Use case or problem
Being able to have MD notes in folders with other documents, such as LaTeX, PPT, or DOCX.
Proposed solution
Create a “fallback” .obsidian folder that sets preferences, plugins, etc. when obsidian is launched for a file outside of a vault. The internal file explorer of Obsidian would be disabled/non-functional in this “mode”. Certain plugins that rely on vault structure/links would also not work.
It may be possible (or not) to allow links into vaults. But not essential.
Current workaround (optional)
Creating an alias (mac) or shortcut (Windows) to a vault file in the target directory.