Feature Request -
In canvas, please make a button to convert all selected notes into cards.
Like a reverse functionality of that button that converts cards into notes.
it could just create the text of from the note int text for a new card and delink the note file from the canvas and that would be good enough.
It would be even better if after selecting convert note in canvas to card there was a sub option to allow the user to decide if after the notes have been converted to cards, what to do with the remaining unlinked note file that may no longer be needed depending on the users processes, so they can decide each time they use this function whether they want to retain the original note file in obsidian even though it’s no longer linked to canvas, or if they want to delete the original note file now that the note’s text has been converted to canvas
Use case or problem
I have made a large canvas over the last year I have come to find I far more prefer using cards over notes. I understand that at a cursory glance they may functionally seem the same but actual practice cards are far more malleable and nimble to work with and duplicate and less clunky and less momentum breaking than working with notes to the point that large portions of my canvas that I had originally composed from notes or from cards that I converted into notes, now I’ve been avoiding attempting to refine and developed those areas of my canvas because just the fact that they are notes and not cards makes them difficult enough to work with that I find myself discouraged that I tried. I am not articulate enough to convey all the aspects of that working with cards in canvas is better than working with notes in canvas for me and my processes but it is in many different ways it would be a great benefit to me if I could convert all my notes in canvas into cards, even if it meant deleting the original note files, but preferably an option to allow user to decide whether they wanted to delete the original note file or keep it unlinked from canvas.
Also I already understand that theoretically I could just go into each note file, select all the text, copy it, then create a new card file, and paste the copied text into it. and then slowly rebuild the string connected structure of the canvas with new card files that have the text from the notes.
But, this would be an lengthy reparative process susceptible to corruption by human error as my canvas has thousands of nodes and most of them are notes instead of cards because as I was learning to use canvas my workflow was to create a new note for every node, and since then my workflow has to just been work in cards without notes at all, but this is now conflicting as I wish to refine and developed old regions of the canvas and am being troubled by the format of all the nodes being notes instead of cards, so I wish to just select them all and click a button that would turn the nodes into cards and delink them from the actual note file in obsidian.
Proposed solution
when you select multiple nodes inc canvas that are notes, and right click
a button that says convert note to card,
and then an option to decide to delete original note files or keep original note after they’ve been unlinked from the canvas.
This would give complete control to the user to be able to intuitively wrangle large swaths of data.
Current workaround (optional)
repetitive task of individually copy and pasting text from each individual note node in canvas into a new card node and then rebuilding the string structure of the canvas with the replacement cards and deleting each original note node.
Related feature requests (optional)
I don’t have a reference from this forum area but I when trying to solve my issue I have seen others wishing to turn their canvas nodes that are notes into canvas nodes that are cards, and their use case was for a slightly different reason than mine, which is a testament to the fact that many different types of users would benefit in unpredictable ways as each of us use obsidian in unique methods and for unique purposes. The person came across trying to turn canvas nodes that are nodes into cards is a writer who makes templates for writing in note files but then would like to more easily use those templates in canvas to compose narratives and edit canvas card that were converted from those notes and not effect canvas notes.
here is a link to that person’s inquiry.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ObsidianMD/comments/17lf2tf/help_regarding_notes_in_obsidian_canvas/