Unlinked mentions doesn't work

Steps to reproduce

On desktop app (and have also confirmed it in same vault in mobile):

  1. Create a note titled “MLOps”
  2. Create multiple notes that link to it explicitly i.e. [[MLOps]]
  3. Create a note ‘Test note’ that mentions the word MLOps but does not link to it
  4. Open MLOps and view links (either outgoing links or backlinks). Observe that nothing is listed under “Unlinked mentions.”

I have also confirmed that neither note shows an unlinked mention, either forward or back. So either I am totally misunderstanding the feature or there is a bug.

See screenshots.

Expected result

  • The Test note page should be listed in Unlinked mentions.

Actual result

  • Nothing listed under Unlinked mentions.

Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: v1.1.9
Installer version: v1.0.0
Operating system: Darwin Kernel Version 21.6.0: Mon Aug 22 20:17:10 PDT 2022; root:xnu-8020.140.49~2/RELEASE_X86_64 21.6.0
Login status: not logged in
Insider build toggle: off
Live preview: off
Legacy editor: off
Base theme: light
Community theme: Minimal v6.0.13
Snippets enabled: 2
Restricted mode: off
Plugins installed: 13
Plugins enabled: 11
1: Hider v1.2.4
2: Dataview v0.5.47
3: Obsidian42 - BRAT v0.6.36
4: Outliner v4.2.1
5: Markdown Formatting Assistant v0.4.1
6: Better PDF Plugin v1.4.0
7: Multi-line Formatting v0.4.1
8: Recent Files v1.3.5
9: Tag Wrangler v0.5.5
10: Minimal Theme Settings v6.1.1
11: Commander v0.4.9


Additional information

See attached screenshots.

Thanks,
Ben.


Did you test with plugins deactivated? Did you test in the Sandbox vault? Did you make sure all your plugins are updated? Did you try with the default theme and your custom snippets disabled (silly, but you never know).

Also, in the release notes for 1.1.9, it was mentioned we need to download the fresh installer from the website to get the latest Electron version. No idea if that affects your issue, but you should try that too.

1 Like

Hi @rigmarole - thank you for the quick reply.

I think I have properly verified all these things. (Also, very sorry for not addressing this up front – I imagine it gets pretty annoying having to ask these.)

Did you test with plugins deactivated?

Yes, reproducible with all plugins turned off.

Did you test in the Sandbox vault?

Yes, I did. I should have attached that screenshot first - I have now attached a screenshot showing the same behavior in the sandbox vault (I think!).

Am I interpreting the feature correctly? When I explicitly link to test2, I see “Start Here” under “Linked mentions.” When I comment out the explicit link, as shown in this new screenshot, I see nothing under “Unlinked mentions”. I’m not 100% sure my example is right.

Did you make sure all your plugins are updated?

Yes, I believe so. At least Community plugins > Check for updates says no newer updates found, and I still see the issue (and also see it in the sandbox which I think has a lot of this stuff deactivated). In any case: I did reproduce after deactivating all the non-core ones, and I have the latest app which I assumed updates the core ones.

Did you try with the default theme and your custom snippets disabled (silly, but you never know).

Yes, and in the sandbox w/ orig theme and no snippets as well.

Also, in the release notes for 1.1.9, it was mentioned we need to download the fresh installer from the website to get the latest Electron version. No idea if that affects your issue, but you should try that too.

Thank you for pointing that out, I had missed it. I just downloaded the latest full .dmg from obsidian.md and updated the app, and I still see the same thing. (I also checked in the dev console I typed ‘process.versions.electron’ and I see 21.3.3 – which I think is correct, from the release notes.)

Please let me know what you think! and thanks.

Ben.

2 Likes

It’s grayed out, so you have it collapsed. Click on it.

2 Likes

Aha! You are absolutely right. And that works in both vaults. I’m a little embarrassed but thank you!!

That said, I think there’s still a small bug (or at least a UI oddity that confused me and prob others, too).

You will note in both screenshots, including the sandbox one – that it just says “UNLINKED MENTIONS”. Unlike linked mentions, which says “0”, it does not give any indication that this can be clicked on (and it shows blank by default, not 0). Also, if I click on it to reveal/hide it – I now see a little number to the right, that indicates the unlinked mentions count. If I switch to another note, then return – the number is gone again.

I would suggest some combination of:

  • Unlinked mentions should behave just like linked mentions - it should default to expanded, i.e. ‘no backlinks found’ and 0. Not sure why the top list would default to showing 0 / expanded and the bottom to showing blank/be hidden
  • by default “Unlinked Mentions” should show the # of unlinked mentions (even if 0): not blank
  • regardless, once you’ve clicked twice to show/hide – if you leave and then return, it should still show the number (esp. if > 0). It shouldn’t arbitrarily hide/show that number (unlike the list just above, linked mentions).

Not a huge deal, but I think some of these would be pretty easy tweaks, and make it easier to use.

1 Like

It’s not a bug. Unlinked mentions aren’t computed when that section is folded because it’s a computationally intensive task.

However, I agree that there should be some clue that you can click there (this is not obvious in the new theme)

4 Likes

It’s not a bug. Unlinked mentions aren’t computed when that section is folded because it’s a computationally intensive task.

Ah, I take your point.

However, I agree that there should be some clue that you can click there (this is not obvious in the new theme)

By ‘new theme’ do you refer to the default theme, as opposed to a custom one? If so, I agree … a brand-new sandbox itself just says ‘unlinked mentions’ and gives no indication it can be clicked.

Just wanted to note that. Thanks for your time on this. Much obliged.

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