Make Obsidian Look & Function Like Apple Notes

As a recent Apple Notes convert feeling a bit homesick, I’ve found Obsidian to be quite minimal compared to what I’m used to. After more than a decade with Apple Notes, certain features had become second nature to me. Below is a table of workarounds I’ve discovered for core features missing in Obsidian. While this list isn’t exhaustive and some solutions may work better than others, these approaches could help other Apple Notes users feel more at home in Obsidian. Where multiple solutions are listed for a feature, I’ve marked my preferred option with a ★.


Feature Workaround(s) Request
Show result count when searching within note Use vault-wide search (shortcut) Adding number of instances of a word or phrase found in a note to “Find in file”
Apple Shortcuts support Obsidian URI
Advanced URI
Actions for Obsidian app
Lumberjack
-
Auto delete trashed items after 30 days Can be configured w/ Hazel app for macOS (paid) -
Click image in note to view in fullscreen Image toolkit
CSS snippet
Enlarge image
Display note count in folder File Explorer Note Count
File Tree Alternative
-
i(pad)OS: long press app icon to select quick action Obsidian URI
Lumberjack
[Feature] App shortcuts/3D touch
Manage trash from within app Trash explorer Manage Obsidian Trash from within the app
Note previews in file explorer File Preview
MAKE.MD > Spaces > Click vault name > Open Overview
Note list view with fragments of note body
Search in attachments. Image OCR. Search text in images Text Extractor + OmniSearch OCR images/screenshots to make them searchable
Two pane file explorer MAKE.MD > Spaces > Click vault name > Open Overview ★
File Tree Alternative > Settings > Evernote View > Horizontal
Option to separate folders from notes in file explorer
Show date created & modified in note Templater template
Linter YAML rule ★
Update frontmatter modified date
Last Modified Timestamp in Status Bar
Update Time
Update time on edit
Front Matter Timestamps
[Mobile] Show date created & modified for notes
View notes in grid layout Cards View
Folder Note
Note Gallery
Card View Switcher
Notes-List for Dataview
Grid Layout/Masonry Gallery
Rename & delete tags Tag Wrangler Tag Mass Action
Create URL previews Auto Card Link Embed URL Link to show Preview Boxes
Copy image from note Image toolkit
Image Context Menus
Copy image from a note
Note first line = note title Auto Filename Use H1 or YAML property “title” instead of filename
View all recently created/modified notes • Save path:/ Search query to Bookmarks
Recent Files
Chronology
Flat view - Folder toggle
Trash current file button in note Can be added w/ Commander -
Change sort order per folder Custom File Explorer sorting Ability to sort different folders differently
macOS: make upper/lower case, capitalize Templater templates Uppercase lowercase
Cursor in note body on creation Templater template -
More highlight colors Templater template
Highlightr
Editing Toolbar
cMenu
-
“All Notes” folder Save path:/ Search query to Bookmarks Flat view - Folder toggle
Underline text • Bind Templater template to hotkey. Add mobile toolbar button w/ Commander
Editing Toolbar
cMenu
-
macOS: navigate w/ arrow keys Quick Explorer + hotkeys Open file automatically with keyboard navigation
Global search in PDF attachments Text Extractor + OmniSearch Global Search text in PDFs

No satisfactory solution found (yet)

Feature Workaround(s) Request
i(pad)OS: let vault be indexed by system search - Access Obsidian notes via Spotlight search
Select and manipulate multiple files in Search - Select and manipulate multiple flies in search pane like file explorer
Click note content to edit in Reading view Change accent color based on current view Fully visual editor mode
Click within Reader to edit at location
[Mobile] Easier access to vault search, tag pane - Faster Switching between Files, Search, Tags, Bookmarks in sidebar on mobile
Auto sort checked items to bottom of list - Move completed tasks to list within note
macOS: move to folder by drag & dropping tab - Move file via drag and drop tab to folder

If any of these features resonate with you, please consider supporting the linked feature requests by hearting the respective post and sharing your use case in the comments.

Note: This is a work in progress and will be updated. If you know of better alternatives or have additional features to suggest, please share them in the comments.

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