YAML in Obsidian - A Prerequesite For Dataview ![rw-book-cover](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/media/uploaded_book_covers/profile_636263/maxresdefault_WQNvbka.jpg) [[3. Resources/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/YAML in Obsidian - A Prerequesite For Dataview|Full Document Contents]] ## Document Notes 1. How can I utilize YAML in Obsidian to maximize the potential of Dataview? 2. What are some tips for formatting YAML headers correctly? 3. How can I use my own parameters to annotate my notes in Obsidian and query them using Dataview? Abstract: This article is about how YAML can be used in Obsidian to annotate notes and provide useful metadata. It explains the advantages of using YAML as opposed to manually annotating notes and how YAML can be used to provide users with the freedom of customizing their own metadata. It also covers the structure of YAML, the importance of spacing and the types of parameters that can be used in Dataview to query the data. Bullet List: • Metadata is data about data, and almost every digital file has some sort of it. • YAML is a human-friendly way of adding metadata to notes and is easier to understand than JSON or XML. • To add a valid YAML header, you need to add three dashes, enter, and then another three dashes. • YAML is picky with how it’s typed out, and it needs to be the very first thing in your note. • There must be a space after each colon. • YAML has three advantages over randomly annotating notes: it tells you when something is wrong, it makes notes look cleaner, and it lets you annotate based on custom parameters for use with Dataview. Paraphrased paragraphs: 1. YAML is an efficient way of providing metadata to notes which gives the user the facility to customize the information they add. It consists of three dashes, followed by an enter and then another three dashes, which should be the first thing in the note. It is important to note that there should always be a space after the colon. 2. Using YAML has three distinct benefits; it will provide an error if the data is not typed correctly, it allows the notes to be organized in an aesthetically pleasing manner, and it permits users to create their own parameters to query the data with Dataview. > [!note]+ Document Notes > 1. How can I utilize YAML in Obsidian to maximize the potential of Dataview? > 2. What are some tips for formatting YAML headers correctly? > 3. How can I use my own parameters to annotate my notes in Obsidian and query them using Dataview? > > Abstract: > This article is about how YAML can be used in Obsidian to annotate notes and provide useful metadata. It explains the advantages of using YAML as opposed to manually annotating notes and how YAML can be used to provide users with the freedom of customizing their own metadata. It also covers the structure of YAML, the importance of spacing and the types of parameters that can be used in Dataview to query the data. > > Bullet List: > • Metadata is data about data, and almost every digital file has some sort of it. > • YAML is a human-friendly way of adding metadata to notes and is easier to understand than JSON or XML. > • To add a valid YAML header, you need to add three dashes, enter, and then another three dashes. > • YAML is picky with how it’s typed out, and it needs to be the very first thing in your note. > • There must be a space after each colon. > • YAML has three advantages over randomly annotating notes: it tells you when something is wrong, it makes notes look cleaner, and it lets you annotate based on custom parameters for use with Dataview. > > Paraphrased paragraphs: > 1. YAML is an efficient way of providing metadata to notes which gives the user the facility to customize the information they add. It consists of three dashes, followed by an enter and then another three dashes, which should be the first thing in the note. It is important to note that there should always be a space after the colon. > 2. Using YAML has three distinct benefits; it will provide an error if the data is not typed correctly, it allows the notes to be organized in an aesthetically pleasing manner, and it permits users to create their own parameters to query the data with Dataview. ## Highlights - Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 Annotating Your Notes with YAML •Metadata is data about data, and almost every digital file has some sort of it. •When you enable Dataview in Obsidian, it will automatically create a bunch of metadata to your notes such as the date, file size, title, path, etc. •However, Dataview gives you the liberty of using your own metadata that youve created yourself, and by annotating your own notes, you can then decide the parameters that you can then query with Dataview. •YAML is simply a human-friendly way of adding metadata to your notes, and its just like JSON or XML but much more user-friendly and much easier to understand. •To add a valid YAML header, you need to add three dashes, enter, and then another three dashes, and whats in between them is going to be your YAML header. •YAML is easy, but it is picky with how you type it out, and it needs to be the very first thing in your note. •Another crucial aspect is spacing, and you always have to make sures a space after colon. •YAML has three huge advantages over randomly annotating your notes across Obsidian: it tells you when something is wrong by showing you an invalid YAML, it makes your notes look much cleaner, and it lets you annotate based on your own parameters that you can then query your notes using Dataview. 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