Obsidian Day Planner: Custom Folder For File Mode

Hey guys! Today, let's dive into a neat little enhancement for the Obsidian Day Planner that's gonna make life a whole lot easier, especially if you're all about keeping things super organized. We're talking about the ability to choose a specific folder where your daily planning files get created when you're running in file mode. Trust me, this is a game-changer!

🔖 Feature Description: The Need for a Designated Folder

So, here's the deal. Many of us, including yours truly, are on a mission to minimize the number of folders we juggle. It's all about that streamlined life, right? Currently, the Obsidian Day Planner automatically creates daily planning files, which is awesome, but it doesn't give you a say in where those files end up. This can lead to a bit of folder clutter, and nobody wants that. That's why the feature description focuses on giving you the power to decide exactly where these files should live.

Imagine you have a dedicated "Daily Plans" folder, or maybe you want to keep your plans nested within a larger project folder. With this enhancement, you can! This keeps everything tidy and exactly where you expect it. This is super important for maintaining a clean and efficient workflow. Plus, it reduces the number of clicks and drags you have to do at the end of the day. We all know those extra seconds add up!

Think about it: how many times have you created a file, only to immediately move it to its "rightful" place? It's a small action, but it interrupts your flow. By implementing this feature, we eliminate that interruption, allowing you to stay focused on what truly matters: planning your day and crushing your goals. This is a game-changer for productivity, especially for those of us who thrive on order and structure.

I know some of you might be thinking, "Is it really that big of a deal?" And honestly, on its own, maybe not. But when you combine it with all the other little tweaks and optimizations we make to our workflow, it makes a HUGE difference. It's like optimizing your desk setup: each small improvement contributes to a larger sense of calm and control. And let's be real, in today's chaotic world, we could all use a little more of that.

✔️ Solution: Setting Up Your Preferred File Creation Location

The proposed solution is straightforward but incredibly effective. A new setting will be added to the Obsidian Day Planner, specifically allowing you to choose the file creation location. You'll be able to browse your vault, select an existing folder, or even create a new one directly from the settings panel. Once you've specified your preferred location, all future daily planning files created in file mode will automatically be placed in that folder. Boom! Organization at its finest.

Here's how it might look in practice. You head over to the Day Planner settings, and you'll see a new option labeled something like "File Creation Location" or "Default Folder." You click on a "Browse" button, and a file explorer window pops up, allowing you to navigate your Obsidian vault. You select your "Daily Plans" folder (or whatever you've named it), click "OK," and you're done! From that point forward, every new daily plan you create will automatically appear in that folder. How slick is that?

But wait, there's more! To make this feature even more robust, we could also consider adding a few extra options. For example, a toggle to automatically create the specified folder if it doesn't already exist. Or perhaps a way to specify a subfolder based on the current date (e.g., "Daily Plans/2024/07"). These are just a few ideas to take this enhancement to the next level.

Think about the possibilities: you could create a folder structure that perfectly aligns with your project organization. You could keep all your daily plans for a specific client in one place, or you could organize them by month or quarter. The possibilities are endless! And the best part is, it's all automated, so you don't have to think about it. You just create your plan, and it automatically lands in the right spot. That's the power of automation, my friends! And in a world where we're constantly bombarded with information and distractions, anything that can help us streamline our workflow and reduce cognitive load is a win in my book.

❓ Alternatives: Why Moving Files Manually Isn't Ideal

Currently, the main alternative is to manually move the files to the desired folder after they've been created. While this works, it's not ideal for a few reasons. First, as mentioned earlier, it's an extra step that interrupts your workflow. Second, it's easy to forget, especially if you're in a hurry or distracted. And third, it's just not as elegant as having the files automatically created in the right place. We're all about efficiency here, and manual file moving is the antithesis of efficiency.

Sure, it might seem like a small thing, but these little inefficiencies add up over time. Think about how many times you create a daily plan each week, each month, each year. That's a lot of manual file moving! And all that time spent moving files could be spent on more important tasks, like actually working on your plans or taking a well-deserved break.

The alternative is not elegant, and we strive for excellence. The purpose of this feature request is to get to a point where the end user doesn't have to move the file to the selected folder. It's just not a good use of our time or energy. We should be focusing on the tasks that truly move the needle, not on mundane administrative tasks like file management. I am sure you will agree. So, while manually moving files is a viable workaround, it's not a sustainable or scalable solution. It's time to embrace automation and let the Day Planner handle the file placement for us.

📝 Additional Context: Embracing File Mode Due to Obsidian Bug

I've been primarily using daily mode, which has been great. However, due to a bug in Obsidian, I've had to switch to file mode temporarily. This switch has highlighted the need for this feature, as I'm now creating more individual files and having to move them around. Sorry for the extra requests! I appreciate all the hard work you guys do on this plugin. This is not necessarily important but felt it was necessary to include to give context to the request.

I am not trying to take advantage of anyone, but I want to express my thoughts on the tool, and I think that it is very helpful, but I would like for it to be more helpful. I have discovered some interesting bugs in the app that I plan to address soon in the forum. I have not tested all the functionalities, but I plan to do it soon. Thanks a lot for your time!

The current situation is not ideal, but the purpose of this is that with this quality-of-life improvement, things will be much easier and better. I am confident that this feature will greatly improve the user experience for anyone using file mode and help everyone to stay on top of their plans.