sophokles187_data-cards/docs/features/dynamic-updates.md

Dynamic Updates

DataCards can automatically update when your note properties change, providing a real-time view of your data.

Enabling Dynamic Updates

By default, cards are not automatically updated when you change your notes. You need to enable dynamic updates explicitly.

For a Specific Card Block

Add the dynamicUpdate setting to your DataCards code block:

TABLE file.link, author, rating, genre, cover FROM #books
SORT rating DESC

// Settings
preset: portrait
imageProperty: cover
dynamicUpdate: true

Globally in Plugin Settings

To enable dynamic updates for all DataCards blocks:

1. Open Obsidian Settings
2. Go to the DataCards plugin settings
3. Enable "Dynamic Updates"
4. Optionally adjust the update interval

How Dynamic Updates Work

When dynamic updates are enabled:

1. DataCards monitors changes to notes that match your query
2. When a relevant property changes, the cards are automatically refreshed
3. Only the affected cards are updated, not the entire display

Update Triggers

Cards will update when:

• You modify a property in a note's frontmatter
• You add or remove a tag that affects the query results
• You create or delete a note that matches the query
• You manually trigger a refresh

Manual Refresh

You can manually refresh your cards at any time:

1. Command palette: "DataCards: Refresh DataCards in active view"
2. Right-click on a DataCards block and select "Refresh DataCards"

Update Interval

Control how frequently DataCards checks for updates:

updateInterval: 5000  // Check every 5 seconds (in milliseconds)

The default interval is 2000ms (2 seconds).

Performance Considerations

Dynamic updates can impact performance, especially with:

• Large numbers of notes
• Complex queries
• Frequent updates

To optimize performance:

• Use specific queries that match fewer notes
• Increase the update interval
• Only enable dynamic updates where needed

Examples

Task Tracker with Dynamic Updates

TABLE file.link as "Task", status, priority, dueDate FROM #tasks
WHERE status != "Completed"
SORT dueDate ASC

// Settings
preset: grid
dynamicUpdate: true
updateInterval: 3000

Reading Progress Tracker

TABLE file.link as "Book", author, progress, cover FROM #books
WHERE status = "Reading"
SORT progress DESC

// Settings
preset: portrait
imageProperty: cover
dynamicUpdate: true

Project Dashboard

TABLE file.link as "Project", status, team, deadline FROM #projects
SORT deadline ASC

// Settings
preset: compact
dynamicUpdate: true
conditionalFormatting: {
  "status": [
    { "condition": "= 'Completed'", "color": "#4CAF50" },
    { "condition": "= 'In Progress'", "color": "#FFC107" },
    { "condition": "= 'Not Started'", "color": "#F44336" }
  ]
}

Troubleshooting

If dynamic updates aren't working:

• Verify that dynamicUpdate: true is set
• Check that you're in preview mode, not edit mode
• Make sure the Dataview plugin is up to date
• Try increasing the updateInterval value
• Check the console for any error messages