# Mastering Notebook Navigator 3 for Obsidian > [!question] Lingering Questions > - Does manual sort's `sort_index` property written into every note cause conflicts with git-based vault sync setups? No answer given in source. > [!tip] Article Ideas > - None strong enough to promote — this is a plugin-configuration tutorial, not analytical content. > [!link] Cross Reference > - [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Friction Is the Feature - PKM Tools That Make Synthesis Easier Make Thinking Easier to Skip]] — tension worth holding: this video sells *more* configuration surface as a feature, while the friction-is-the-feature claim argues lower-friction PKM tooling can suppress the synthesis work it's meant to support > - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Personal Knowledge Management MOC]] > [!quote] Vocabulary > - **vault profile** — Notebook Navigator's per-vault settings bundle (theme, plugin config) that would otherwise have to be manually re-set in every separate Obsidian vault. ## Metadata - Source: [[3. Resources/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/Mastering Notebook Navigator 3 for Obsidian]] - Author: Johan Sanneblad, author of the Notebook Navigator community plugin ## Author's thesis (Adler Q1+Q2) Sanneblad walks through Notebook Navigator 3's full feature set — a dual-pane, keyboard-driven replacement for Obsidian's default file explorer — arguing it closes gaps (manual sort, folder-note scratch pads, vault profiles, calendar navigation) that otherwise push long-form writers toward Scrivener/Ulysses or force multi-vault users to duplicate settings by hand. It's an onboarding tour, not a persuasive pitch: the author assumes the viewer already installed the plugin. ## Key arguments (≤3) 1. **Manual sort turns Obsidian into a usable long-document editor**, closing the gap that has historically sent writers to Scrivener or Ulysses for large, ordered multi-file projects. 2. **Vault profiles solve settings duplication across separate vaults** — without them, each vault needs its theme and plugin config re-set independently, with no sync between them. 3. **Folder notes, relocated to the sidebar, become per-project scratch pads** rather than a rarely-used feature buried in the main pane. ## Claim atoms ### Manual sort turns Obsidian into a book editor > [!quote] ID:rw_1 > "With Notebook Navigator, you can do all this and much more right within the Obsidian environment." Where/why: the "manual sort" chapter's book-editing demo — the plugin's clearest differentiator claim against dedicated long-form writing tools. ### Vault profiles fix cross-vault theme duplication > [!quote] ID:rw_2 > "Each individual vault has their own settings for themes and plugins and you can't sync those between the vaults." Where/why: stated as the motivating problem before the vault-profiles feature is introduced — names the specific pain the feature solves. ### Sidebar folder notes work as context scratch pads > [!quote] ID:rw_3 > "This makes folder notes so much more useful because it becomes this kind of scratch pad." Where/why: describes the setting change (moving folder notes to the right sidebar) that turns a rarely-used feature into a running per-project notes area. ## Permanent candidates - **Context-switching tools need synced state, not just separate spaces** — a tool that lets you switch between work contexts only reduces friction if the switch carries configuration with it. See [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Context-Switching Tools Need Synced State Not Just Separate Spaces]]. ## Processing checklist - [x] Connect into the relevant MOC — [[3. Resources/MOCs/Personal Knowledge Management MOC]] ## Links - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Personal Knowledge Management MOC]] — Obsidian tooling and file-navigation workflow directly extends the vault's own PKM practice