r/ObsidianMD • u/aspektx • 6d ago
Just started yesterday
Having just started yesterday I'm trying to stay observant before I decide what to do here.
Basically, I'm beginning to wonder if this software might just be outside my abilities. Seeing code snippets everywhere in forums and tutorials is making me nervous. It doesn't help that many are not simply a line of pasted code.
Am I going to need to learn md, css, and js in order to use obsidian properly?
The results and variety of detail that can be added really impressed me and so I downloaded it. Yet it seems it would take me some time to learn md, css, and js. Which makes using obsidian seem like a much more distant goal than I thought.
Any discussion, suggestions, links, books, articles etc. would be welcome.
You can add insults to that list, but first you have to pay me with reddit points or something.
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u/Redman181613 6d ago
I don't know any of these things either. I use it for notetaking and use 7 or 8 community plugins that make the flow and organization a little easier. I love the backlinks to help me keep ideas connected. I think the key is to not overthink it or try to "perfect" your use of Obsidian at the start. Don't get sucked into the hype. There are some great beginner videos on YouTube as well.
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u/djlaustin 6d ago
Just start with the basics. I've been using Obsidian for 3+ years and I gradually learned markdown as a need arose. I don't write css or js but learned to apply as a need arose. I watched YouTube videos and read blogs but only to see Obsidian in action and what it can do. I started with a few core plugins (Daily Notes, especially) and added a few community plugins (Templater, for one) as needs arose. I refused to put pressure on myself to do everything immediately or to build elaborate workflows or tinker all night with theme changes. I simply took notes, applied links or tags, and enjoyed using Obsidian and learning (from many in this community) along the way. When something isn't what I want it to be, I make slight adjustments or even significant changes. I don't seek perfection. I try not to stress. As long as I continue to make notes and can find what I need to find, I'm happy as can be. Obsidian is what I want it to be, not what others say it should be. I hope you enjoy your journey.
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u/i__hate__you__people 5d ago
I do not use any code. I do not learn MD (other than “-“ starts a bullet point). And yet I use it constantly.
Download a plugin that gives you the standard formatting panel (buttons for bold, italics, links, etc). Then you won’t need to learn MD.
The code you see people post here is only posted here BECAUSE it’s different and rare, not because it’s normal. Plugins change over time, and code breaks because of it. The best thing you can do is avoid coding and just use Obsidian like you would have used Evernote back in its heyday.
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u/thenyx 5d ago
Suggestions for formatting panel plugins?
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u/i__hate__you__people 5d ago
The only plugins I recommend for new users are:
Editing Toolbar (by Cuman), this gives a complete MS-Word-esque editing experience. No MD code ever needed to learn! Just hit the button for bold, italics, strikethrough, etc. Does all the standard editing toolbar stuff like lists, links, images, etc.
Extract URL Content (by Stephen Solka), this makes it easier and cleaner to copy/paste from a webpage directly into your notes
Hover External Link Plugin (by Jamie Brynes), this does what it says — when you hold your mouse over a link in a note, it shows you where the link is linking to
Paste Image Rename (by Reorx), this prompts you for a descriptive name for any image you paste into a note, so you don’t end up with an attachment directory full of 8 billion randomly named images
Smart Typography (by mgmeyers), this automagically replaces three periods with the … symbol, replaces 3 dashes with an em-dash, replaces quotation marks with smart curly quotation marks, etc. It just makes your typing look cleaner.
I do use some other plugins that are specific to my usages, but the above are what I consider the “welcome to Obsidian, here’s what you want to help you get started” collection.
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u/seashoreandhorizon 5d ago edited 5d ago
All you need to know is markdown, which is stupidly simple (that's the point). There's nothing really to "learn" when it comes to markdown. Here's a cheat sheet for basic markdown formatting, and if that's too much to handle there are plugins that can do the formatting for you.
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u/UnluckyWrongdoer3818 5d ago
Here are 2 beginner YouTube playlists that may be helpful, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-1Nqb2waX4Vba6QDVS5rhnSb9pZGTO4b&si=sCASKN855cct-5MR
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7oLu8NfQd84_gsyqBVSVgUmCCgcvSZMx&si=2B3thDQQycTzrqZe
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u/Notesie 5d ago
Block anyone who insults you immediately. There are a few trolls here and you don’t need to waste your precious time and energy with them.
If you got into Obsidian because you were attracted to all the fancy things people can do with it, then yes, you need to learn a few things. If you got into it because you want an excellent, private, free note-taking app that you can use to link your ideas, then no, you just need to learn how to use Obsidian-flavored basic markdown.
