Obsidian Editing and Formatting Skill

Comprehensive guide to Obsidian's editing and formatting capabilities, including markdown syntax, special formatting features, and best practices.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be triggered when:

Writing or formatting content in Obsidian
Using Obsidian markdown syntax
Creating links, embeds, or references in Obsidian
Using callouts, tables, or other advanced formatting
Working with Obsidian-specific markdown extensions

Basic Formatting Syntax

Text Formatting

**Bold text**
*Italic text*
***Bold and italic***
~~Strikethrough~~
==Highlight==
`Inline code`

Headings

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6

Lists

Unordered lists:

- Item 1
- Item 2
  - Nested item
  - Another nested item
- Item 3

Ordered lists:

1. First item
2. Second item
   1. Nested item
   2. Another nested item
3. Third item

Task lists:

- [ ] Incomplete task
- [x] Completed task
- [-] Cancelled task
- [>] Forwarded task
- [<] Scheduled task

Links and References

Internal Links

[[Note name]]                    # Link to a note
[[Note name|Display text]]       # Link with custom text
[[Note name#Heading]]            # Link to a heading
[[Note name#^block-id]]          # Link to a block

External Links

[Display text](https://example.com)
<https://example.com>

Embeds

![[Note name]]                   # Embed entire note
![[Note name#Heading]]           # Embed from heading
![[Image.png]]                   # Embed image
![[Document.pdf]]                # Embed PDF
![[Audio.mp3]]                   # Embed audio

Callouts

Obsidian supports various callout types for highlighting information:

> [!note]
> This is a note callout

> [!tip]
> This is a tip callout

> [!important]
> This is an important callout

> [!warning]
> This is a warning callout

> [!caution]
> This is a caution callout

> [!info]
> This is an info callout

> [!success]
> This is a success callout

> [!question]
> This is a question callout

> [!failure]
> This is a failure callout

> [!danger]
> This is a danger callout

> [!bug]
> This is a bug callout

> [!example]
> This is an example callout

> [!quote]
> This is a quote callout

Foldable callouts:

> [!note]- Collapsed by default
> Content here

> [!note]+ Expanded by default
> Content here

Tables

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| -------- | -------- | -------- |
| Row 1    | Data     | Data     |
| Row 2    | Data     | Data     |

# With alignment
| Left | Center | Right |
| :--- | :----: | ----: |
| Text | Text   | Text  |

Code Blocks

```python
def hello_world():
    print("Hello, World!")
```

```javascript
console.log("Hello, World!");
```

Block Quotes

> This is a block quote
> It can span multiple lines
>
> And have multiple paragraphs

Horizontal Rules

---
***
___

Footnotes

Here's a sentence with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote content.

Comments

%% This is a comment and won't be rendered %%

%%
Multi-line
comment
%%

Mathematical Expressions

Inline math:

$e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$

Block math:

$$
\int_{a}^{b} f(x) dx
$$

Diagrams (Mermaid)

```mermaid
graph TD
    A[Start] --> B[Process]
    B --> C[End]
```

Block IDs

This is a paragraph with a block ID. ^block-id

You can reference it with [[Note#^block-id]]

Wikilinks vs Markdown Links

Wikilinks (Obsidian-specific):

[[Note name]]
Easier to type
Automatically creates links to non-existent notes

Markdown links (Standard):

[Display text](path/to/note.md)
More portable across different systems
Requires exact path

Advanced Formatting Tips

Nested Formatting

**Bold text with *italic* inside**
*Italic text with ==highlight== inside*

Escape Characters

Use backslash to escape special characters:

\*Not italic\*
\[\[Not a link\]\]
\#Not a tag

Line Breaks

Use two spaces at the end of a line for a soft break
Use a blank line for a paragraph break

Combining Features

# Heading with #tag

- [ ] Task with [[internal link]]
- [x] Task with **bold** and *italic*

> [!tip] Callout with formatting
> You can use **bold**, *italic*, and `code` inside callouts.
> You can also include [[links]] and #tags.

Properties (Frontmatter)

Add metadata to your notes:

---
title: My Note
tags: [tag1, tag2]
author: Your Name
date: 2025-10-29
---

# Note content starts here

Canvas-Specific Features

When using Canvas view:

Drag and drop notes onto canvas
Create cards with text
Draw connections between notes
Group items with colors

Editing Keyboard Shortcuts

Common shortcuts (Windows/Linux | Mac):

Bold: Ctrl+B | Cmd+B
Italic: Ctrl+I | Cmd+I
Insert link: Ctrl+K | Cmd+K
Toggle checklist: Ctrl+L | Cmd+L
Search in note: Ctrl+F | Cmd+F
Open command palette: Ctrl+P | Cmd+P
Open quick switcher: Ctrl+O | Cmd+O

Best Practices

Use descriptive note names - Makes linking easier
Leverage tags - For quick filtering and organization
Use callouts - To highlight important information
Create MOCs - Maps of Content for organizing related notes
Use block IDs - For precise references to specific content
Consistent naming - Helps with autocomplete and searching
Use frontmatter - For metadata and dataview queries
Link liberally - Create connections between related ideas

Resources

Official Obsidian Help: https://help.obsidian.md/
Obsidian Forum: https://forum.obsidian.md/
Obsidian Discord: https://discord.gg/obsidianmd

Notes

Obsidian uses a variant of Markdown with extensions
Most standard Markdown syntax works in Obsidian
Some features (like callouts) are Obsidian-specific
Preview mode renders formatting, Edit mode shows raw markdown
Use Reading view for final formatted appearance

obsidian-editing