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Version: Next 🚧

Capture

Allows to quickly capture your input and save it from anywhere in Obsidian, without leaving your current window setup e.g.

  • Add messages to your work log
  • Save interesting links for later reading and watching
  • Individually timed notes in Daily notes file

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Capture To​

Capture To is the name of the file you are capturing to. You can choose to either enable Capture to active file, or you can enter a file name in the File Name input field.

QuickAdd treats file names as basename-first by default:

  • If you do not provide an extension, QuickAdd creates/targets a Markdown file (.md).
  • If you provide an explicit supported extension (for example .md or .canvas), QuickAdd keeps that extension.
  • Capture to .base files is not supported. Use a Template choice for .base workflows.

This field also supports the format syntax, which allows you to use dynamic file names. I have one for my daily journal with the name bins/daily/{{DATE:gggg-MM-DD - ddd MMM D}}.md. This automatically finds the file for the day, and whatever I enter will be captured to it.

Capturing to folders​

You can also type a folder name into the Capture To field, and QuickAdd will ask you which file in the folder you'd like to capture to. This also supports the format syntax. You can even write a filename in the suggester that opens, and it will create the file for you - assuming you have the Create file if it doesn't exist setting enabled.

For example, you might have a folder called CRM/people. In this folder, you have a note for the people in your life. You can type CRM/people in the Capture To field, and QuickAdd will ask you which file to capture to. You can then type John Doe in the suggester, and QuickAdd will create a file called John Doe.md in the CRM/people folder.

You could also write nothing - or / - in the Capture To field. This will open the suggester with all of your files in it, and you can select or type the name of the file you want to capture to. Paths are vault-relative. A leading / is ignored (except a lone /, which opens the file picker for the whole vault).

Capturing to a folder will show all files in that folder. This means that files in nested folders will also appear.

Capturing to tags​

Similarly, you can type a tag name in the Capture To field, and QuickAdd will ask you which file to capture to, assuming the file has the tag you specify.

If you have a tag called #people, and you type #people in the Capture To field, QuickAdd will ask you which file to capture to, assuming the file has the #people tag.

Capture Options​

  • Create file if it doesn't exist will do as the name implies - you can also create the file from a template, if you specify the template (the input box will appear below the setting).

  • Task will format your captured text as a task.

  • Use editor selection as default value controls whether the current editor selection is used as {{VALUE}}. Choose Follow global setting, Use selection, or Ignore selection (global default lives in Settings > Input). This does not affect {{SELECTED}}.

  • Write position controls where Capture writes: top, bottom, after line, and active-file cursor modes.

  • Append link will append a link to the file you have open in the file you're capturing to. You can choose between three modes:

    • Enabled (requires active file) – keeps the legacy behavior and throws an error if no note is focused (except Canvas-triggered capture, where link insertion is skipped)
    • Enabled (skip if no active file) – inserts the link when possible and silently drops {{LINKCURRENT}} if nothing is open
    • Disabled – never append a link

    When either enabled mode is selected, you can choose where the link is placed:

    • Replace selection - Replaces any selected text with the link (default)
    • After selection - Preserves selected text and places the link after it
    • End of line - Places the link at the end of the current line
    • New line - Places the link on a new line below the cursor

Canvas Capture Notes​

QuickAdd supports two Canvas capture workflows:

  • Capture to one selected card in the active Canvas view
  • Capture to a specific card in a specific .canvas file

1) Capture to selected card in active Canvas​

This mode is enabled when Capture to active file is on and the active leaf is a Canvas.

Supported card targets:

  • Text cards
  • File cards that point to markdown files

2) Capture to specific card in specific .canvas file​

This mode is enabled when Capture to active file is off, the capture path resolves to a .canvas file, and Target canvas node is set.

When the capture path is a .canvas file, QuickAdd shows a node picker that helps you choose a node id directly from that board.

Write position support in Canvas​

  • Text cards support: Top of file, Bottom of file, After line...
  • File cards (markdown targets) support: Top of file, Bottom of file, After line...
  • Canvas does not support cursor-based modes: At cursor, New line above cursor, New line below cursor

If Capture to active file is enabled and you leave the default write position at At cursor, capture will abort in Canvas until you switch to a supported mode.

Canvas capture requires exactly one selected card in selected-card mode. If the selection is missing, multi-select, or unsupported, QuickAdd aborts with a notice instead of writing to the wrong place.

When append-link is set to Enabled (requires active file) and capture runs from a Canvas card without a focused Markdown editor, the capture still writes and link insertion is skipped.

A dedicated Canvas walkthrough page will return in a future update.

Canvas Capture FAQ​

Why did my capture abort in Canvas?

Most often one of these is true:

  • No card is selected
  • More than one card is selected
  • The selected card type is unsupported
  • The selected write mode is cursor-based

Can I target a specific card in a Canvas file?

Yes. Set capture path to a .canvas file and choose a Target canvas node.

Does "At cursor" work in Canvas cards?

No. Use top, bottom, or insert-after placement.

Can I capture to a file card that points to a Canvas file?

No. File-card capture supports markdown targets only.

Can I still create new Canvas files from templates?

Yes. Template choices support .canvas templates.

Insert after​

Insert After will allow you to insert the text after some line with the specified text. By default, QuickAdd preserves blank lines after ATX headings to keep heading spacing intact. Use Blank lines after match to control this behavior:

  • Auto (headings only) - Skip blank lines only when the matched line is a Markdown heading.
  • Always skip - Skip all consecutive blank lines after the match.
  • Never skip - Insert immediately after the matched line.

Example (Auto, Insert After # H with content X):

# H

X
A

With Insert After, you can also enable Insert at end of section and Consider subsections. You can see an explanation of these below.

I use this in my daily journal capture, where I insert after the heading line ## What did I do today?.

It's also possible to use Create line if not found, which will create the line if it doesn't exist. This is useful if you want to insert after a line that might not exist in the file you're capturing to. This setting can place the line at the start or end of the file, or at your current cursor position.

Consider subsections -option​

Consider subsections disabled​

Behavior with Insert after & Insert at end:

## 1. First heading

**Insert after** comes here.

-   content 1
-   content 2
-   content 3
    **Insert at end** comes here.

### 1.1. Nested heading 1

Content

## 2. Another heading

Content

Consider subsections enabled​

Behavior with Insert after & Insert at end:

## 1. First heading

**Insert after** comes here

-   content 1
-   content 2
-   content 3

### 1.1. Nested heading 1

Content
**Insert at end** comes here. Captures to after this, as it's considered part of the "1. First heading" section.

## 2. Another heading

Content

Capture Format​

Capture format lets you specify the exact format that you want what you're capturing to be inserted as. You can do practically anything here. Think of it as a mini template.

If you do not enable this, QuickAdd will default to {{VALUE}}, which will insert whatever you enter in the prompt, or (if selection-as-value is enabled) the current editor selection.

You can use format syntax here, which allows you to use dynamic values in your capture format.

If you want to insert .base content into your current note, keep Capture to active file enabled and use a .base template token in the capture format. See Capture: Insert a Related Notes Base into an MOC Note.

If your capture format includes an inline js quickadd block and you need to transform user input, prefer reading input in script code through this.quickAddApi.inputPrompt(...) and/or assigning script variables on this.variables. Avoid relying on {{VALUE}} inside JavaScript string literals. See Inline scripts.

In my journal capture, I have it set to - {{DATE:HH:mm}} {{VALUE}}. This inserts a bullet point with the time in hour:minute format, followed by whatever I entered in the prompt.