Find an earlier idea while drafting in Obsidian

An older note becomes useful when you can explain what it adds to the paragraph in front of you. This exercise starts with a half-written scene and ends with a linked note plus one sentence explaining its role.

Smart Connections’ free Core plugin finds related notes from the open note. Its default model represents notes numerically on the computer, without an API key; installation and model downloads can need internet access.[1][2]

This guide follows documentation checked on 28 October 2026. We have not tested the workflow in an installed app.

Prepare three notes

On a computer, create a new Obsidian vault named Connection practice and choose its folder. In Settings → Community plugins, enable community plugins if needed, then Browse, install Smart Connections and enable it.[5][6]

Create each note with Cmd+N on a Mac or Ctrl+N on Windows, then name it and add the text below.[7]

These are invented notes for an editing exercise. They are not observations from a real film or examples of results produced by the app.

Read before linking

Open Sound before the reveal. Load the Smart Environment if prompted, wait for Ready, then run “Smart Connections: Open: Connections view” from the command palette.[1]

Choose Pause auto-refresh before opening a result to keep the draft’s suggestions. Read the source: scores express relative similarity, not a probability that a note belongs in your argument.[3]

If results are empty, check that the source collection is ready and that the relevant notes are included.[1][4]

Off-screen footsteps gives this draft a usable mechanism: approaching sound suggests a place before the camera reveals it. Red corridor concerns an adjoining space too, but its main contribution is colour. You might save that connection for a later paragraph. No particular ranking is assumed in this exercise.

In the draft, type [[ and choose Off-screen footsteps to create an internal link. Add a sentence explaining the connection.[8]

Reopen the link to check its destination. The finished paragraph should explain the connection. With your own notes, keep a suggestion that helps answer the draft’s unresolved question.

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