Obsidian Chorded Hotkeys

Use 🎵 chords 🎵 to trigger text insertion, template insertion, or command execution. A chord is a set of keys pressed at the same time, the order doesn't matter!

Warning

Chorded Hotkeys works through text replacement, it is advised that you create a backup of your vault before installing this plugin.

Use Case

The use of chorded hotkeys is that it lets you quickly and easily trigger an action without using modifier keys (ctrl, alt, shift, etc). Chords are fast to use because the order of key-presses doesn't matter, you just press a set of keys at the same time, and presto, you've triggered a chord.

You might find this plugin helpful if there are specific commands you use often, templates you include frequently, or patterns of text you repeat.

Creating Your First Chord

1. After installing, go to the Chored Hotkeys settings tab.
2. Click 'Add new chord' it will default to a 'Text' chord, which will be a simple text insertion.
3. The first field is the chord-trigger, the set of keys to execute the chord, these are the keys you'll have to press simultaneously to trigger the chord. So keep it short, Between two and four letters work best. For now, put 'hew' in the first box.
4. The second field is the value for the chord, it's treated differently depending on the chord type. For a text chord, it's the text to insert. Put 'Hello World'.
5. That's it! Your first chord is done. To try it out: close the settings, go to a file, and press the three letters 'hew' all at the same time.

Chord Types

The current chord types are:

1. Text: Inserts text.
2. Command: Runs a command.
3. File: Pastes the contents of a file.
4. Template: (Requires Templater) Pastes the contents of a template. Functionally equivalent to the file chord but also evaluates templates.

Remark: Since the order of key-presses doesn't matter, the chord-triggers of 'hew', 'hwe', 'ehw', etc. are all considered duplicates. Each chord must have a unique trigger.

Tags

A tag is a special element added to a chord to augment it's effect. Currently there is only one tag, the cursor tag. Adding '{c}' in the value field of a text chord will move the cursor to that position upon activation.

Demo

Chorded-Hotkeys-Overview.mp4

Roadmap

• Add the ability to have multiple chord dictionaries and switch between them.
• Trigger chords from any context, not just editor.

Compare with similar plugins

Chorded hotkeys

• Use chords for text insertion, template insertion, or command execution.
• Any set of keys can be used as a trigger, the triggering method is to press all the keys at once (like you're playing a musical chord).

Key sequence shortcut

• Limited to commands.
• Type Ctrl-M to open a menu, then input your character sequence to trigger.

Sequence hotkeys, Hotkeys chords

• Limited to commands.
• Sequence of hotkeys (event keys required) to trigger commands.