09 Backlinks & Outline

Tools for scanning a long, long document at a glance, and for tracking, in reverse, how other notes think of you. 🕵️‍♂️

← Home: ObsiKO 101 · For the basics of connections, look here! → Wiki Links & Tags

The skeleton of your writing: the outline (structure explorer) 📖

• It gathers not only the headings (# through ######) of the document you're currently viewing, but also structure tags like <thinking>, <constraints>, <examples> into a single tree. (Heading TOC + tag explorer = structure explorer!)
• A <tag> that comes at the very start of a line is treated as a container, so headings and tags inside it are neatly indented one level in. Tag entries are marked with a ◇ diamond, so they're easy to tell apart from headings at a glance.
• (Text-decoration tags like <b>, <i>, <span>, and tags inside code blocks are excluded from the outline — we only show you the real "structure"!)
• Click any entry in the list and it smoothly scrolls you right to that spot.
• Too many entries? Filter headings and tags in the search box to find things fast.
• This really shines on writing that uses tags for structure, like AI prompts or LLM Wiki documents. → Building an LLM Wiki
• Of course, if there's no document open, the outline takes a break and stays empty.

Every relationship your note has, all in one place: the Connections panel 🔗

Just one Connections panel in the right sidebar shows you every relationship this note has, neatly sorted by direction. Switch between Outgoing ↔ Incoming ↔ Suggestions with the tabs up top. Each tab carries a connection-count badge, so you can gauge the scale before you even open it!

➡️ Outgoing connections (what I point to)

• Wiki links: gathers all the [[links]] this note sends out to the world, in one place. Pointing at a note you haven't created yet? Click it and a new note is created on the spot. Don't hesitate! (Markdown [title](path) links are also resolved smartly, relative paths included, and clicking [[Note#Heading]] jumps straight to that heading's line.)
• Attachments/embeds: collects attached files like images and PDFs placed in the body, plus ![[embeds]], separately.
• Relations: write type relations like is-a or part-of in the frontmatter, and they're neatly grouped by predicate. → Structuring Knowledge

⬅️ Incoming connections (what points to me)

• Backlinks: a list of every other note that has linked to me (the current note). Perfect for that "wait, where did I mention this idea before...?" moment — successfully traced back! (Even a file card in a mind map (.canvas) that points to me gets found here.)
• Reverse relations: shows which relation points to me (e.g. a broader concept that holds me via part-of), sorted by predicate. Pretty reassuring, right? If you register inverse names in the relation dictionary, they read naturally ("← i.e. this note's works").
• ＋ Add relation: the ＋ button above the panel adds relations without touching YAML — pick a relation name (suggestions) and a target note (autocomplete); names of not-yet-created notes are fine too.
• Relation check: below the Outgoing tab, gentle advisories flag targets that don't exist yet (→ create), predicates missing from the dictionary (→ one-click register), and kind mismatches — guidance, not errors. → More: 16-5 Zettelkasten & Ontology
• Instances 🧬: a list of notes that use this note as their type (class). See "how many examples of this concept were there again?" at a glance!
• Unlinked mentions: finds spots where this note's title just appears in the text without being linked. A great place to discover candidates worth linking!

💡 Link suggestions (notes worth connecting)

"This note really belongs with that one…" — ObsiKO finds those for you. Open the third tab, Suggestions, and it picks out link-worthy candidates from notes you haven't connected yet.

• Only well-grounded candidates appear — notes whose titles actually appear in each other's text, that are genuinely similar in content (semantic search), or that share a rare tag. Each candidate carries reason chips showing why it was suggested. Zero AI calls, zero cost.
• Hit [Connect]: if the note's title appears in your text, the first occurrence turns into a [[link]]; if not, it's quietly added to the frontmatter related: list. Change your mind? A single ⌘Z undoes it cleanly.

• Candidates you dismiss with [✕] never come back. Nothing is ever linked automatically — only what you approve gets applied.

• Filter & sort: once connections pile up, narrow them down with the filter box up top, and toggle the sort button between by name ↔ by count to tidy things up.

💡 The old "Backlinks" panel and "Ontology" panel have been merged into this single Connections panel. Links or relations, outgoing or incoming — see it all on one screen!

Some pairing tips worth trying! 🍯

• Want to visualize how your notes relate, like a gorgeous spiderweb? → Graph View
• Keep reference material open beside you while you write and peek at it (the Reference View feature!) → Search & Navigation

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