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Notebook Navigator roadmap

Updated October 26, 2025

Features that will not be added

Core Architecture

• Mixed folders and files in same pane - Will not implement built-in explorer style mixing. Use Shortcuts for pinning specific files
• Monkey-patching or DOM-hacks - No features that hack into the Obsidian editor internals
• Excalidraw previews - Not technically feasible without Excalidraw plugin saving PNGs. Contact Excalidraw author for support

Navigation Pane

• Show files in the .trash folder - There are many reasons for not showing a "🗑️ Trash" folder in Notebook Navigator. Files in Obsidian trash folder are not TFile / TFolder references and has to be read like an external folder. This means we will receive no file update events from Obsidian and have to manage everything within this folder manually. If Obsidian in the future adds support for the .trash folder to the Vault so files in it are indexed and events are firing then it would be extremely simple to add a "🗑️ Trash" folder to view and undelete files.

List Pane

• Custom file sort order - Please see this post for details: https://github.com/johansan/notebook-navigator/issues/464. The main reasons for not adding custom sort order is (1) it will bloat the settings file since would have to save every sorted folder to the synced data.json file, and (2) it would decrease performance since it would add an extra layer between Obsidian and Notebook Navigator views.

Obsidian Editor Integration (Out of Scope)

• Show NN tag colors in Obsidian editor tags
• Sync editor tag colors with Notebook Navigator
• Hook into Obsidian breadcrumbs for NN navigation
• Make Obsidian breadcrumbs open Notebook Navigator
• Click tag in editor to reveal in Notebook Navigator

Navigation Pane

Folders

• Organization
  • Add divider/separator lines between folders
  • Visual separators for grouping folders
  • Multi-select support for folders
  • Color-based folder filtering system
  • Add "Auto Collapse Folder" mode for folder navigation
• Sorting & Display
  • Default sorting settings for top-level and sub-folders
  • Search/filter folders in navigation pane
  • Show tag count next to Tags and Favorites sections
• Commands
  • Add duplicate folder command
  • Add rename folder command

Folder Notes

• Display Options
  • Show folder notes in subfolders when descendants is off
  • Support folder notes in parent folder location

Tags

• Tag Management
  • Rename tag functionality
  • Delete tag functionality
  • Multi-tag selection in tag pane
  • Create note inside a tag (like folder creation)
• Tag Navigation
  • Tag filtering tree in list pane
  • Allow tag selection to filter current folder view
• Plugin Integration
  • Tag Wrangler plugin integration for tag notes and operations
  • Re-use code from Tags Overview plugin

Shortcuts

• Shortcuts Section
  • Add small clickable icon links in shortcuts section

Smart Folders / Bases (Third Context Type)

• Saved Searches & Dynamic Views
  • Bases/Smart Folders like Apple Notes (saved searches)
  • Bases views visible under each base in navigation
  • Property-based navigation system
  • Interactive pane for connections/wikilinks/tags

Visual & Behavior

• Icons
  • Custom icons from SVG images
  • Import custom SVG icons
  • Add Dashboard Icons pack
  • Add selfhst/icons pack
• Other Features
  • Show note preview on hover (like built-in explorer)
  • Open with external program menu option
  • Undo move and tag changes with Ctrl+Z
  • Optional section showing currently open notes

List Pane

File Display

• Quick Links (Hover Actions)
  • Vertical or alternative display layouts for quick links
• Preview & Appearance
  • Ignore first line in note text preview
  • Omit HTML tags in text previews
  • Customizable height for file preview cards
  • Large & Medium thumbnail view options
  • Render image previews from URL properties
  • Auto-icons for certain note types
• File Information
  • Display file size in list pane
  • Global setting for SLIM appearance default

File Management

• Sorting
  • Manual file sorting (drag and drop)
  • Manual sort in subfolders/favorites/notes
• Navigation
  • Remember last selected file for each folder
  • Prevent already open file from opening in new tab
  • Keyboard navigation - open notes with ENTER

Search & Filtering

• Tag Filtering
  • Filter by tags in current note command
  • Better tag filtering like Bear app
  • File filter button in list pane toolbar
• Search Integration
  • Send note to Obsidian search plugin

Visual Features

• Interactive Elements
  • Make wikilinks in preview text clickable
  • Show page preview on hover

Overall Interface

Layout Options

• Pane Layout
  • Flip dual panel layout (folder pane on right)
  • Auto-hide list pane when clicking main view
• Toolbar & Controls
  • Show/hide/rearrange toolbar buttons

Banner & Themes

• Banner
  • Dynamic banner from note/folder property
  • Command to toggle banner on/off
• Colors & Themes
  • RGBA value input fields (R, G, B, A)
  • Make text font size themable

Startup & Navigation

• Startup Options
  • Always start in specific folder or root

Commands & Keyboard

Keyboard Navigation

• Vim keybindings for navigation/file manipulation

Plugin Integration

API Development

• Expose API for folder sorting providers
• Add Excalidraw featured image support

Third-Party Plugin Support

• Hover Editor plugin hooks (CMD preview/float editor)
• Supercharged Links plugin compatibility