Please restore the location of the Settings and Help buttons

[Pch]

I do, also, miss the Settings button, specifically in the ribbon …

Trying to help others, debug things (with a plugin or another), etc… I often interact with Obsidian’s settings in a way or another.

I am only getting used now, as I type this post, after having access to Obsidian 1.6+ since its Insider release, to the new “workflow”:

1. click on the dedicated button to open the left sidebar (as, being on a MacBook Pro, I have a relatively small screen, so I don’t leave the sidebars open)
2. click on the Settings button to open it

(2 clicks instead of one before… It’s a little bit annoying but I can live with that though )

For the past weeks, by reflex, each time I wanted to access the settings, I instinctively continued to direct my the pointer of my mouse to exactly where the settings button was only to realise then that it was moved…

I’m not here to advocate for restoring that set of buttons (vault switcher, settings, help) though, as I fully understand some prefer the ribbon as it is now …

But I would personally find more interesting to have an optional native way to display these buttons back were they where, if one wishes (if possible) …

As by right clicking on the ribbon we can choose to display the ribbon or not and what appears in it, I think Settings, Vault switcher and Help could be options there too, with some dedicated space reserved for them at the bottom of the ribbon …
That would be more flexible and anyone could set up, natively, how the ribbon looks like and what it can do.

This is just a thought, an idea and I absolutely don’t know if this is technically feasible on Obsidian’s side .

Another thought I have about the new vault switcher dropdown (and the settings and help buttons), is that it could be placed at the top of the file explorer so the general design would be more consistent with the mobile version of Obsidian … and that would also reduce the distance between the button to open/close the left sidebar and the settings button .

Sorry for the length … and thanks for reading !

[icyz]

I understand that for those who are keyboard shortcut enthusiasts, the ability to hide the ribbon is a great feature. It allows for a cleaner workspace and quicker access to commands through shortcuts. However, I must say that as a user who primarily relies on mouse clicks for navigation and operation, the new UI has added an unnecessary layer of complexity to my workflow.

[anon23099027]

@reaty

Now I have to make two clicks instead of one to reach settings

Hello. Why two clicks? Isn’t Settings still a single click away? Or do I have a different layout to the one you are using?

[reaty]

I mentioned that I keep the sidebar closed. My screen is not so big to keep it open all the time. Before the button was on ribbon, always availible. Now I have to first open sidebar and only then I can click on the settings button.

[anon23099027]

Thanks for the explanation … hadn’t noticed that the ‘ribbon’ at the bottom hides with the sidebar.

[kepano]

There are a few reasons for the change:

1. The ribbon can now be turned off and in a future update will be set to off by default for new users. This is to reduce the cockpit effect that can be overwhelming to new users who aren’t familiar with all the un-labeled icons. We wanted the settings button to be accessible even when the ribbon is off.
2. Provide a better experience for multi-vault users, so they can more easily see the current vault name, and group vault-level actions together. Previously vault name was visible in the file explorer, but now you can also see it if you switch sidebar tabs.
3. Make the vault area more consistent with the mobile design.
4. Give more space for customization of the ribbon to advanced users. See Settings → Appearance → Ribbon menu configuration

Aside from the button in the sidebar, you can also access Settings via:

1. Command palette
2. Hotkeys
3. System menu (its location depends on your OS)

You can also use the Commander plugin to and add the Settings icon back to the ribbon, and you can hide the vault switcher using a snippet or Hider plugin.

[icyz]

I know the feeling because I only use obsidian on my laptop, so it is truly uncomfortable for a user who primarily relies on mouse clicks just like this

[reaty]

Btw I actually love the new vault switcher, but the lack of the setting button on ribbon still bothers me. For me the ribbon is the main tool for using Obsidian. I also prefer the settings button to be on the bottom, separately of the rest.

So I made the solution using the Commander plugin and some css:

• Install Commander ant add “Open settings” command to the ribbon.

• Add this css-snippet:

.workspace-ribbon {
    padding-bottom: 8px;
}

.side-dock-actions {
    height: 100%;
    justify-content: flex-start;
}

.side-dock-settings {
    display: none;
}
    
div[aria-label = "Open settings"] { 
    order: 999; 
    margin-top: auto !important;
}

• If you are using other language then English, replace “Open settings” in the snippet to whatever the command is called in your language.

The result:

[icyz]

The original UI was well-designed and clear, which made it very easy to use. However, the current version complicates things unnecessarily by requiring the installation of two additional plugins and the writing of custom CSS to achieve the same functionality. I still hope the design team can consider the habits of different users and revert to the previous UI.

