Markdown for Checkbox requires 6 keystrokes. Reduce it to 2?

Feature archive
1

To create a checkbox in Obsidian’s markdown, the current implementation requires 6 keystrokes (correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe all 6 are necessary):

  1. Dash
  2. Space
  3. Open bracket
  4. Space
  5. Close bracket
  6. Space

It could be much less. In Notion, for example, it’s 2:

  1. Open bracket
  2. Close bracket

In Roam, it’s 3:

  1. Open bracket
  2. Close bracket
  3. Space

Any reason we need to have all 6? Can we support a shorter formula as well?

2

I don’t think we want to diverge from Markdown standards with this. A toggle shortcut would be the easy fix, and is a fairly popular request:

5 Likes
3

Thanks Ryan. I hadn’t seen that ticket.

That’d be 3 keystrokes. Seems good to me.

1 Like
4

I’ve got it down to one keystroke using Keyboard Maestro: tapping § inserts - [ ] .
Similarly, Command-l takes selected text and [[ ]] brackets it into a link.

Not terribly clever, but useful.

3 Likes
5

I can’t see § on my keyboard!

(I’m only half-kidding. What do you tap for §!?)

6

Actually, in Roam you can also type /todo. That’s what I programmed into my text expander software along with /[].

I think it’s a good idea for Obsidian (or a plugin) to support these textual shortcuts without the need to remember keyboard combinations.

3 Likes
7

Good thinking! Don’t mess up with the MarkDown standard to get things going in Obsidian (which the makers don’t accept by the way).

Read some great ‘hacks’ here which seem to be doing the job fairly well :wink:
Great community → love it!

2 Likes
8

Don’t mess up with the MarkDown standard to get things going in Obsidian (which the makers don’t accept by the way).

Yes, but it would be good if you could enter the simplified syntax and then Obsidian would “auto-correct” to the proper Markdown syntax.