This feature request is for the ability to edit or preview two different files in panes next to each other, and have the scroll between them synchronised.
Clarification: I realise there is a feature like this with “linked panes” but in Obsidian, these seem to be limited to the same file. I would like this with different files.
Use case: I do a lot of translation work and seeing parallel files in two different languages is a necessary part of the workflow. My present solution involves switching over to another editor with an appropriate plugin and using that while translating, then going back to Obsidian, where the navigation is so much better and intuitive.
I too would definitely like to see this. I want to do Cornell-style notes, which requires dividing the page vertically and then having a bottom section. You can set this up really easily in Obsidian, but the joy of Cornell notes is that on the left is your main takeaways, and if you wanted more information you could look to the right side and see your raw in-depth notes. These notes on the left are position in relation to the right side. Since Obsidian doesn’t allow for synchronized scrolling, and only same-file link, it’s infeasible to do Cornell-style notes.
@usaradark Now that you have explained this method, I want it for that reason too! Why stop at just two files?.. clearly screen real-estate is a consideration, but I could see a use case for more than two panes being linked (e.g. interlinear bibles)
Not at a computer right now, and I probably shouldn’t post this without trying it, but before I forget, it just occurred to me that a limited workaround might be to temporarily comment out your entire note then embed another note below. You could then split the pane, link the panes and set one of the panes to preview mode while other is in edit mode.
Who knows? This potentially may reveal some of the logic by which linked panes operate and potentially the feasibility of getting some sort of hybrid linked panes.
(Will remove this post later if this does not work or provide anything useful)
@I-d-as sorry, this is way too much of a “hack” for my “translation” purposes (although I agree, an interesting nod in the direction of a workaround). It does not fulfil the requirement for me - each “line” is a sentence / paragraph, for which there needs to be a linked “line” in the translation, one file to the other. I also need to be able to “publish” (either online or PDF) a complete version of each document in each language, which is what my original request is for. Commenting out / embedding is just not an option. I am still stuck using Atom / VS Code, such a shame.
Last post in this thread was over a year ago. Has anyone found a good work-around or plug-in to implement the Cornell note taking system in Obsidian?
So far I’ve settled on using two files: TOPIC-cue.md on the left, TOPIC-notes.md on the right in a larger pane (which is where most of the notes go). Lots of manual scrolling and adding white space to the cue file, but it works. Closing (to do something else) and re-opening the panes feels clunky. There has to be a better way.
Atom, Sublime Text, and VS Code have sync scroll packages so it’s doable, though how difficult to develop, I don’t know.
I had a brief discussion with an Obsidian plugin dev about this. They said it sounds like a dev for hire job or just hope someone gets the urge to make it for themselves and release it.
Taking Cornell-style notes without messing around in code blocks as you take notes is one use case and how I got interested in synced scrolling. As @ajparkme said, it’s very helpful for translation work. Probably many more use cases. I currently use Atom’s (RIP) scroll-sync for occasional things that demand it, but I would rather use Obsidian.
Casting my vote for this functionality as well. I regularly have to use Notepad++ with a compare plugin just to be able to scroll two files side by side for a weekly report I do. Having this in Obsidian would be perfect and honestly I doubt it would be that difficult to build.