What would be really cool would be to have a way of marking of the parts of the highlighting that you want to use as the title. For example,

==One of the big advantags of the [[Extract Highlights plugin for Obsidian]] is the it can be used to set up MOCs quickly==

would generate the following (sandwiched between two other extracted highlights done in the normal way):

  • [[Some note titles could be identical to the highlighted text]]
  • [[Extract Highlights plugin for Obsidian]]
    • One of the big advantags of the [[Extract Highlights plugin for Obsidian]] is setting up MOCs quickly
  • [[Some note titles could be identical to the highlighted text]]

In cases where there are no backlinks selected within the highlighted text, then there would be no sub-bullet point, and demonstrated. All of this should probably also be an option rather than a default. I have no idea how much work it would be, or whether it is even possible, but it would really help me to get the most out of this!

1 Like
#69

I love your idea! Maybe it could be like this:

==One of the big advantags of the ====Extract Highlights plugin for Obsidian==== is the it can be used to set up MOCs quickly==

And it could occur by first highlighting the larger sentence and secondarily highlighting the internal part that acts as title.

This syntax would keep the entire thing highlighted and I can’t imagine many if any ordinary cases where you would want to generate this syntax for a normal highlighting task.

I may be way off base with this idea, but just wanted to throw it out there because I really like your thought. I have long struggled with overly long titles.

Thanks.

2 Likes
#70

Glad to hear it! Your idea has the advantage of the consistency of using the highlighting syntax. At the same time, I think that my proposal of using the backlink syntax [[]] has the advantage of putting me in the mode already of thinking “This is something that I want to be a note title / graph node” – which is a different frame of mind from “This is something I want to highlight”. Another advantage: in those cases in which one decides not to do the extraction, you’ve already set up a link (if only as an orphan).

BTW: Alexis (the plugin dev) recommends making reviewing each of the generated links, and making changes to the newly generated notes at that point, and I see his point.

Another approach would be to extract without backlinks, add H2 heading (manually or by globally replace the bullets with ##), and then use the (amazing) community plugin “Note Refactor: Split note by headings - H2” to generate a new set of notes that would all link back to the Highlights page. In a sense I might prefer that, since I’m reluctant to put too many “source” files into my vault, because I want maintain a bright line between my vault of notes and my library of source material (mostly PDFs or web clippings).

1 Like
#71

Above I suggested this following syntax in response to @AutonomyGaps cool idea about a feature using double bracket syntax within a highlight range to define what the note title should be for that highlight:

==One of the big advantages of the ====Extract Highlights plugin for Obsidian==== is the it can be used to set up MOCs quickly==

I may again be wrong, but I believe I failed to realize that following default Markdown, Obsidian would think the last two equals signs out of the first set of four consecutive equals signs were the end of that first highlight range. I mistakenly assumed that Obsidian immediately ended a highlight range as soon as two consecutive equals signs occur.

Instead it could look like this:

==One of the big advantages of the== ==Extract Highlights plugin for Obsidian== ==is the it can be used to set up MOCs quickly==

I still wanted to leave the initial top syntax suggestion in my original post rather than editing it because some people may still actually like that more. And since this is a plugin, I guess it doesn’t really matter what Obsidian would think without the plugin. But actually it kind of does in the sense that I suggested that particular syntax thinking that in a scenario where you no longer had the Extract Highlight plugin, at least the proper range would be highlighted, albeit in three ranges rather than one. Of course, that is also true for @AutonomyGaps suggestion, but I digress. At this point, I am pretty much sold on the bracket version assuming there wouldn’t be any weird issues that arise when you inevitably highlight something with an uncreated link in it but do not want to to have that name as your extracted highlight note title. But I am sure if @akaalias and others liked the bracket version, he could cook up a nifty way that this would be a non issue.

I didn’t mean to get so involved with this post but once I realized my mistake I didn’t feel good leaving the post up, but then saw it had a vote or two and consequently felt wrong deleting or editing it.

In conclusion, I love these plugins and especially appreciate the group effort at brainstorming the bells and whistles.

Thanks so much!

2 Likes
#72

So sad to hear, that due to different handling of the pdf js in obsidian 10.08, your great Plugin stopped working. I tried to find a way to fix it, but didnt succeeded. Its so valuable!

Does someone has an idea / solution for that problem?

#73

Hey there – Good news, the PDF Highlights Plugin works again! I finally had the time to fully refactor the issue. Plus it should now be future proof if Obsidian uses a newer or different PDF-handling library.

Anyways, to update to the latest - working - version, just go into Settings → Community Plugins → Check for Updates

Yay! :tada:

1000×943 1.96 MB

4 Likes
#74

Thanks a lot for your hard work!

Can you let me know how to use it?

I had updated the plugin and still did not know how to highlight the embedded pdf file on Obsidian with your plugin and paste the highlights.

