Quick Switcher++ for Obsidian

Find what you're looking for faster, using Quick Switcher++. An Obsidian.md plugin that extends the functionality of the builtin "Quick Switcher".

Features

• Find files by headings instead of filename
  • Configuration
• Navigate to symbols (Headings, Hashtags, Links, Embeddings) in your notes
  • Configuration
• Navigate between open editors, and side panels
  • Configuration
• Switch between configured Workspaces quickly
  • Configuration
• Global Commands for Hotkeys/Shortcuts

Demo

Search Headings: Launch Switcher++ using a shortcut, trigger Headings mode using the default # command, then enter the search text. Notice, different heading level matches are returned, along with Alias, Unresolved and regular filename matches.

Symbol Navigation: Launch Switcher++ using a shortcut, filter all files to find the Format your notes file, then trigger the symbol command (default @) to open the file directly to the External links section.

Editor Navigation: Launch Switcher++ directly into editor mode using a shortcut, filter the currently open editors to find the Format your notes editor and make it active. Then use Switcher++ again to open the backlinks side panel.

Search headings instead of filename

Find the file you're looking for by searching through the headings contained in the file, instead of only searching the filename. This mode can be configured to search a) strictly through only the first H1 header, fallback to filename search if there's no match with the H1, b) through all headers, and c) respect the builtin Quick Switcher settings Show existing only, Show attachments, and Show all file types. By default, this mode will display the first top 50 results.

Search headings configuration

Setting	Description	Default
Headings list mode trigger	Character that will trigger headings list mode in the switcher.	#
Show headings only	Enabled: strictly search through only the first H1 contained in the file. Disabled: if there is not a match in the first H1, fallback to search against the filename. This will also search through Aliases, and Unresolved links.	disabled
Search all headings	Enabled: search through all headings contained in the file. Disabled: only search through the first H1 in each file.	enabled
Exclude folders	List of folder path regex that will be used to exclude folders and their sub-directories from suggestion search. One per line.	None

Symbol Navigation (Headings, Hashtags, Links, Embeddings)

View, filter, and navigate to any symbol (Headings, Hashtags, Links, Embedding) in a file directly from the Quick Switcher.

For the currently open and focused pane: symbols can be viewed directly by using the Open in Symbol Mode global hotkey (see below).

For any other file (open or not): symbols can be viewed by opening Quick Switcher++, typing some characters to filter and/or using the arrow keys to select (highlight) the file of interest. Then, once the file of interest is selected/highlighted, type the @ (default) character to view the symbols for the file of interest.

Symbol Navigation Configuration

Setting	Description	Default
Symbol list mode trigger	Character that will trigger symbol list mode in the switcher.	@
List symbols as indented outline	Enabled: symbols will be displayed in the (line) order they appear in the source text, indented under any preceding heading. Disabled: symbols will be grouped by type: Headings, Tags, Links, Embeds.	enabled
Open Symbols in new pane	Enabled: always open a new pane when navigating to Symbols. Disabled: navigate in an already open pane (if one exists).	disabled
Open Symbols in active pane on mobile devices	Enabled: navigate to the target file and symbol in the active editor pane, in other words, don't create a new editor pane. Disabled: open a new pane when navigating to Symbols, even on mobile devices.	disabled
Auto-select nearest heading	Enabled: in an unfiltered symbol list, select the closest preceding Heading to the current cursor position. Disabled: the first symbol in the list is selected.	enabled
Show Headings	Enabled: display Headings in the symbol list. Disabled: don't show Headings in the symbol list	enabled
Show Tags	Enabled: display Tags in the symbol list. Disabled: don't show Tags in the symbol list	enabled
Show Embeds	Enabled: display Embeds in the symbol list. Disabled: don't show Embeds in the symbol list	enabled
Show Links	Enabled: display Links in the symbol list. When enabled, the following settings become visible to further refine which types of links are displayed, Links to headings, Links to blocks. Disabled: don't show Links in the symbol list	enabled
Links to headings	Enabled: display links that point to a header, e.g [[file#header]]. This setting is only visible when Show Links is enabled. Disabled: don't show Links to headers	enabled
Links to blocks	Enabled: display links that point to a block, e.g [[file#^blockid]]. This setting is only visible when Show Links is enabled. Disabled: don't show Links to blocks	enabled

Navigate between open editors

View, and filter all of the currently open editors, and navigate to any of them from Quick Switcher++ by using the default edt command. Note: Symbol search works in this mode as well, so you can use both modes together e.g. edt @. The default builtin Quick Switcher behavior is used when no commands are present.

Editors/views from the side panels can be configured to be displayed in the list as well. For example, you could use this to navigate to the backlinks, file explorer, tag pane, etc.. system views/panes directly from the Quick Switcher.

Editor Navigation Configuration

Setting	Description	Default
Editor list mode trigger	Character that will trigger editor list mode in the switcher.	edt
Include side panel views	Show the specified view types from the side panels in the switcher. Add one view type per line. Leave empty to never display side panel editors in the switcher.	backlink image markdown pdf

Switch Workspaces

View, filter, and switch between configured Workspaces quickly using the default + command.

Note: the built-in system Workspaces plugin must be enabled for this mode to work.

Workspace configuration

Setting	Description	Default
Workspace list mode trigger	Character that will trigger workspace list mode in the switcher.	+

Global Commands for Hotkeys

The following Global Commands are registered by the plugin, which can be used for global hotkeys/shortcuts.

• Quick Switcher++: Open
• Quick Switcher++: Open in Editor Mode
• Quick Switcher++: Open in Symbol Mode
• Quick Switcher++: Open in Workspaces Mode
• Quick Switcher++: Open in Headings Mode

Installation

From Obsidian

From Obsidian v0.9.10, this plugin can be activated from within Obsidian:

• Open Settings > Third-party plugin
• Make sure Safe mode is off
• Click Browse community plugins
• Search for "Quick Switcher++"
• Click the "Install" button
• Once installed, close the community plugins window
• Under the "Installed plugins" section, enable Quick Switcher++

From Github

• Download the Latest release distribution
• Extract the the contents of the distribution zip file to your vault's plugins folder: <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/ Note: On MacOs the .obsidian folder may be hidden by default.
• Reload Obsidian
• Open Settings, third-party plugins, make sure safe mode is off and enable "Quick Switcher++" from there.

Change Log

• See the releases page for changes in each release.

Notes

• This plugin very much experimental at the moment, use it at your own risk. It's only been tested on MacOS, other platforms may have issues.

Giving Thanks 🙏

If this project has been useful to you, give thanks to support its continued development and maintenance. Any contribution towards a cup of ☕ or 🍺 is greatly appreciated. Thank you!