I started using this iPhone app, Funnel, for quick capture into Obsidian, Apple Reminders, and DevonThink. It is very well done. I put together a video demonstrating how to use it.
2 Likes
Thanks @TfTHacker, I’m testing Funnel but I don’t understand if it can be safely used with Obsidian Sync. I mean: I have my vault saved in my documents folder on my laptop and on my Mac mini at work and I synced the same vault on my iPhone. Now when setting up Funnel’s destination I used the location I used when I was syncing with iCloud (iCloud/Obsidian/theBox). The result is that if I quick-capture from funnel and I open Obsidian from my iPhone I find the new capture and after that I find the same capture also on my computers. To make it short: do you think funnel can be used also in a configuration where the sync process occurs with obsidian sync and won’t screw up the vault? Any help appreciated 
1 Like
hi @nestorito ,
I am the creator of Funnel. In general, Funnel does not control Obsidian sync, it adds or appends to existing markdown files in your vault. To ensure the safest option, you can go for “New Note” option (Atomic Notes) in Funnel, as it will just create a new note for each capture in a specific folder in your vault.
In the next update for Funnel, I will also be adding a History view which lists out your previous captures, as a double safety measure - so your capture is still in the Funnel history view.
Cheers,
Dharam
1 Like
Obsidian Sync only runs currently when Obsidian is open. I tested a few notes with Funnel and it does the job.
The good news is, you can add many quick captures and have them Sync up when you open Obsidian. The bad news is, I would stay away from appending to existing notes, as Dharm described, because you increase the likelihood of merge errors.
1 Like
@dharm I was pleasantly surprised by your launch of Funnel.
I have written about the edge of note-taking and sense-making for many years - here, and here most recently.
I’m also a growing fan of Obsidian, so your offering is timely, and I opted in for the premium service.
One idea - Funnel should support webhooks. You don’t have the time to build everything, and users don’t have the patience to wait for you to try to build everything. Add webhooks as a destination and watch the endless possibilities emerge.
My only disappointment with Funnel is the lack of a destination for arbitrary endpoints. With that, we could send content to tiny little Replit servers, Google Apps Script servers, full-blown APIs, and every app that supports inbound webhooks.
2 Likes
hi
Thanks, really enjoyed reading both the links! Also cool to see Coda being used as a blog, not seen this before.
Regarding web hooks - I do want to make it easier in the future to connect to custom endpoints. Right now, I feel integrating Funnel better with Apple Shortcuts is the right option. But still exploring the best option, and also the UX to make it simple.
As a current workaround, if you don’t have a Destination selected, you can still Share content to any other app/Shortcut using the built in Share Sheet.
2 Likes
Cool. That wasn’t obvious, but it works fine.
It’s not bad, but it limits sharing to the iOS ecosystem. Not every desirable endpoint is represented by an iOS app.
Prediction → you will cave to webhooks sooner than you imagine. 
So, you might as well just build it tomorrow and Monday while the phone isn’t ringing.
And one other observation - I use GrammarlyGO with voice notes that are cleaned up automatically and then pushed into Funnel and on to their destination. I also use GO for composition in Funnel. This is the approach with the Coda mobile app, but it applies to everything.
Funnel reminds me a lot of Tana Capture - just the right mix of quick capture.
1 Like
Agree - compared to natively integrating web hooks, Shortcuts are in some ways limiting (and in other ways more powerful).
Will look more into web hook, and also how other apps create a simple UX around it.
Also, just installed Grammerly to give that a try
1 Like
Indeed. It’s the dividing line between no-code and low-code. You must ask yourself - are there a lot of iOS users who care deeply about being organized and who walk in the shoes of low-codists?
1 Like
Yea, fine line there I hope to get more feedback as well from others, to see if this is a more common request.
If Funnel supports Shortcuts, then Funnel supports webhooks.
2 Likes
Hi @dharm and @Sigrunixia and thanks for your help! I’ve actually used Funnel to create new notes and it’s fantastic. But I’m still curious about how can it work. I mean: how can it be that Funnell passes the input, which is saved in an iCloud folder, to Obsidian that is saved on a local Mac folder? Just curiosity, no concerns, Funnel is wonderful but, maybe as I’m a researcher (with no coding skills) I need or really like to understand things! 
1 Like
hi @nestorito ,
Apple provides APIs for multiple apps to communicate with with an iCloud folder. I think quite a few Obsidian users also use other iOS apps such as Working Copy or iA Writer as well to work with files in their Obsidian vault
Similarly on the Mac too, multiple apps can work simultaneously on your vault.
The Obsidian app for the most part, watches over files within a Vault (folder) and if it detects any changes, a sync is trigged.
Cheers,
Dharam
1 Like
Very cool. I did not know that shortcuts could integrate over HTTPs.
Can I play Gacha Sanrio Game on iPhone?