Chapter 1: Introduction to Obsidian Templater Functions

Templates can be incredibly beneficial for improving your productivity and efficiency. They provide a ready-made structure and format that can help you conserve time and energy. While Obsidian offers a basic template plugin, the Templater community plugin is a more sophisticated and robust alternative.

This plugin empowers you to incorporate variables and functions into your notes, automating many manual tasks. This can lead to a highly effective workflow that streamlines your processes. In this article, we will explore some of the most valuable Templater functions available in Obsidian. The functions discussed will vary from basic to more complex, compiled from Templater's documentation, Reddit discussions, and the Obsidian Forum.

Subsection 1.2.1: Incorporating Visuals

Want to include a visual element in your notes? This function allows you to add a random image from the web:

Just a random picture: <% tp.web.random_picture() %>

Random picture with size: <% tp.web.random_picture("600x400") %>

Random picture with size + query: <% tp.web.random_picture("600x400", "mountains") %>

Chapter 2: Templater Functions for Daily Notes

These functions can automatically append dates to your daily notes and help navigate between yesterday's and tomorrow's entries, creating a seamless chain of links in the graph view. They can also simplify task queries.

Subsection 2.1.1: Future Daily Notes

If you want to create daily notes for future dates, utilize the note's title:

Today's date: <% moment(tp.file.title, "YYYY-MM-DD") %>

Yesterday's date: <% fileDate = moment(tp.file.title, 'YYYY-MM-DD').subtract(1, 'd').format('YYYY-MM-DD') %>

Tomorrow's date: <% fileDate = moment(tp.file.title, 'YYYY-MM-DD').add(1, 'd').format('YYYY-MM-DD') %>

Subsection 2.1.2: Day of the Year

To display the current day of the year, you can use:

<% moment(tp.file.title, 'YYYY-MM-DD').format("DDD[/365]") %>

Chapter 3: Templater Functions for Periodic Notes

These functions are perfect for crafting a structured periodic notes template in Obsidian.

Chapter 4: Advanced Templater Functions

These advanced functions will enhance your note-taking experience significantly.

Subsection 4.1.1: Callout Template

This function allows you to add a callout easily, saving time and effort.

Chapter 5: Enhancing Navigation with a Table of Contents

Navigating lengthy notes can be challenging, but this Templater function creates a table of contents linking to different sections of the note:

>[!SUMMARY]+ Table of Contents

<%*

// Code to generate TOC

Adding a Countdown Timer

This templater function can be used in your daily note to track important dates, simply define the date and event name, and it will display:

<%*

const eventDate = new Date('2023-05-05');

const now = new Date();

const diff = eventDate - now;

const days = Math.floor(diff / (1000 * 3600 * 24));

%><% days %> days until my event!

Chapter 6: Better Management of Kindle Highlights

If you read books outside of the Amazon store on your Kindle, managing highlights can be tricky. This function extracts your highlights and stores them in a new note.

<%*

const editor = this.app.workspace.activeLeaf?.view?.editor;

if(!editor) return;

// Code to extract highlights

%>

Creating a Basic Note Template

A basic note template can aid in organizing your thoughts effectively.

tags: basic, new

aliases: