Random list of pages

[f6cm]

I’d like to be able able to view a random list of pages, from a source. Ideally, I would be something like:

´´´dataview
LIST
FROM #Quotes
SORT RANDOM
LIMIT 5
´´´

Which would output a list of 5 random quotes.
I don’t think it’s already possible. Or maybe via dataviewjs ?

Thanks for this amazing plugin and the wonderful job you’re doing!

[blacksmithgu]

The tricky part about this is getting the right level of random - Dataview views internally refresh frequently, and during refreshes you probably don't want to see the list shuffle every time. Should random change every hour? Every day?

I'm planning on implementing this via a random(rowId, duration) function as well as a RANDOMIZE command.

[f6cm]

Good point!

What you suggested is certainly the best implementation, with a RANDOMIZE command and the ability to set a default cache duration.
I think it covers all the different needs people may have with this function.

Thanks!

[mediapathic]

I came to request this feature, but instead am adding a +1! For a use case, I'm wanting to use this to create a "writing inbox" query that presents me with a random order of things I can work on to avoid getting stuck.

Thank you!

EDIT: In discussing this with @AB1908 on the discord, they cooked up this dataviewjs query that works as a workaround for now. It seems to refresh in legacy editor when switching to reading view, but neither of us can figure out how to force a refresh in Live Preview in a sane way.

function shuffleArray(array) {
    for (var i = array.length - 1; i > 0; i--) {
        var j = Math.floor(Math.random() * (i + 1));
        var temp = array[i];
        array[i] = array[j];
        array[j] = temp;
    }
}

var results = dv.pages("#writinginbox or #to/expand")
                    .sort(page => page.file.mtime, "desc");
shuffleArray(results);
dv.table(
  ["File Size", "File"],
  results
    .map(page => [page.file.size, page.file.link])
);

[blacksmithgu]

You can force refreshes via dv.index.touch(), for what it's worth. If you also want something that only changes on a specific cadence (every hour, every day), you can use a fixed random seed.

[Jahteo]

Just wanted to add that came to add a FR & instead I'm impressed this is already on the docket with even better feature details planned. @blacksmithgu, you're fantastic!