Drag Bi-Link
LingXiFox64 downloadsLink existing text across split panes by dragging with Option or Alt and a configurable selection key.
- Overview
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Drag Bi-Link turns existing text in split Markdown editors into native Obsidian block links. Lock selections with a command and confirm them from a floating control, or keep using Option/Alt drag. It does not append a duplicate copy of the other block's text.
Requires Obsidian 1.8.7 or later.
Installation
After the plugin is accepted into the Obsidian community directory:
- Open Settings → Community plugins → Browse.
- Search for Drag Bi-Link, select it, and choose Install.
- Choose Enable.
For manual installation, download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest GitHub release and place them in <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/drag-biolink/.
To build from source, run npm install and npm run build, then copy those same three files to the plugin folder.
Usage
Anchor Glow
Anchor Glow is the default entry mode. Assign a hotkey to Drag Bi-Link: Lock/create link anchor under Settings → Hotkeys.
- Select existing text in the first Markdown editor and run the command. The exact selection locks and begins glowing as anchor A.
- Select text in another block and run the same command. Anchor B locks, and an animated line and control bar appear.
- Choose Bidirectional, choose the one-way action, or flip its direction between A → B and B → A before committing.
- Choose Cancel or press Escape at any time to remove the pending anchors without changing either note.
Locked ranges follow edits and scrolling until the link is confirmed. Closing an endpoint pane, switching it to Reading view, or deleting a locked range cancels the pending link safely.
Option/Alt drag
Enable Option/Alt drag or Both under Settings → Drag Bi-Link → Link creation entry to use the original gesture:
- Open two Markdown editors side by side and select the source text.
- Hold Option/Alt and drag from the source selection without releasing the mouse button.
- Move to the start of the target text and run Drag Bi-Link: Start selecting drag target while Option/Alt and the mouse button remain held.
- Continue dragging across the target text. Release the mouse to create the links.
Both commands are configured in one place: Settings → Hotkeys. Search for Drag Bi-Link, then assign bindings that do not conflict with your system or other plugins.
The settings page and Anchor Glow controls follow Obsidian's interface language. Chinese locales use Simplified Chinese labels; other locales fall back to English.
The line is dashed before target selection begins. Pressing the configured key adds a target marker, makes the line solid, and starts a native editor selection. The selected text on each side is replaced in place with a wikilink whose alias is that same text.
The glowing anchors and temporary lines are only pending-state feedback. No note content changes until an action is confirmed. The plugin then persists standard Obsidian block IDs and wikilinks, so backlinks, graph view, and Cmd/Ctrl-click navigation keep using Obsidian's native behavior.
Link directions
- Bidirectional: both existing text selections become links to each other.
- A → B / Forward: only the first selection becomes a link to the second block. Obsidian still shows it as a backlink on the target.
- B → A / Backward: only the second selection becomes a link to the first block.
Known limitations
- Desktop only.
- macOS uses Option; Windows and Linux use Alt. Obsidian's native Hotkeys page handles customization and conflict reporting.
- Source mode and Live Preview only; Reading view is not supported.
- Each text selection must stay on one line and inside one Markdown block.
- Links target whole Markdown blocks because Obsidian does not support character-level block anchors.
- The selected words are clickable aliases, but the native target remains the containing block.
- Pending lines disappear after commit or cancellation; persistent diagram-style lines are not part of the current release.
Roadmap
- Reading view as a drag source and target.
- Persistent diagram-style links after commit.
- More precise anchoring if Obsidian gains native character-level anchors.
Privacy
Drag Bi-Link works entirely within Obsidian. It does not make network requests, collect telemetry, or access files outside the vault.