FileClass
Manage preset values based on the context of a file (fileClass)
What is a fileClass
A fileClass is basically a simple file located in the folder defined in the plugin's settings
The name of the file will be the name of the class.
To map a file of your vault with a fileClass you have several options
You can sort your fileClasses in sub-folders. Then if you want to use them in a note, just type their sub-path in the frontmatter of the note: fileClass: <sub-folder>/<sub-sub-folder>/<fileClass name>
the frontmatter section of this file contains the Fileclass settings and fields definition for this fileClass. The body of this file is not used by the plugin, you can write anything you want in there.
setup
- Define the folder where you want to store your class files in the plugin's settings
- Create a note in this folder, let's say
music.md - A button will appear in the tab header of this note. click on it to access the "fileClass view" composed of 3 tabs
- A table view listing all files that inherit this fileClass
- A Fileclass Fields views where you can add/change/remove fields definitions for this fileclass
- A Fileclass Settings view where you can change the settings of the fileclass
File mapping
You have several options to map a file with a fileClass. Those options can be combined to associate multiple fileclasses to a given file. In case 2 fileclasses mapped with the same file have fields with the same name, the field will be mapped according to this priority order: 1. fileClass value in the frontmatter 2. Tag match 3. Path match 4. Bookmark group match 5. fileClassQuery match 6. Global fileClass 7. settings preset fields
Basic mapping
include the name of the fileclass in the frontmatter of a note:
Bob Dylan.md
===============================
---
fileClass: music
---
some cool stuff about Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan.md will be mapped with the fileClass music
you can set multiple fileClass for a file:
Obsidian.md
==============================
---
fileClass:
- company
- pkm
---
some cool stuff about Obsidian
Map with tag
Include a tag that matches the fileclass and set mapWithTag as true:
Bob Dylan.md
===============================
#music
some cool stuff about Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan.md will be mapped with the fileClass music
Or choose any other tag defined in the tag names
Map with folder's path
Put your file in a folder that matches one the options defined in Files paths option
For example if "Resources/Music" is defined in Files paths option, and if Bob Dylan.md is in <Your Vault>/Resources/Music/ then it will be mapped with the fileClass music
Map with bookmark groups
Bookmark your file with a bookmark group that matches one the options defined in Bookmark groups options
Map with a query
Set a Fileclass query in the plugin settings and all files included in this query's result will be mapped with the related fileclass
Global fileclass mapping
If the file isn't mapped with a fileclass thanks to the previous options, and if there is a Global Fileclass defined, then the file will be mapped with this global fileclass
FileClass Settings
All fileclass settings are easily configurable in a dedicated view named Fileclass Setting. This view is accessible by clicking the button next to the fileclass name (in the file explorer, in the tab header of the fileclass file, next to the internal link to this file etc...).
extends field
a fileClass can extend another fileClass to benefit of it's fields without having to rewrite them.
It may be usefull if you have several fileClass with the same set of fields.
For example you may have a fileClass named course.md with some fields like teacher, lecture, grade, type.
And you may want to define more specific fields depending on the type of course: a first fileClass mathematics.md with a field chapter and a second fileClass physics.md with a field lecture. For the two of them, you want to benefit from the course fileClass's fields.
You can do this very easily by using the extends field in their frontmatter.
With our example:
course.md
---
fields:
- name: teacher
type: Input
id: ....
path: ....
...
- name: grade
type: Select
options:
- "0": "A"
- "1": "B"
- "2": "C"
id: ...
path: ....
- name: type
type: Select
options:
- "0": "at school"
- "1": "online"
- "2": "personal teacher at home"
id: ...
path: ....
---
mathematics.md
---
extends: course
fields:
- name: chapter
type: Select
options:
- "0": Algebra
- "1": Geometry
- "2": Statistics
id: ...
path: ....
- name: to do next
type: File
options:
dvQueryString: "dv.pages('\"Courses\"')"
id: ...
path: ....
