Property Over File Name

Search, display, and insert notes using a specified note property instead of the file name.

Particularly helpful when used in conjunction with Astro Composer Obsidian plugin.

Made for Vault CMS

Part of the Vault CMS project.

Features

• Displays property (like title) in link suggester, quick switcher, graph view, tab titles, backlinks, bookmarks, window frame, and file explorer.
• Supports creating new notes via link suggester and quick switcher.
• Configurable to include file names and aliases in fuzzy searches.
• Simple search toggle for larger vaults.
• Works when dragging notes from file explorer into a note.
• Folder note file name support.

Installation

Property Over File Name is not yet available in the Community plugins section. Install using BRAT or manually:

BRAT

1. Download the Beta Reviewers Auto-update Tester (BRAT) plugin from the Obsidian community plugins directory and enable it.
2. In the BRAT plugin settings, select Add beta plugin.
3. Paste the following: https://github.com/davidvkimball/obsidian-property-over-file-name and select Add plugin.

Manual

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page and navigate to your Obsidian vault's .obsidian/plugins/ directory.
2. Create a new folder called property-over-file-name and ensure manifest.json and main.js are in there.
3. In Obsidian, go to Settings > Community plugins (enable it if you haven't already) and then enable "Property Over File Name."

Usage

• Link Suggester: Type [[ to see suggestions based on the title property (or configured property). Select a note to insert a link (e.g., [[file name|Title]] or [Title](path) for Markdown links).
• Quick Switcher: Press Ctrl+O to search notes by title (or file name/aliases if enabled). Select to open or create a note.
• Settings: Go to Settings → Property Over File Name.
  • Property key: Set the property for titles (default: title).
  • When linking notes: Enable/disable property-based titles in link suggester.
  • In Quick Switcher: Enable/disable property-based titles in Quick Switcher.
  • In tab titles: Enable/disable property-based titles in tab headers.
  • In graph view: Enable/disable property-based titles in graph view.
  • In backlinks: Enable/disable property-based titles in backlinks panel.
  • In bookmarks: Enable/disable property-based titles in bookmarks.
  • In window frame: Enable/disable property-based titles in window title bar.
  • In file explorer: Enable/disable property-based titles in file explorer.
  • Drag-and-drop: Enable/disable property-based titles when dragging notes from file explorer.
  • Include file name in fuzzy searches: Include note file names in search results.
  • Include aliases in fuzzy searches: Include aliases property in search results.
  • Use simple search: Toggle simple search mode for larger vaults.
  • Enable MDX support: Enable property display for .mdx files.
  • Folder note filename: Specify filename pattern for folder notes.

Example Note

---
title: My Custom Title
aliases: [Alias1, Alias2]
---
Content...

• File name: note.md
• Link suggester shows My Custom Title; searchable by My Custom Title, note (if file name search enabled), or Alias1/Alias2 (if alias search enabled).
• Quick switcher shows My Custom Title (note) (if file name differs and search enabled).
• Graph view, backlinks, tab titles, window frame, and file explorer show "My Custom Title" instead of "note.md" (when enabled).

Development

• Build: npm install && npm run build
• Test: Copy main.js, manifest.json, and styles/css to plugin folder, reload Obsidian.
• Issues: Check console (Ctrl+Shift+I) for errors.

Credits

The tab renaming functionality is adapted from the Title-only Tab plugin by tristone13th, which is licensed under MIT. The code has been modified to integrate with this plugin and use the user-defined property key setting instead of the hardcoded "title" property.

The backlink service (for embedded backlinks, backlinks panel, and outgoing links), explorer service (for file explorer with folder note support), and window frame service (for browser window title bar) are adapted from the Front Matter Title plugin by snezhig. The code has been modified to integrate with this plugin and use the user-defined property key setting instead of the hardcoded "title" property.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

See LICENSE for the full license text.