The fourth editing mode: Full WYSIWYG mode

[windily]

Use case or problem

In the recent beta update, the introduction of properties has caused the loss of the ability to directly modify YAML in live preview mode. This has had a significant impact on me. It is undeniable that this improvement has enhanced the experience for most users, making the UI better and more visually appealing. I believe that in the future, plugins based on properties will thrive, as it is a development trend.

However, as a plain text editing user and a vim user, it is somewhat difficult for me to accept. I enjoy the pleasure of pure text editing while also wanting a WYSIWYG experience. The live preview mode achieved a good balance between these two aspects. Unfortunately, the beta version has disrupted this balance by introducing UI interaction and non-text editing in live preview mode. This is different from editing syntax such as headings, callouts, lists, and quotes.

Therefore, I would like to propose the following solutions based on ideas from the community:

1. Allow complete disabling of properties in live preview mode to restore its previous functionality.
2. Introduce a fourth editing mode that uses the same interactive approach as properties and implements syntax like headings, quotes, unordered lists, tables, etc., similar to Typora.

The creation of this fourth editing mode would not only accommodate long-time users who heavily rely on live preview mode but also open up new possibilities to attract more people to use Obsidian.

I hope that by considering these suggestions, the Obsidian team can understand and address our concerns effectively. Thank you for your attention.

Related feature requests

• Allow YAML in live preview (with hidden properties)
• Another WYSIWYG Open-Source Markdown Editor (An alternative to Typora)

[WhiteNoise]

Closed as duplicate of another thread in plugin ideas.

Fully visual editor mode (WYSIWYG / WYSWYG)

Use case or problem When moving the cursor in the current live preview expanding and collapsing markups like **bold** is disrupting. Proposed solution Add visual mode in which formatted text is only visible (WYSIWYG). Adding new markdowns would happen using shortcuts like in other visual editors (OneNote). Markdown would only be visible when switching to a different mode or as a storage format.

[bugger]

What if someone wants this as a core feature specifically — do I just say that on the plug-in ideas thread? I am new to this forum, please don’t kill me (:
How do I stop it from replacing my beautiful emoticon with emoji (other than reversing them)?

[AlanG]

@WhiteNoise I disagree that this is a duplicate. The linked post is about adding a full WYSIWYG mode, where as this post is (at its core) about returning the Live Preview mode to its original text-accessible mode.

I agree with @windily - I’ve posted before how beneficial it is to have a Live Preview mode which collapses to plain text as you navigate it. It ensures my in-it-for-the-long-long-term Markdown is exactly as I want it.

[WhiteNoise]

Live preview is text accessible as you can navigate the properties UI with the keyboard.

There’s already another FR to disable the properties UI.