# Structuring CRM data in a note (front matter vs. note content) **URL:** \ **Category:** Knowledge management\ **Tags:** dataview\ **Created:** [April 24, 2021, 10:44pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128 "2021-04-24T22:44:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![timwilson](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/timwilson/32/12487_2.png) [@timwilson](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/timwilson)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 10:44pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/1 "2021-04-24T22:44:47Z")
Like many here, I link to the various people I meet and interact with so I can use back links to pull meeting notes and other information together. The combination of back links with the dataview plugin make for some interesting possibilities. Since dataview only looks at fields in the YAML front matter and I can only link to other notes when the links exist _outside_ the front matter, I’m stuck duplicating data or using some combination of the two. For example, in the person’s note I want to link to the person who connected me with that person: `Introduced by: [[Albert Einstein]]` That linking doesn’t work when it’s in the front matter when I do something like this: `introduced-by: [[Albert Einstein]]` What do your “CRM” person templates look like? Looking for some good starter examples here. ---
**Author:** ![arminta](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/arminta/32/9078_2.png) [@arminta](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/arminta)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/2 "2021-04-24T23:16:38Z")
Maybe I’m misunderstanding you, but dataview can use fields within the note (not just the frontmatter) with the syntax `Introduced by:: [[Albert Einstein]]` This is my person template: ![Screen Shot 2021-04-24 at 16.14.08](https://forum.obsidian.md/uploads/default/original/2X/d/d3ff66a01c0de06f895a01c1f7e592314080ad0a.png) My people database: #databases Area:: Vaults ```auto table Aliases, Birthday, connection-points as "Connection_Points", Profession, Related, shared-interests as "Shared Interests", elink(twitter-account) as "Twitter Account" from "People" sort file.mtime desc ``` ---
**Author:** ![timwilson](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/timwilson/32/12487_2.png) [@timwilson](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/timwilson)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/3 "2021-04-24T23:53:37Z")
Well I’m delighted to be wrong! Thanks for the info. Not sure how I missed that. ---
**Author:** ![davecan](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@davecan](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/davecan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/4 "2021-04-25T15:45:59Z")
I have an open feature request to address this problem: [outgoing() in where clause with file.link as the source · Issue #89 · blacksmithgu/obsidian-dataview · GitHub](https://github.com/blacksmithgu/obsidian-dataview/issues/89) Would enable behavior like `where contains(outgoing(file.link), this.file.link)` ---
**Author:** ![ton](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@ton](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/ton)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/5 "2021-05-15T15:11:35Z")
I was aware of the YAML vs Name::Value possibilities. But I somehow get Dataview to only work with YAML frontmatter, not with in-note fields. Now I see you write #databases Area::Vaults What is the significance of that, and where should it be declared? Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![bobkitz](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/bobkitz/32/12610_2.png) [@bobkitz](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/bobkitz)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/6 "2021-05-15T15:26:28Z")
#databases is just a tag in this example. Area::Vaults is the in-note field::value pair - which should work ---
**Author:** ![ton](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@ton](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/ton)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/7 "2021-05-15T15:32:20Z")
Thanks @bobkitz. I asked because somehow I can’t get my Dataview queries to work (0 results) with name::value in the main body of the note, where it does work if the same data is in the YAML frontmatter (—name:value— ), which made me wonder what I’m overlooking. ---
**Author:** ![oliviafray](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@oliviafray](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/oliviafray)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 7:57am UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/8 "2023-12-11T07:57:15Z")
## Below is an example template using YAML front matter and Dataview-inspired syntax: id: UniqueID123 name: John Doe email: [john.doe@email.com](mailto:john.doe@email.com) phone: +1 123-456-7890 introducedBy: [[Albert Einstein]] tags: [Customer, Lead, Important] # Other Fields company: XYZ Corporation position: Sales Manager notes: | John Doe is a key contact for our upcoming project. Met him during the networking event organized by [[Albert Einstein]]. # Meetings meetings: - date: 2023-01-15 notes: Discussed potential collaboration on Project X. # Opportunities opportunities: - title: Project X Partnership status: Pending notes: John expressed interest; follow up in two weeks. # Tasks tasks: - description: Follow up on Project X due: 2023-02-01 status: Pending # Custom Fields ## customField1: Value1 customField2: Value2 ---
**Author:** ![Lamibexi](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/51bf81/32.png) [@Lamibexi](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Lamibexi)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:22pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/structuring-crm-data-in-a-note-front-matter-vs-note-content/17128/9 "2025-10-22T13:22:50Z")
has anyone tried balancing front matter for quick lookups with inline content for more context-heavy CRM notes? I’m finding YAML great for queries, but things get messy when dealing with nuanced relationships or client history. Curious how others are handling the trade-off between structure and readability over time.