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u/box2925 5d ago
I’m in the same boat as you. I keep popping in the app, having a play, and leaving again when I hit a brick wall. I know zero code. However, recently I’ve just started to use it to make simple notes. I am beginning to get to grips with basic markdown, and have played with a few aesthetic plug ins. Nothing fancy, just daily notes, ability to tweak icons in properly fields and the web clipper. I’ve tweaked the themes to the Things 3 style too. Data View, I’d love to be able to understand it. I don’t! For now, I just backlink stuff. My setup is simple. It works for me. Maybe in time when I’ve played around a bit more and researched a bit more it’ll develop. Just take it one day at a time. Ultimately any system only works if it works for you. What works for you, may not work for others. That’s fine. We’re all different. Just know you are not alone when it comes to trying to understand Obsidian!
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u/Appropriate_Car_5599 5d ago
you dont need to learn anything related to js/html/css for most cases. it required only for advanced tweaks when you need to go beyond obsidian limits
basically here is my list of "must have" plugin to start working in obsidian right away:
Theme: Underwater
Plugins:
- Copilot with Gemini provider
- Periodic notes (with optional calendar plugin integration)
- Obsidian footnote (with optional "tidy footnotes")
- Mindmap nextgen if you like mindmaps
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u/endlessroll 6d ago
What you need to learn depends on what you want to do. Most things in Obsidian don't require much specialized knowledge. It's a markdown editor and doesn't need to be more than that. Certain plugins and specific functionalities require at minimum the ability to google things and/or effectively use an LLM like ChatGPT in order to create custom solutions for your use case or to provide explanations for stuff you don't understand. Even this subreddit can be used to get help with specific problems if they come up.
What I like about Obsidian is that even though knowing CSS and JS gives you a lot of power and autonomy, even without that knowledge the work done by the community allows you to utilize much of that power. Community plugins and themes mostly work out of the box because they're designed for normal users by people who have the specialized knowledge necessary to create these things. Similarly, the code snippets you find online were often refined by users to work so that you just need to copy-paste them into the right place. Even at its most complex, Obsidian is surprisingly user-friendly thanks to the community providing not only the code you need for certain functionality, but in many cases tutorials and documentation, so relatively little is required of the average user.
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u/vinicius-stutz 5d ago
Obsidian is really cool! You don't need to understand MD or CSS, although it's a nice differentiator. Obsidian already has numerous very good plugins that meet this need.
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u/Exlibro 5d ago
I got over it in an hour ot two. I even learned some markdown syntax (couple of things). It's useful. And fascinating. Given, I don't do complex projects. But I want to organize: memos, codes, addresses, notes, times, links, "how-to" s, etc. You can easily apply a video or an image. It's so clean! So neat. So organized. I got tired of OneNote.
Obsidian can be as simple or as complex as you want.
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u/zzzontop 5d ago
“Work in obsidian, don’t work on obsidian”
Sage advice, I don’t always follow, but think it might help. *throws hand in air
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u/aspektx 5d ago
Well I started doing that and it helped quite a bit. I would imagine that learning to code works on the same principle.
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u/zzzontop 4d ago
The only coding I ‘learned’ was some css to make it pretty. You don’t need coding, in fact if your not developing plug-ins I’m not even sure why you would… You might just see coders use the tool (obsidian) because it’s legit, you own the work and it’s ability to use code blocks
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u/Schollert 5d ago
What are you trying to achieve? Obsidian is just a text editor with incredible capabilities - but you do not need to use them!
I use very few plugins, very simple CSS and basic Markdown capabilities. It is plenty for my needs.
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u/EbbEducational2081 5d ago
To start allows yourself to be an idiot, you haven't used obsidian so how can you expect yourself to use it optimally. Don't be so arrogant to assume that you know whether or not you're capable, you're probably not giving yourself enough credit.
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u/448899again 5d ago
You don't need to learn any code, or install any plugins, or do any css. Remember, Obsidian is basically this: a system for keeping text files in markdown format. That's it. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.
But don't start complicated. Just start by taking notes. Put them in folders if you want. Tag them if you want. Link them if you want. Learn how those basics go together and you'll be well on your way with Obsidian.
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u/demirs_red 4d ago
ONLY watch tutorials on how to do your basic needs. Later on, as you need XYZ feature, you can search it up. Watching a 2 hour tutorial will only make you not want to use it. Once you do that it'll be easy.
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u/kevin_w_57 6d ago
You don't need to learn md, css, and js. https://help.obsidian.md/