---
physics.md
---
....
extends: course
- fields:
- name: lecture
type: Select
options:
- "0": Mecanics
- "1": Optics
- "2": Electricity
id: ...
path: ....
---
All notes with fileClass mathematics or physics will benefit from the fields of course with the same option, but they will have their own fields in addition to it (chapter for mathematics, lecture for physics)
A fileClass can also override a field it has inherited from by defining it again.
for example:
physics.md
---
extends: course
- fields:
- name: lecture
type: Select
options:
- "0": Mecanics
- "1": Optics
- "2": Electricity
id: ...
path: ....
- name: type
type: Select
options:
- "0": "at school"
- "1": "online"
id: ...
path: ....
---
the type field in physics will override the one in course. notes with fileClass: physics will have at school and online options for type but not personal teacher at home
excludes option
when defined with an array of values, the field in the array won't be inherited from the parent fileClass
With our previous example:
physics.md
---
extends: course
excludes: [grade]
---
notes with fileClass: physics will inherit teacher and type from course fileClass but not grade
mapWithTag option
when this is set to true all notes including a tag with the same name will benefit from the fields' definitions of this fileclass
This works with nested tags as well
tagNames option
aliases for your fileClasses
when not empty (string or array of string), the tags will be mapped with this fileClass
Files Paths option
map path with your fileClasses
when not empty (string or array of string), the file with those paths will be mapped with this fileClass
Bookmark group option
map bookmark with your fileClasses
when not empty (string or array of string), the files bookmarked with those bookmark groups will be mapped with this fileClass
button icon option
you can customize the icon of the metadata button that gives access to a modal containing all available fields for a note bound with this fileclass
the icon names are available from https://lucide.dev
max records per page attribute
number of rows per page in the fileclass's table view.
version attribute
Managed by the system
Fileclass Fields
In this view, as in the preset fields settings, you can add, edit and remove fields definition for this fileclass: - "list plus" button to add a new field - arrow-up / arrow-down to change the order in which the fields are inserted in a note - "pencil" button to edit a field's definition - "trash" button to remove a field
Table view
This view shows all files mapped with the fileclass. you can modify the fields directly from the table.
Filters
Type a value in a field's filter, the table will be filtered to only display notes for which this field contains the filter value.
You can filter by several values with a comma, the table will be filtered to only display notes for which this field contains one of the filter values
For more complex filtering you can type a regex patter such as /Eco|Science/. You'll have to escape backslash, for example: /2023-11-(\\d+) Mon/.
All columns' field except for the first column (file link) comes with a dropdown selector: - Empty values: will filter to display notes for which the field is in the note, but with no value - Not empty values: will filter to display notes for which the field is in the note, and it has a value - Not found: will filter to display notes for which the field is not in the note - Existing: will filter to display notes for which the field is in the note, whatever the value - field's specific values depending on their type: - Boolean: true, false. (false won't match undefined or empty fields) - Select, Multi-Select: the list of predefined values - File, Multi-File: the list of files matching the predefined query - Lookups: the list of files currently returned by lookup queries
You can also define a custom filtering function in javascript returning a boolean
Sorters
- "saved view" dropdown select to select a saved view
- "star" button to set or revoke the current view as the favorite view
- "eraser" button to reset the filters and sorting
- "save" button to save the current view
- "trash" button to delete the current view from the saved views
- "collapse filter" button to access more options: sort the table, filter the results, re-arrange columns orders, hide/show columns...
You can define a custom sort by moving up/down the preset values of the field (for File, MultiFile, Select, MultiSelect, Lookup)
Child classes
You can display child classes in the same view by selecting them from the children selector modal
Select and Save view
You can save the sorters/filters of the current view, or choose an existing saved view and define a saved view as favorite to show it when the table view is opened
Rebuild table
When there's a change in a fileclass setting or fileclass field, the table view won't be automatically rebuilt. A "refresh" button will be highlighted: click on it to rebuild the table to take fileclass changes into account