OneNote Like Navigator
kopfkino18 downloadsBrowse real folders as notebooks with compact navigation, optional folder trees, wrapped titles, and direct file management.
- Overview
- Scorecard
- Updates2
简体中文 · Install · Releases / changes · Report an issue
An Obsidian plugin for OneNote-style navigation through your existing folders and notes.
Switch notebooks without displaying the entire vault tree. By default, entering a folder shows only its immediate subfolders on the left and direct notes on the right. Long names wrap, and deeper folders do not add columns.
Interface language: Simplified Chinese. English labels below are translations for reference, not alternate commands available in the plugin. Use the Chinese text when searching the command palette.
Features
- Top-level folders automatically become notebooks; no per-notebook configuration.
- Single-level navigation by default, with an optional expandable folder tree and folder focus.
- Create, rename, move, reorder, and trash real files directly.
- Open notes in a new foreground tab by default, or reuse the current tab.
- Remember browsing state per notebook. Folder changes made in Obsidian update the navigation.
Installation
Requires Obsidian 1.7.2+. Mobile/touch behavior has not yet been tested on physical devices.
Community plugins
Open the official directory listing and choose Add to Obsidian. Alternatively, open Settings → Community plugins → Browse, search for OneNote Like Navigator, then install and enable it.
The directory and GitHub may show different versions while a release is being processed. Check the version shown before installing; use the manual method if you need a newer GitHub release.
Manual installation or update
- Download
main.js,manifest.json, andstyles.cssfrom the latest release, not the source-code ZIP. - Create
<vault>/.obsidian/plugins/onenote-like-navigator/and place the three files directly inside it. - Reload Obsidian and enable OneNote Like Navigator in Settings → Community plugins.
When updating manually, disable the plugin, replace only those three files, and reload/enable it. Preserve data.json to keep settings and ordering. No build step, account, or subscription is needed for release files.
Quick start
- Click the square notebook ribbon icon, or run OneNote Like Navigator: 打开笔记本导航 (Open notebook navigator) in the command palette.
- Click the notebook name at the top to switch notebooks.
- Click a folder: the left pane shows its immediate subfolders and the right pane shows its direct notes. Click a note to open it; use the back arrow to go up.
本层页面 (Pages in this folder) is selected automatically when you enter a folder. It is an entry for the direct-note list, not a generated Markdown file. Entering a folder does not automatically open its first note.
Commands and interface labels
Command palette entries use the prefix OneNote Like Navigator:. No global hotkeys are assigned by default; assign your own in Settings → Hotkeys.
| Chinese label | English meaning | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 打开笔记本导航 | Open notebook navigator | Command palette |
| 切换笔记本 | Switch notebook | Command palette |
| 定位当前笔记 | Reveal current note | Command palette |
| 在当前分区新建笔记 | Create a note in the current section | Command palette |
| 本层页面 | Pages in this folder | Navigator |
| 聚焦此文件夹 | Focus this folder | Folder context menu |
| 退出聚焦 | Exit focus | Navigator while focused |
| 移动到… | Move to… | Context menu |
| 移入回收站… | Move to trash… | Context menu |
Settings
| Setting (Chinese label and translation) | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 显示完整目录树 (Show full folder tree) | Off | Show only direct child folders; enable for a nested tree. |
| 在新标签页打开并置于前台 (Open in a new foreground tab) | On | Create and activate a new tab; disable to reuse the current tab. Opening a new tab does not change the order of existing tabs or move it to the leftmost position. |
| 启动时打开笔记本导航 (Open on startup) | On | Reveal the navigator in the left sidebar. |
| 显示附件 (Show attachments) | Off | Show Markdown notes only; enable to include other files. |
| 恢复隐藏的笔记本入口 (Restore hidden notebooks) | Action | Click 显示全部 (Show all) to restore hidden notebook entries. |
In tree mode, clicking a folder selects and expands it; clicking its triangle only expands or collapses it. Right-click → 聚焦此文件夹 (Focus this folder) limits navigation to that folder. 退出聚焦 (Exit focus) restores the previous navigation state. Hiding a notebook entry does not delete its folder.
File operations and keyboard controls
Keyboard controls below apply when a folder or note button in the navigator has keyboard focus, not while typing in the editor or search box.
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Create | Corresponding + button or context menu. |
| Rename | Context menu or F2. |
| Reorder siblings | Drag to a row's top/bottom edge, or press Alt + ↑/↓. |
| Move into a folder | Drop on the folder row's center. |
| Move to the parent | Drop on the top back-arrow button. |
| Move across notebooks | Context menu → 移动到… (Move to…), then search for a destination folder. |
| Delete | Context menu or Delete; confirm to move to the vault's .trash. Deleting a folder includes its contents. |
| Navigate within a list | ↑/↓ for previous/next; Home/End for first/last. |
| Enter or go back from a folder | → enters/selects; ← collapses an expanded tree row, otherwise selects its parent. |
Sorting changes this navigator's order, not filenames or the native file explorer's order.
Related plugins
These are different navigation approaches, not an exhaustive feature ranking. Facts below come from the linked project documentation, checked on 2026-11-13.
| Plugin | Documented approach |
|---|---|
| OneNote Like Navigator | Top-level folders as notebooks; immediate subfolders left and direct notes right by default. Real-file management without configuring each notebook. |
| Notebook Navigator | Dual-pane browsing with folders, tags, properties, previews, keyboard navigation, and manual ordering. |
| Fluent OneNote | Notebook/section/page navigation in a popup or sidebar; configurable root folder, folder-note subpages, and drag reordering/moves. |
Real-folder navigation and file management are not exclusive to this plugin. Its focus is a compact, single-level workflow that follows your existing folder hierarchy.
Privacy and data
- Runs locally, with no plugin network requests, analytics, ads, accounts, or payments.
- Uses Obsidian APIs to manage files in the current vault.
- Saves ordering and browsing preferences in plugin
data.json, not note bodies or frontmatter. - See the FAQ for deletion, link updates, settings, and uninstall behavior.
Limitations
- No virtual page/subpage hierarchy, multi-select batch management, or OneNote file import/conversion.
- External renames while Obsidian is closed may lose old ordering or browsing associations.
- Below 280 px sidebar width, the panes stack vertically. Deep tree indentation is capped and marked with level numbers.
- Desktop logic and browser-rendered interactions have been tested; physical mobile/touch testing is incomplete.
- The UI is currently Chinese only; this English guide does not add English localization.
Development and contributing
Requires Node.js 20+ and npm. Clone the repository and run these commands from its root:
npm ci
npm run build
npm test
npm ci installs from the committed lockfile for reproducible setup. Use npm install when deliberately changing dependencies, and commit the updated lockfile. The project currently has no third-party package dependencies.
Source lives in src/; the build generates root main.js. Tests use an in-memory Obsidian adapter, not a real vault. CI checks tests and that committed main.js matches the build. See CONTRIBUTING.md for branch, commit, PR, and translation requirements.
Feedback and license
Report your OS, Obsidian version, plugin version, and reproduction steps in Issues. Use sample folders instead of private notes. See Releases for published versions and changes.
Released under the MIT license. OneNote is a Microsoft trademark. This independent project is not affiliated with Microsoft or Obsidian.