Links and backlinks

A link joins two notes. In Niv, the links are where the value is: they let you follow an idea from one note to the next.

Make a link

Type two opening brackets in a note and start typing a note's name. Pick the note from the list and press ↵. You can also choose Internal Link from the slash menu.

To link to a heading or a block inside a note, keep typing after the note's name: # for its headings, #^ for its blocks. To search the headings of every note, start with ##; for every block, start with ^^.

In the file, a link is plain text in the form Obsidian uses:

[[Note name]]
[[Note name|Text to show]]
[[Note name#Heading]]
[[Note name#^block]]

When you link to a block in another note, Niv adds an id to that block so the link can find it.

<!-- screenshot: the link picker open after typing two brackets -->

Follow a link

Click a link to open the note. Rest the pointer on a link for a moment to see a preview of the note without leaving the one you're in.

A link to a note that doesn't exist yet looks different. Follow it, and Niv creates the note.

Embed a note

Put an exclamation mark before a link, and the other note, or one of its headings or blocks, shows inside this one:

![[Note name]]
![[Note name#Heading]]

Backlinks

Open the right rail and choose Links. It shows:

• Outgoing: the notes this one links to;

• Backlinks: the notes that link here;

• Connected notes: notes close to this one in the graph;

• Unresolved: links to notes that don't exist yet.

Links and the graph are built from the saved files. If they look out of date, choose Rebuild in the rail.

Renaming keeps links working

When you rename a note, Niv rewrites the links that point to it, in every note. The sidebar shows how many it updated.

See also The graph.