# Editable Source Outlasts Flattened Screenshots ## Claim A visual object embedded in a document stays useful and maintainable longer when its underlying source stays editable, compared to an object captured as a flattened image the moment it's placed. <!-- atomicity: 1 idea ✓ --> ## Scope & conditions - Holds for content that's likely to need correction, extension, or restyling after first capture — tables, diagrams, structured notes — where re-doing a screenshot from scratch is real friction. - Does not claim flattened images are never appropriate — a stable, final visual (a signed document, a historical screenshot) is correctly flattened by design; the claim is about content still in active use. - The advantage depends on the editing tool actually preserving both the live source *and* a stable exported form — a tool that can only do one or the other doesn't get this benefit. ## Evidence Obsidian Excalidraw 2.26 introduces "markdown images" — canvas objects that render live Markdown (including tables) inside a drawing, accept drawing annotations layered on top, and export as a stable visual, while the underlying Markdown source stays editable. The presenter frames the alternative directly: an ordinary screenshot or static embed loses editability the moment it's captured, while a markdown image keeps the door open for correction without redoing the capture. ## Links - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Visual Thinking MOC]] — because applies-in; this is a concrete instance of the vault's broader visual-thinking toolkit adding an editable-first primitive - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Personal Knowledge Management MOC]] — because applies-in; the same editable-source-over-flattened-capture logic applies to note-taking generally, not just diagramming ## Tests / falsifiers - Export a markdown image containing a table, a code block, and a Mermaid diagram, and check what actually survives the export versus what silently flattens or breaks — the presenter's own "MVP" framing suggests this hasn't been fully verified yet. - Find a workflow where keeping the source editable created more friction than it saved (e.g., accidental edits corrupting a visual meant to stay fixed) — that would bound the claim's scope rather than refute it outright. ## Maintenance - Last tended: 2026-08-16 - Next review: 2026-11-16 ## Source - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Articles/Obsidian Excalidraw 2.26 Markdown Images, Smart Flowcharts, Draw to Shape & Stencil Libraries!]] — YouTube, "Obsidian Excalidraw 2.26." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9MBFxUoOXQ