I also had my pdf highlighted and do not know to extract the highlights with the plugin.

Thanks!

#75

Thanks a lot for your hard work, it is an invaluable tool! I am super excited that it is working again with the newest Obsidian version.
However, I encountered an issue when importing highlights from pdf files with two-column text (as is the case for many academic papers for example). There, the highlights get imported without any white space between the words. Has someone else encountered the same issue and maybe found a solution to the problem? Help would be greatly appreciated, since I use the tool mainly for importing highlights from academic papers.

#76

Hey @Liong1976! Great questions, thank you.

  1. Creating highlights: To highlight sentences in your PDF, you still have to use your regular PDF application. My plugin does not have that feature.
  2. Extracting highlights: Once you’ve dragged your highlighted PDF into Obsidian, open it in Obsidian and click the PDF icon in the left side-bar.

The icon looks like this:

Screenshot 2021-02-18 at 11.59.48

Hope this helps!

#77

Hey @mickey,

Good catch, I’d have to look at the actual output. I saw you already submitted two issues on Github – Awesome. Please add any example files for both issues. Thanks!

#78

Hey @akaalias,

thanks for the quick reply! Someone else must have encountered the same issue and submitted it on Github - it wasn’t me. :smiley: I don’t have a Github account (yet), but I’ll post two exemplary screenshots of the input pdf with highlights and the output on here, maybe this will help.

Screen Shot 2021-02-18 at 13.15.24
Screen Shot 2021-02-18 at 13.15.241668×330 87.9 KB

Screen Shot 2021-02-18 at 13.17.06

#79

It works like a charm!

Thanks a lot, akaalias.

1 Like
#80

Oh funny! That’s not you on Github?! :joy:

If possible, can you share the PDF you’re showing?

#81

Glad to hear, thanks!

#82

Hey there! Quick update on today’s release:

New Feature

Create Contextual Quotes in “Note Explode Mode”

Based on @ngirard’s ideas Allow to copy the full paragraph containing the highlight when extracting it · Issue #6 · akaalias/extract-highlights-plugin · GitHub :tada:

An optional new setting that will retain the full line of a highlight for the quote in the exploded notes.

Screenshot 2021-02-25 at 10 58 50
Screenshot 2021-02-25 at 10 58 501768×948 186 KB

How this works:

Note the one highlight in line 3:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

Ut enim ad minim veniam, ==quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat==. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Resulting note (“quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip…md”)

Check out the quote under “Source”: It’s the full line with the highlight embedded giving context for your transcription etc.

## Source
> Ut enim ad minim veniam, ==quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat==. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.[^1]

[^1]: [[Origin Note]]

Refactors

  • This release removes all the unnecessary console.log() statements.
2 Likes
#83

Hey !
I have encountered the exact same issue. I’m reading many academic papers atm which are structured in two columns and I was looking into highlight extractions. The plugin works perfectly for single columns documents but not so well for two columns ones. @akaalias have you had any chance to look into it ? I’d be willing to share some example PDfs with you if that can help. I’m pretty new to obsidian so I could be a mistake on my part but I doubt it.
Anyways thanks a lot for the plugin. It looks like it could fit my use-case perfectly (if we can resolve this issue).
Have a good one.

#84

Hello,

New Obsidian user and not sure if I’m missing something. With nothing selected, using the highlight hotkey merely inserts ====, the same as it does with the plugin off. Mac version 0.11.3.

#86

@akaalias Firstly, thank you for your amazing work.

I have (had) a problem with … well, I don’t know with what, it is such a jumble to figure out if it is Obsidian, or your extract plugin. In any case, the toggle feature would not work. I tried uninstalling/reinstalling to no avail. Finally your ALT + SHFT+ H suggestion did the trick. Works like a charm. And it no longer uses three === but only two == now to highlight the text. Why this happens/happened will probably be a mystery shrouded by time. :wink: But for the moment I’m a happy camper.

I wonder if you really appreciate how useful this plugin is to those of us trying to use Obsidian? Many plugins are fun and interesting and provide value, but this is an amazingly useful thing. It really ought to be incorporated into the core product. If you think about it, if Obsidian is meant to be a tool for Zettlekasten workflow, then this function is ESSENTIAL. It is amazing that it is not already in the basic product.

Now if only someone would fix the automatic title creation for a Zettlekasten note to distinguish between “literature” notes, “fleeting notes”, and “permanent notes”. Wouldn’t that be the cat’s meow? :wink:

Someday, in your copious free time :wink: you might have a look at unscrambling Zotero. I mean, that thing is a hot mess! You need a basket full of plugins to fix its eccentricities.

Thanks again for your tireless work.

3 Likes
#87

You need to go through the document and highlight selected text. Then, when you are done, use the extract highlights function (under the command palette) to copy all highlights to your clipboard).

#88

I’ve just discovered this plugin and I think it will be a great help to me. Thank you.

1 Like