Formatting is stripped when selecting multiple lines and typing

Bug reports
, ,
1

Steps to reproduce

  1. Type ‘Test’ on one line. Newline. Add a bullet. Add Type ‘Testing [[Link]]’
  2. Select the bullet and the newline, so that the cursor winds up after the ‘t’ in Test
  3. Press spacebar

Did you follow the troubleshooting guide? Y

Expected result

A single line that contains ‘Test Testing [[Link]]’

Actual result

A single line that contains ‘Test Testing Link’

This method works on other formatting as well such as monospace

Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: v1.5.12
Installer version: v1.5.3
Operating system: Darwin Kernel Version 23.4.0: Fri Mar 15 00:12:37 PDT 2024; root:xnu-10063.101.17~1/RELEASE_ARM64_T6031 23.4.0
Login status: logged in
Catalyst license: supporter
Insider build toggle: on
Live preview: on
Base theme: adapt to system
Community theme: none
Snippets enabled: 0
Restricted mode: on

RECOMMENDATIONS:
none

Additional information

This problem has been around for a long time and I’ve occasionally had data loss because I didn’t notice the links and other formatting being stripped

Obsidian newline formatting stripped.mp4.zip (1021.4 KB)

3 Likes
2

Interesting! I’ve never noticed that before. Confirmed in Obsidian 1.5.12 on iOS 17.4.1. It works whether you select only the dash or also the space after it.

A workaround is to type Delete instead of Space. If you select only the dash (or asterisk or plus) you won’t have to add a space.

1 Like
3

thanks

4

Steps to reproduce

Copy the following Markdown into any file

word
another word $math$ *italics* **bold** ==highlight== [[link]]
yet another $math$ *italics* **bold** ==highlight== [[link]]

then select the portion from the start of the first line to “another” in the second line, and then type any letter.

Notes:

  • I don’t think it’s not crucial that you type a letter specifically, but the bug does not occur if you first press the enter key or the backspace key instead.
  • Seems related to Live-Preview: problems with text selection across multiple list items but that one was allegedly fixed? I indeed do not get zero-width spaces, but the links are not preserved, so doesn’t seem fixed to me.

Did you follow the troubleshooting guide? Yes, and this was reproduced in the sandbox vault.

Expected result

The selected text gets replaced by the newly typed content, and the formatting of the rest of the document is preserved.

Actual result

Any formatting in the remainder of the second line is dropped, links become plaintext, and (more distressingly) any inline LaTeX equations disappear completely.

Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
	Obsidian version: v1.5.12
	Installer version: v1.4.13
	Operating system: Darwin Kernel Version 23.4.0: Fri Mar 15 00:12:41 PDT 2024; root:xnu-10063.101.17~1/RELEASE_ARM64_T8103 23.4.0
	Login status: logged in
	Catalyst license: none
	Insider build toggle: off
	Live preview: on
	Base theme: adapt to system
	Community theme: none
	Snippets enabled: 0
	Restricted mode: on

RECOMMENDATIONS:
	none

Additional information

ezgif-3-7f906a4301

Thanks a lot for your work, I’m a huge Obsidian fan! :slight_smile:

5

Renamed this thread and added
Minimal example

Obsidian_u2fb2AWm2M

1 Like
6

When selecting multiple lines and converting it to a blockquote, live preview removes all link syntax and leaves plain text version. Only occurs in live preview.

Steps to reproduce

  • Enter live preview mode
  • Have a line with internal or external link syntax in it
  • Select the start of the line and drag to the line above it
  • Type > for blockquote
  • Multiline selection with blockquote removes the link syntax completely

Did you follow the troubleshooting guide? Y

Expected result

Keep the syntax of line even if it’s not rendered fully in live preview mode

Actual result

Link syntax is stripped, there’s only the plain text version

Environment

Tested and reproduced in Sandbox Vault.

SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: v1.7.4
Installer version: v1.6.3
Operating system: Windows 10 Home 10.0.19045
Login status: logged in
Language: en-GB
Catalyst license: supporter
Insider build toggle: on
Live preview: on
Base theme: adapt to system
Community theme: none
Snippets enabled: 0
Restricted mode: off
Plugins installed: 0
Plugins enabled: 0

Additional information

Obsidian_sUlJy10Crx

Markdown text to reproduce:


- List with an internal link in it [[Start Here]]


- List with an external link in it [Obsidian.md](https://help.obsidian.md/Home)
7

I’d like to suggest that this bug is critical. I had to abandon Obsidian today because I have a habit of editing in a way that triggers this behavior and deletes links, which I often don’t notice until undo is no longer feasible. In the past few weeks I’ve lost dozens of URLs and wasted hours finding them again. And that’s just for the link-deletions I’ve noticed–who knows how many others are lurking in my notes. I’m a journalist and the links in my research are essential. I just can’t use Obsidian until this is fixed. Which is a shame because I love everything else about it. (Thank you for your brilliant work!)

1 Like
8

Steps to reproduce

  1. Create a note with following text:

This is a list of bullet items:

  • this is the first item
  • in the second item there is a [[link]]
  1. Select text from “first item” up to “in the”.
  2. Hit space-bar
  3. The link has disappeared

Did you follow the troubleshooting guide? [Y/N]

Y

Expected result

This is a list of bullet items:

  • this is the second item there is a [[link]]

Actual result

This is a list of bullet items:

  • this is the second item there is a link

  • Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: v1.8.5
Installer version: v1.7.7
Operating system: Windows 11 Home 10.0.26100
Login status: logged in
Language: en
Catalyst license: insider
Insider build toggle: on
Live preview: on
Base theme: adapt to system
Community theme: none
Snippets enabled: 0
Restricted mode: off
Plugins installed: 0
Plugins enabled: 0

RECOMMENDATIONS:
none

1 Like
9

I’m not used to this forum, hopefully the missing quotes in the Steps part above didn’t make my report too confusing. Let me try again using quotes:

  1. Create a note with following text:
This is a list of bullet items:
- this is the first item
- in the second item there is a [[link]]
  1. Select text from “first item” up to “in the”.
  2. Hit space-bar
  3. The link has disappeared

Hopefully it’s clearer now. The bug seems to manifest when overwriting text selected across bullet items, which is something that does happen from time to time when reorganizing bullet lists. Perhaps it also happens in different conditions.