[harr]

Personally I strongly dislike the Ribbon, especially on small screens. I consider it a waste of valuable screen real estate. I prefer the left sidebar, because it contains heavily used search and navigation tools. But it seems that there are strong opinions the other way round.

A more configurable Ribbon on Desktop should make everybody happy. Settings and Vault Switcher could be just two more buttons that users could choose to hide or show.

I like the configurable toolbar on Mobile, because it make it easy to include buttons that I actually use and hide others. And I like that it provide a wide choice of options to choose from.

IMO, the Ribbon needs to be more flexible to be useful.

[dmantisk]

Can’t ribbon made to end just above the bottom bar, something like this?

This would give a consistent location for the settings icon as well.

Admittedly, the option for collapsed sidebar with no ribbon might still be an issue for those who want ultra minimalism

[Synchronicity]

@blue_emperor

there is Open settings and Open help commands available but these icons will be located among other ribbon icons—how to restore settings and help to their original location?

Just add them to the Ribbon with the Commander plugin, then drag them with your mouse to their original locations at the bottom.

[blue_emperor]

I tested and it doesn’t work. With five icons you can change order but you cannot drag icons independently to any vertical position in the ribbon.

[AlanG]

@blue_emperor

any vertical position in the ribbon

You need to use the CSS from @reaty above:

Please restore the location of the Settings and Help buttons

Btw I actually love the new vault switcher, but the lack of the setting button on ribbon still bothers me. For me the ribbon is the main tool for using Obsidian. I also prefer the settings button to be on the bottom, separately of the rest. So I made the solution using the Commander plugin and some css: Install Commander ant add “Open settings” command to the ribbon. Add this css-snippet: .workspace-ribbon { padding-bottom: 8px; } .side-dock-actions { height: 100%; justify…

[icyz]

Just like Edge browser’s sidebar settings, I think it’s very convenient to integrate the settings help and library switcher into the Ribbon.

Now instead of installing a bunch of plugins to achieve a simple original function.

Many users only have one library.
Many users prefer to use the mouse instead of keyboard shortcuts.

[harr]

@icyz

installing a bunch of plugins to achieve a simple original function

Agree, that doesn’t make sense.

The Ribbon has been a central design element of Obsidian for a long time. Removing a frequently used function from the Ribbon needs a good justifcation.

Personally I loathe the Ribbon in Obsidian and the icon bar in Edge. They eat up screen space. They look ugly. They show an arbitrary list of icons that doesn’t make much sense to me. I can’t remember what icon does what, so I always have to hover with the mouse to find what I’m looking for. Ctrl+P is so much faster. I find Obsidian much nicer without the Ribbon.

Personally I love having the name of the current vault always visible in the navigation sidebar, because it provides context for all those navigation tools: navigate files and folders in this vault, search in this vault, bookmarks in this vault, …), tags in this vault, properties in this vault. Personally I lalso ove having Settings close to the vaults name, because they this vault’s settings.

But none of my personal preferences are in conflict with also having Setting, Help and Vault Switcher in the Ribbon. I wouldn’t mind if they are redundant, because this functionality is so elemental.

TLDR: I vote for having Settings, Help and Vault Switcher by default in both locations, the left Sidebar and the Ribbon.

[Synchronicity]

Ah, I think you mean you want them all the way at the bottom of the ribbon, and not just at the bottom of the icons that reside there. There’s a Ribbon Divider plugin, but afaik none that add blank spacers you could use to push those two icons to the bottom.

[TraceyC]

I found this thread searching for a way to re-enable the vault switcher icon in the ribbon. The suggestion to install Commander really doesn’t work for me. I have a number of vaults, so I would have to go to every one of them, enable the community plugin, and then add the icon back to the ribbon.

It seems that a simple solution would be to add the Vault Switch, Settings and Help icons back to the icons available be shown or hidden in the Ribbon menu configuration. Even if they are hidden by default, that would be fine.

I very much appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in creating Obsidian. It’s a very valuable tool for me that I use every day. I understand wanting to make the UI more new user friendly, and more pleasant on smaller screens. Making the UI more inconvenient for users like myself who primarily use the mouse to navigate, and have plenty of screen real estate is puzzling. I hope the developers will consider re-adding the possibility to display settings, vaults and help on the ribbon as a setting.

[dsmeltz]

I may be the odd man out here, but I use the right-hand side bar. Any reason that there couldn’t be a configuration setting that would give the option of placing the value switcher, help and settings icons into the right-hand side bar?

[RashmaDu]

I agree with the user of this post, it would be nice to at least have the option. I tend to keep the sidebar closed and just use the shortcut to open pages directly, and it is an extra hurdle to access settings when this is the case.