Freely arrange notes and folders in File Explorer (https://obsidian.md plugin)

Take full control of the order of your notes and folders:

• treat folders and files equally or distinctively, you decide
• fine-grained folder-level or even notes-group-level specification
• support for fully manual order
  • list notes and folders names explicitly, or use prefixes or suffixes only
  • wildcard names matching supported
• support for automatic sorting by standard and non-standard rules
• mixing manual and automatic ordering also supported
• order by compound numbers in prefix, in suffix (e.g date in suffix) or inbetween
• Roman numbers support, also compound Roman numbers
• grouping by prefix or suffix or prefix and suffix
  • different sorting rules per group even inside the same folder
• simple to use yet versatile configuration options
• order configuration stored directly in your note(s) front matter
  • use a dedicated key in YAML
• folders not set up for the custom order remain on the standard Obsidian sorting
• support for imposing inheritance of order specifications with flexible exclusion and overriding logic

Table of contents

• TL;DR Usage

  • Simple case 1: in root folder sort entries alphabetically treating folders and files equally
  • Simple case 2: impose manual order of some items in root folder
  • Example 3: In root folder, let files go first and folders get pushed to the bottom
  • Example 4: In root folder, pin a focus note, then Inbox folder, and push archive to the bottom
  • Example 5: P.A.R.A. method example
  • Example 6: P.A.R.A. example with smart syntax
  • Example 7: Apply the same sorting rules to two folders
  • Example 8: Specify rules for multiple folders
  • Example 9: Sort by numerical suffix
  • Example 10: Sample book structure with Roman numbered chapters
  • Example 11: Sample book structure with compound Roman number suffixes
  • Example 12: Apply same sorting to all folders in the vault
  • Example 13: Sorting rules inheritance by subfolders
• Location of sorting specification YAML entry
• Ribbon icon
• Installing the plugin
  • Installing the plugin using BRAT
  • Manually installing the plugin
• Credits

TL;DR Usage

For full version of the manual go to ./docs/manual.md and ./docs/syntax-reference.md

REMARK: as of this version of documentation, the manual and syntax reference are empty :-)

Quickstart

1. Download the sortspec.md file and put it in any folder of your vault, can be the root folder. That file contains a basic custom sorting specification.

2. Enable the plugin in obsidian.

3. Click the ribbon button () to tell the plugin to read the sorting specification from sortspec note (the sortspec.md file which you downloaded a second ago).

• The observable effect should be the change of appearance of the ribbon button to () and reordering of items in root vault folder to reverse alphabetical with folders and files treated equally.
• The notification balloon should confirm success:

4. Click the ribbon button again to suspend the plugin. The ribbon button should toggle its appearance again and the order of files and folders in the root folder of your vault should get back to the order selected in Obsidian UI
5. Happy custom sorting !!! Remember to click the ribbon button twice each time after sorting specification change. This will suspend and re-enable the custom sorting, plus parse and apply the updated specification

• If you don't have any subfolder in the root folder, create one to observe the plugin at work.

NOTE: the appearances of ribbon button also includes and . For the meaning of them please refer to ribbon icon section below

Below go examples of (some of) the key features, ready to copy & paste to your vault.

For simplicity (if you are examining the plugin for the first time) copy and paste the below YAML snippets to the front matter of the sortspec note (which is sortspec.md file under the hood). Create such note at any location in your vault if you don't have one.

Each time after creating or updating the sorting specification click the ribbon icon to parse the specification and actually apply the custom sorting in File Explorer

Click the ribbon icon again to disable custom sorting and switch back to the standard Obsidian sorting.

The ribbon icon acts also as the visual indicator of the current state of the plugin - see the ribbon icon section for details

Simple case 1: in root folder sort entries alphabetically treating folders and files equally

The specified rule is to sort items alphabetically in the root folder of the vault

The line target-folder: / specifies to which folder apply the sorting rules which follow.

The / indicates the root folder of the vault in File Explorer

And < a-z sets the order to alphabetical ascending

IMPORTANT: indentation matters in all the examples

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: /
    < a-z
---

(View or download the sortspec.md file of this example)

which can result in:

Simple case 2: impose manual order of some items in root folder

The specification here lists items (files and folders) by name in the desired order

Notice, that only a subset of items was listed. Unlisted items go after the specified ones, if the specification doesn't say otherwise

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: /
    Note 1
    Z Archive
    Some note
    Some folder
---

produces:

Example 3: In root folder, let files go first and folders get pushed to the bottom

Files go first, sorted by modification date descending (newest note in the top)

Then go folders, sorted in reverse alphabetical order

IMPORTANT: Again, indentation matters in all of the examples. Notice that the order specification < modified for the /:files and the order > a-z for /folders are indented by one more space. The indentation says the order applies to the group and not to the 'target-folder' directly.

