I would like to be able to drag/drop files in the file explorer into a custom sort that can be toggled on/off along with other sort options.
216 Likes
Little late, but I back this.
Might be hard to implement, and it might require more system resources, so definitely toggle-able per vault. Perhaps an index file in each folder, or in the vault root? I could also see an editable file, say, index.md, where the user could arrange the files in their desired order, or just store the order information.
9 Likes
Also seconding for a custom sort order.
4 Likes
After fiddling with some recent releases of Joplin, I noticed that they have a custom sort option. To the best of my knowledge, Joplin does not store data in typical markdown files, but it feels kind of similar to Obsidian in a couple ways (both, unfortunately, lack subpages). But I assume that there is either an app-wide cache with the custom order, or the order is embedded into the note data itself. Might be worth looking into.
2 Likes
My take is that for a feature like this, where it is not necessarily portable or content-related, it makes more sense to have a separate data file store for sort indexes.
I’m inclined to agree. My guess is that rather than fill up each folder with an additional index file, it would be more in the spirit of Obsidian to have a master index in the .obsidian folder.
3 Likes
Would be great to be able to move notes around manually, likewise can be done with Ulysses. Specifically when notes are structured inside a folder. It would help to build a logical order independently from the date or or the title of the note.
17 Likes
yes please! this is a must-have for me. this is the big differentiator between just using an editor-with-file-browser and using a tool for managing notes.
this probably also depends on the ability to sort different folders differently… 
14 Likes
Microsoft OneNote can do this.
Each section (or tab) (of OneNote) is a file as in Windows10’s File Explorer. You can manually order them on OneNote. This is really great feature.
5 Likes
That’s one of the hardest transitions coming from Onenote, next to the lack of subpages. I’m still rooting for this feature.
7 Likes
One of the reasons why I think this could be a great feature is could have your MOC single pages appear above your folders if you’re using folders
2 Likes
I’m adding my name. This is a must have for me. Obsidian is my favorite note-taking app by far but I cannot stand autosorting.
6 Likes
Is this feasible with the new plugin API? It does give you access to the Vault interface.
Would like that, so i dont have to prefix my files anymore.
A pin option would be great too.
5 Likes
Use case or problem
In my vault I keep files in separate folders based off of some high level categorizations. For example I have folders “Buddhism”, “Psychology”, “History”, “Cognition”, etc. In these folders I have file titled the same as the folder that offers some introductory information for that network of notes. This includes 5Ws of that Topic, Definition, Links to further research, links to important notes or “note sequences” related to the topic.
Proposed solution
Basically I would like to be able to pin these “overview notes” to the top of the folder, so that when I open the folder, it is the first note I see. This is sort of like an on ramp to the highway which leads me to different note locations.
Current workaround (optional)
My only current workaround is just to search for the note itself through the search feature. The main problem with this is that it won’t work when I publish my notes on Obsidian Publish, as there is not search function and people don’t know to search.
Related feature requests (optional)
If anyone has requested search for Obsidian Publish.
8 Likes
I vote this. Please allow manual sorting for files and folders, as what another popular tool Notion does
8 Likes
I think this is a much needed feature for a lot of people.
I am currently using prefix + sort by name to custom sort my notes.
This is not an ideal solution because when I am dumping my brain I usually don’t have the brain space to remember adding the specific prefix to a term, therefore the advantage of the unlinked mention feature is not realized because it cannot detect these linkages.
7 Likes
This feature would be very helpful. The primary reason I do my main writing in Scrivener is that Scrivener’s file explorer let’s me organise my files in a custom, logical order. If Obsidian is able to do that, I switch over completely. 
4 Likes
I also tried switching a project from Scrivener to Obsidian, and this was one of the main things that prevented me from doing so. I think it’s more feasible now that they’ve added frontmatter and the like.
8 Likes
Use case or problem
I’m trying to group related notes together.
Currently the files and directories are displayed in the panel in the alphabetic order of their names. Another available option is sorting by note’s modification time. Both of which cannot fulfill the needs exactly.
Proposed solution
Like OneNote, Obsidian may consider supporting reordering the notes by users through dragging and placing. The custom orderings can be stored in obsidian’s meta data file.
Current workaround (optional)
Currently, I have to name them carefully so that they are sorted together under the alphabetic order. Or, I just have to create annoying nested folders to group them together, messing up the structure of a vault.
5 Likes