One click solution to convert 'alias' to '[[Alias|alias]]'

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For reference, Obsidian is case-insensitive for internal links so you can actually just use [[alias]] directly without any issues.

That being said, I like to have tidy notes with the correct note links, so I do it with the [[Alias|alias]] style like you have there.

Here’s my Templater template which I have assigned to a hotkey. It works like this:

No text selected:

If you have no text selected before hitting the hotkey, it will insert [[]] and put the cursor in the middle so you can immediately start typing an internal link.

Alias text selected:

If you have some text selected, it will:

  1. Look for a note title matching the same text, regardless of case. If found, it will insert a link in the format [[Alias|alias]]. This means it will happily find a note titled “ALiaS” and create [[ALiaS|alias]]. Equally the case of your alias text doesn’t matter - it will still find the note.

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Of course if the title matches, it won’t use an alias:

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  1. If there are multiple matching notes (that is, you have multiple notes with that same exact title), it will give you a list so that you can pick the one you want, then it will add the note in the format [[path/to/Alias|alias]].

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  1. If there are no notes found, it will add a link in the format [[|alias]], and put the cursor before the pipe so you can start typing the name of the note you want to link to.

The template - just put it your templates folder and assign it to a hotkey with Templater:

<%*
const editor = app.workspace.activeLeaf.view.editor

// Move cursor after inserting the link text
function moveCursorBack (distance) {
  const cursor = editor.getCursor()
  cursor.ch -= (distance)
  editor.setCursor(cursor)
}

// The text selected before running the template
const alias = editor.getSelection() || ''
if (!alias) {
  // No alias text provided
  editor.replaceSelection(`[[]]`)
  moveCursorBack(2)
} else {
  // Alias text was provided, search for matching notes
  const notes = app.vault.getFiles().filter(f => f.basename.toLowerCase() === alias.toLowerCase())
  if (notes.length === 1) {
    // Exactly one matching note found, direct the link to that note
    let link = alias
    if (notes[0].basename !== alias) {
      // As the title and alias are not an exact match, add the alias to the link
      link = `${notes[0].basename}|${alias}`
    }
    editor.replaceSelection(`[[${link}]]`)
  } else if (notes.length >= 2) {
    // Multiple notes found, let the user choose which note to link
    editor.replaceSelection(`[[${alias}|${alias}]]`)
    moveCursorBack(alias.length + 3)
  } else {
    // No matching note found, let the user type any note
    editor.replaceSelection(`[[|${alias}]]`)
    moveCursorBack(alias.length + 3)
  }
}
%>

Works on mobile too, just assign it to a button on your mobile toolbar.

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