By default, dragging a file from the Obsidian sidebar Explorer to your desktop just creates a shortcut or a link. Native Mover fixes this by hooking directly into the Electron Native Drag API.
Native Mover intercepts sidebar drag events and hands the actual physical file path to your OS. This allows you to copy, move, and create OS link to files/folders directly when dragging from obsidian.
Shortcuts (need to be pressed before dragging the file)
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Ctrl + Drag: Native Copy to your desktop or folder.
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Alt + Drag: Creates Default OS Link to File/Folder.
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Ctrl + Alt + Drag: Move (Copies to destination and moves original to Obsidian trash).
Make sure to refocus obsidian window to finish moving operation.- there is a setting to remove file/folder completely from the vault when moving just use with caution as you may lose data if interrupted.
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Dragging without any key pressed: Default obsidian behaviour - creates obsidian link
Note on “Shift”: I wanted to use Shift as it is the Windows default for moving, but Obsidian currently hijacks that key for range-selection in the File Explorer. For now, Ctrl + Alt is the workaround
Installation
Manual
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Download and extract latest release Releases · AlexJankowski/obsidian-native-mover · GitHub
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Place a folder with the plugin inside your vault’s plugins folder: .obsidian/plugins/obsidian-native-mover (Includes main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css)
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Enable in Obsidian settings.
Alternative use BRAT
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Install the BRAT plugin.
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Add the repository URL: GitHub - AlexJankowski/obsidian-native-mover · GitHub
Disclaimer: Early Alpha
This plugin is in heavy alpha to solve a specific friction point.
- Untested for multi-file selection.
- Tested only on Windows so far.
- Use at your own risk: Always keep a backup when using “Move” (trash) function.