Search and retrieve notes. But how?

[Edmund]

When using Obsidian with Zettelkasten, there are multiple search options: File Search, Keyword Search, Tag Search, Bookmark Search, Graph View, Local Graph, Dataview and more. .

By understanding these use cases, you can make the most of Obsidian’s search features to efficiently navigate your Zettelkasten, retrieve information, and gain insights.

What are your favorite use cases and strategies for searching?

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More about the 12 Principles For Using Zettelkasten

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Posts of interest:

• Graph searching AND+OR operation

[Edmund]

My personal search options with mandatory key elements within my notes from Zettelkasten.

[Edmund]

Are you searching for the KNOWN or for the UNKNOWN in your Zettelkasten? Obsidian offers tools for all these options. What‘s your preferred strategy?

[Edmund]

My Zettelkasten only uses very view folders. The three most important folders are for “Permanent Notes”, “Reference Notes” and “Projekt Notes” for my output. Searching with Graph View benefits from this clear structure. Color coding, here with yellow, blue and red, makes it easy to understand the connections. Surely, it take a little time to enter these paths and color data into the groups section of Graph View, but I can store the result as a bookmark for further use.

• path:3_Permanent
• path:4_References
• path:5_Structures
• path:6_Project Notes

In my sketchnote example the filter in Graph View is set to “socratic” as a single search term. For a repeated use of this Graph View template I have to:

1. Select the template from the Obsidian Bookmarks
2. Replace “socratic” by a new search term

Easy to use, with great results.

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Some more posts about Graph View here in this forum:

• What’s the point of the graph view? (How are you using it?) - Knowledge management - Obsidian Forum - 0.3k
• How do you use the graph view? - Knowledge management - Obsidian Forum - 2.1k
• Usage of Graph View - Share & showcase - Obsidian Forum - 1k
• Share the graph view and notes as HTML page for free with obsidian2cosma - Share & showcase - Obsidian Forum - 2.7k
• A relational map of your life - Share & showcase - Obsidian Forum - 0.4k

[Edmund]

It still seems to be hard using Graph View at the beginning. Some actual voices about Graph View:

• Not particularly useful, but it’s cool to look at and to move around.
• Graph view is so fucking useless.
• I know its cool, i agree, but i can never find shit.
• It’s only going to be useful for certain people’s uses.
• It just seems to me more of an aesthetic or some kind personal satisfaction thing.
• I look at it every once in a while to see if there is something useful there, but nope still not.

Here are three links to Obsidian Help that may be useful:

• Graph view
• Local Graph
• Bookmark a graph

And last but not least, you always have two options:

• Zettelkasten seen as a sorted list of ideas.
• Zettelkasten seen as an unsorted network of ideas.

that make a difference:

Created with Obsidian Canvas

[Montblanc]

That’s a nice breakdown of the methods for searching. When I am looking for a specific note and can’t find it using tags, keywords search, or title search, I look to my structure notes. I’ve found it important to make sure each note in the “bottom layer” has a link to at least one structure note.

This discussion reminds me of something I heard a while back. Sadly, I forgot the source. If you struggle to find a note and - finally! - you find it, ask yourself: “What happened?” What I find is that I need to add a keyword to the body of the note, adjust the tags, make a link in another structure note, create a new structure note, or tweak the title.

[Edmund]

@Montblanc

If you struggle to find a note and - finally! - you find it, ask yourself: “What happened?” What I find is that I need to add a keyword to the body of the note, adjust the tags, make a link in another structure note, create a new structure note, or tweak the title.

Great advice!