And yes, each group can have a different order in the same parent folder

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: /
    /:files
     < modified
    /folders
     > a-z
---

will order items as:

Example 4: In root folder, pin a focus note, then Inbox folder, and push archive to the bottom

The specification below says:

• first go items which name starts with 'Focus' (e.g. the notes to pin to the top)
  • notice the usage of '...' wildcard
• then goes an item named 'Inbox' (my Inbox folder)
• then go all items not matching any of the above or below rules/names/patterns
  • the special symbol % has that meaning
• then, second to the bottom goes the 'Archive' (a folder which doesn't need focus)
• and finally, in the very bottom, the sortspec.md file, which probably contains this sorting specification ;-)

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: .
    Focus...
    Inbox
    %
    Archive
    sortspec
---

and the result will be:

Remarks for the target-folder:

In this example the dot '.' symbol was used target-folder: . which means apply the sorting specification to the folder which contains the note with the specification.

If the target-folder: line is omitted, the specification will be applied to the parent folder of the note, which has the same effect as target-folder: .

Example 5: P.A.R.A. method example

The P.A.R.A. system for organizing digital information is based on the four specifically named folders ordered as in the acronym: Projects — Areas — Resources — Archives

To put folders in the desired order you can simply list them by name in the needed sequence:

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: /
    Projects
    Areas
    Responsibilities
    Archive
---

(View or download the sortspec.md file of this example)

which will have the effect of:

Example 6: P.A.R.A. example with smart syntax

Instead of listing full names of folders or notes, you can use the prefix or suffix of prefix+suffix notation with the special syntax of '...' which acts as a wildcard here, matching any sequence of characters:

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: /
    Pro...
    A...s
    Res...es
    ...ive
---

It will give exactly the same order as in previous example:

REMARK: the wildcard expression '...' can be used only once per line

Example 7: Apply the same sorting rules to two folders

Let's tell a few folders to sort their child notes and child folders by created date reverse order (newer go first)

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: Some subfolder
    target-folder: Archive
    target-folder: Archive/2021/Completed projects
    > created
---

No visualization for this example needed

Example 8: Specify rules for multiple folders

The specification can contain rules and orders for more than one folder

Personally I find convenient to keep sorting specification of all folders in a vault in a single place, e.g. in a dedicated note Inbox/Inbox.md

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: /
    Pro...
    Archive

    target-folder: Projects
    Top Secret

    target-folder: Archive
    > a-z
---

will have the effect of:

Example 9: Sort by numerical suffix

This is interesting.

Sorting by numerical prefix is easy and doesn't require any additional plugin in Obsidian. At the same time sorting by numerical suffix is not feasible without a plugin like this one.

Use the specification like below to order notes in 'Inbox' subfolder of 'Data' folder by the numerical suffix indicated by the 'part' token (an arbitrary example)

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: Data/Inbox
    ... part \d+
     < a-z
---

the line ... part \d+ says: group all notes and folders with name ending with 'part' followed by a number. Then order them by the number. And for clarity the subsequent (indented) line is added < a-z which sets the order to alphanumerical ascending.

The effect is:

Example 10: Sample book structure with Roman numbered chapters

Roman numbers are also supported. This example uses the \R+ token in connection with the wildcard ...

The line Chapter \.R+ ... says: notes (or folders) with a name starting with 'Chapter ' followed by a Roman number (e.g. I, or iii or x) should be grouped. Then < a-z (the leading space indentation is important) tells to use ascending order by that number (alphabetical is equivalent to ascending for numbers)

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: Book
    Preface
    Chapter \R+ ...
     < a-z
    Epi...
---

it gives:

Example 11: Sample book structure with compound Roman number suffixes

Roman compound numbers are also supported. This example uses the \.R+ token (a Roman compound number with '.' as separator) in connection with the wildcard ... (and the important SPACE inbetween).

The line ... \.R+ says: notes (or folders) with a name ending with a compound Roman number (e.g. I, or i.iii or iv.vii.x) should be grouped with ascending order by that compound number (no additional specification of sorting defaults to alphabetical or ascending for numbers)

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: Research pub
    Summ...
    ... \.R+
    Final...
---

the result is:

Example 12: Apply same sorting to all folders in the vault

Apply the same advanced modified date sorting to all folders in the Vault. The advanced modified sorting treats the folders and files equally (which is different from the standard Obsidian sort, which groups folders in the top of File Explorer) The modified date for a folder is derived from its newest direct child file (if any), otherwise a folder is considered old

This involves the wildcard suffix syntax * which means _apply the sorting rule to the specified folder and all of its subfolders, including descendants. In other words, this is imposing a deep inheritance of sorting specification. Applying the wildcard suffix to root folder path /* actually means apply the sorting to all folders in the vault

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: /*
    > advanced modified
---

Example 13: Sorting rules inheritance by subfolders

A more advanced example showing finetuned options of manipulating of sorting rules inheritance:

You can read the below YAML specification as:

