Dynalist-style list navigation

Use case or problem

I tend to use multilevel lists when I take my initial notes from lectures or other structured presentations. In my experience, this places a minimum of strain on me while allowing me to remind myself of the main points as I go along. My rationale is that I can process the notes into another form & find deeper connections after I’ve accomplished the task of writing down what’s important.

One of the first things that I noticed when I began using Obsidian is that there’s no easy way to switch to the previous level of a multilevel list (see related feature request). Obsidian’s current behaviour doesn’t allow for adding additional information at a previous level, if desired, before exiting a list.

Proposed solution

I propose making list navigation work the same as in Dynalist, using TAB and ENTER to move between levels. This way, Obsidian would only exit a list if ENTER were pressed at an empty line on the first level—perhaps with a keyboard shortcut to leave a list straightaway at the second level and above.

That said, I’m on board with the previous request for customized shortcuts. I chose to raise the issue mainly because I doubted whether or not I’d be able to select ENTER as an option for this.

Current workaround

I’m open to any suggestions to improve my process of taking spontaneous notes, preferably ones that don’t involve using a dedicated outliner or other software. I’m an average typist at best, and I have a motor disability, meaning that my biggest challenge is often copying down an idea before the speaker moves on. (Perhaps someone knows a form of shorthand I can use? :wink:)

Related feature requests

Bullet list manipulation: add custom hotkeys for indent in/out



Please consider implementing this. I’ve heard that people working on Dynalist are the ones who made Obsidian so it shouldn’t be as difficult to pull it off.

Maybe it could be a feature that can be toggled from Settings according to each individual’s preference.

There are a myriad of vital use cases of zooming into a concept/idea’s smallest “buildings blocks” and tweaking them and/or building around them and Dyanlist’s list navigation helps tremendously in doing exactly that. Unfortunately for Obsidian, while attempting to build ideas in a list-like fashion it doesn’t take long before the indentations get too far to the right and the text starts to wrap into 3-4 lines consisting of just a few words, which in turn look unpleasant and confusing.