Search and retrieve notes. How do you search in Zettelkasten?

When using Obsidian with Zettelkasten, there are multiple search options: File Search, Keyword Search, Tag Search, Bookmark Search, Graph View, Local Graph, Dataview and more. .

By understanding these use cases, you can make the most of Obsidian’s search features to efficiently navigate your Zettelkasten, retrieve information, and gain insights.

What are your favorite use cases and strategies for searching?


More about the 12 Principles For Using Zettelkasten


Posts of interest:

6 Likes

My personal search options with mandatory key elements within my notes from Zettelkasten.

5 Likes


Are you searching for the KNOWN or for the UNKNOWN in your Zettelkasten? Obsidian offers tools for all these options. What‘s your preferred strategy?

4 Likes

My Zettelkasten only uses very view folders. The three most important folders are for “Permanent Notes”, “Reference Notes” and “Projekt Notes” for my output. Searching with Graph View benefits from this clear structure. Color coding, here with yellow, blue and red, makes it easy to understand the connections. Surely, it take a little time to enter these paths and color data into the groups section of Graph View, but I can store the result as a bookmark for further use.

  • path:3_Permanent
  • path:4_References
  • path:5_Structures
  • path:6_Project Notes

In my sketchnote example the filter in Graph View is set to “socratic” as a single search term. For a repeated use of this Graph View template I have to:

  1. Select the template from the Obsidian Bookmarks
  2. Replace “socratic” by a new search term

Easy to use, with great results.


Some more posts about Graph View here in this forum:

2 Likes
https://forum.obsidian.md/t/search-and-retrieve-notes-how-do-you-search-in-zettelkasten/65386/4
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