• all items in all folders in the vault (target-folder: /*) should be sorted alphabetically (files and folders treated equally)
• yet, items in the Reviews folder and its direct subfolders (like Reviews/daily) should be ordered by modification date
  • the syntax Reviews/... means: the items in Reviews folder and its direct subfolders (and no deeper)
    • the more nested folder like Reviews/daily/morning inherit the rule specified for root folder /*
  • Note, that a more specific (or more nested or more focused) rule overrides the more generic inherited one
• at the same time, the folder Archive and Inbox sort their items by creation date
  • this is because specifying direct name in target-folder: Archive has always the highest priority and overrides any inheritance
• and finally, the folders Reviews/Attachments and TODOs are explicitly excluded from the control of the custom sort plugin and use the standard Obsidian UI sorting, as selected in the UI
  • the special syntax sorting: standard tells the plugin to refrain from ordering items in specified folders
  • again, specifying the folder by name in target-folder: TODOs overrides any inherited sorting rules

---
sorting-spec: |
    target-folder: /*
    < a-z
	
    target-folder: Reviews/...
    < modified

    target-folder: Archive
    target-folder: Inbox
    < created

    target-folder: Reviews/Attachments
    target-folder: TODOs
    sorting: standard
---

Location of sorting specification YAML entry

You can keep the custom sorting specifications in any of the following locations (or in all of them):

• in the front matter of the sortspec note (which is the sortspec.md file under the hood)
  • you can keep one global sortspec note or one sortspec in each folder for which you set up a custom sorting
  • YAML in front matter of all existing sortspec notes is scanned, so feel free to choose your preferred approach
• in the front matter of the - so called - folder note. For instance '/References/References.md'
  • the 'folder note' is a concept of note named exactly as its parent folder, e.g. references note ( actually references.md file) residing inside the /references/ folder
  • there are popular Obsidian plugins which allow convenient access and editing of folder note, plus hiding it in the notes list
• in the front matter of a designated note configured in setting
  • in settings page of the plugin in obsidian you can set the exact path to the designated note
  • by default, it is Inbox/Inbox.md
  • feel free to adjust it to your preferences
  • primary intention is to use this setting as the reminder note to yourself, to easily locate the note containing sorting specifications for the vault

A sorting specification for a folder has to reside in a single YAML entry in one of the listed locations. At the same time, you can put specifications for different target folders into different notes, according to your preference. My personal approach is to keep the sorting specification for all desired folders in a single note ( e.g. Inbox/Inbox.md). And for clarity, I keep the name of that designated note in the plugin settings, for easy reference.

Ribbon icon

Click the ribbon icon to toggle the plugin between enabled and suspended states.

States of the ribbon icon:

• Plugin suspended. Custom sorting NOT applied.
  • Click to enable and apply custom sorting.
  • Note: parsing of the custom sorting specification happens after clicking the icon. If the specification contains errors, they will show up in the notice baloon and also in developer console.
• Plugin active, custom sorting applied.
  • Click to suspend and return to the standard Obsidian sorting in File Explorer.
• Syntax error in custom sorting configuration.
  • Fix the problem in specification and click the ribbon icon to re-enable custom sorting.
  • If syntax error is not fixed, the notice baloon with show error details. Syntax error details are also visible in the developer console
• Plugin enabled but the custom sorting was not applied.
  • This can happen when reinstalling the plugin and in similar cases
  • Click the ribbon icon twice to re-enable the custom sorting.

Installing the plugin

As for now, the plugin can be installed manually or via the BRAT plugin

Installing the plugin using BRAT

1. Install the BRAT plugin
   1. Open Settings -> Community Plugins
   2. Disable restricted (formerly 'safe') mode, if enabled
   3. Browse, and search for "BRAT"
   4. Install the latest version of Obsidian 42 - BRAT
2. Open BRAT settings (Settings -> Obsidian 42 - BRAT)
   1. Scroll to the Beta Plugin List section
   2. Add Beta Plugin
   3. Specify this repository: SebastianMC/obsidian-custom-sort
3. Enable the Custom File Explorer sorting plugin (Settings -> Community Plugins)

Manually installing the plugin

1. Go to Github for releases: https://github.com/SebastianMC/obsidian-custom-sort/releases
2. Download the Latest Release from the Releases section of the GitHub Repository
3. Copy the downloaded files main.js, styles.css, manifest.json over to your vault VaultFolder/.obsidian/plugins/custom-sort/.
   • you might need to manually create the /custom-sort/ folder under VaultFolder/.obsidian/plugins/
4. Reload Obsidian
5. If prompted about Restricted (formerly 'Safe') Mode, you can disable restricted mode and enable the plugin. -Otherwise, go to Settings -> Community plugins, make sure restricted mode is off and enable the plugin from there.

Note: The .obsidian folder may be hidden. On macOS, you should be able to press Command+Shift+Dot to show the folder in Finder.

Credits

Thanks to Nothingislost for the monkey-patching ideas of File Explorer in obsidian-bartender