gr0grig_obsidian-virt-folder/docs/settings.md

Settings

Open plugin settings via Settings > Community plugins > VirtFolder.

YAML Properties

YAML for note's folders

The frontmatter property name used to store parent links.

• Default: Folders
• Validation: Letters (unicode), numbers, minus, underscore, dots
• Example: Setting this to Parents means the plugin reads/writes:

  Parents:
    - "[[SomeNote]]"
  

Changing this rescans the entire vault with the new property name.

YAML for note's title

The frontmatter property used as the display title in the tree and commands.

• Default: empty (uses filename)
• Validation: Same as above, or empty
• Example: Setting this to title means a note with:

  title: "My Custom Name"
  

  displays as "My Custom Name" instead of the filename.

If the property value is an array, the first string element is used.

YAML for note's icon

The frontmatter property used to store emoji icons.

• Default: vf_icon
• Validation: Same as above

Display

Use title in commands

When enabled, command modals (file selectors) display note titles instead of filenames.

• Default: Off

Sorting

Controls the sort order of children within each parent node.

• Default: file_name
• Options:
  • file_name — Alphabetical by filename
  • note_title — Alphabetical by display title
  • creation_time — By file creation date
  • modification_time — By last modification date
  • custom — Manual order set via drag-and-drop reordering

Pinned notes always appear first, regardless of sort mode.

Reverse sort order

Reverses the selected sort order (does not apply to custom mode).

• Default: Off

Filtering

List of ignored paths

Notes within these paths are completely excluded from the tree. Enter one path per line. Each line is matched as a prefix.

• Default: empty
• Example:

  Templates/
  Archive/old
  

  This hides all notes in Templates/ and any path starting with Archive/old.

List of ignored tags

Notes with any of these tags are hidden from the entire tree — including root notes, sub-notes, and orphans. Enter one tag per line. The # prefix is optional.

• Default: empty
• Example:

  fleeting
  #daily
  

  This hides all notes tagged with #fleeting or #daily.

Tags are matched against both inline tags in the note body and YAML frontmatter tags.

Ignored files

A read-only counter showing how many files are currently excluded by path and tag filters. This updates in real time as you modify the filter lists.

Link Format

Use WikiLinks in YAML

Controls the link format written to frontmatter when adding parent links.

• Default: On (WikiLinks)
• On: [[NoteName]]
• Off: [NoteName](NoteName)

This only affects newly written links. Existing links in either format are always readable.

Use string for single folder link

When enabled, the folder property is written as a plain string instead of a YAML list when a note has only one parent.

• Default: Off
• Off (list format):

  Folders:
    - "[[Parent]]"
  

• On (string format):

  Folders: "[[Parent]]"
  

When a second parent is added, the property automatically converts to a list. When a parent is removed leaving one, it converts back to a string. This is useful for Dataview/Base queries where you want a consistent string type.

Behavior

Confirm before deleting

Shows a confirmation dialog before deleting notes from the tree.

• Default: On

When enabled, both "Delete note" and "Delete with children" actions require confirmation. When disabled, notes are deleted immediately (moved to trash).

Auto reveal active file

Automatically expands the tree and scrolls to show the currently open file whenever you switch notes.

• Default: Off

When enabled, opening any markdown file will trigger the tree to navigate to and highlight that file. This is equivalent to manually running the Reveal file command each time you open a note.

Expose frontmatter as data attributes

When enabled, all frontmatter properties of each note are added as data-* HTML attributes on tree items. This allows styling notes with CSS snippets based on any frontmatter property.

• Default: Off

For example, a note with:

dg-published: true
status: draft
tags: [important, review]

renders its tree item with attributes data-dg-published="true", data-status="draft", data-tags="important,review".

You can then create a CSS snippet in Obsidian to style matching items:

.tree-item-self[data-dg-published="true"] {
    border-left: 3px solid green;
}
.tree-item-self[data-status="draft"] {
    opacity: 0.6;
}

Property names are lowercased. Array values are joined with commas. Objects and the internal position key are excluded.

Tag Highlights

Configure color-coded backgrounds for notes based on their tags. This provides quick visual cues when scanning the tree — similar to syntax highlighting when reading code.

Adding a tag highlight

1. Type a tag name in the input field (e.g., #important or important — the # is added automatically)
2. Press Enter to add it

Configuring highlights

Each tag entry has:

• Color picker — choose the highlight color
• Opacity slider — set intensity from 5% to 100% (step: 5%)
• Delete button (trash icon) — remove the highlight

When a note has multiple matching tags, the first match in the list wins (order = priority). The highlight is hidden on the currently active note so the active-note indicator remains visible.