Source
A source is a collection of data that DataLoom can use to generate rows. Sources can be folders, tags, or APIs.
Adding a source
To add a source, click the Sources button in the upper right corner of the application. This will open the Sources menu. Choose a source type and then enter required source information. An error will display if you do not provide sufficient information or if the source has already been added. Once finished, click Add source.
When you add your first source, a Source column and Source file column will be added to the table. The Source column will contain the name of the source. The Source file column will contain the name of the file that contains the source data.
Deleting a source
To delete a source, click the Sources button and then click the edit button. Then click Delete for each source you would like to remove. If you delete the last source, the Source and Source file columns will be removed from the table.
Frontmatter
Frontmatter is metadata that is stored at the top of a markdown file. Sources that originate from folders or tags will store data in the frontmatter of the file that contains the source data.
Frontmatter key
If a column does not have a frontmatter key assigned to it, you will not be able to edit the cells in that column that belong to folder or tag source generated rows.
To select a key, click on the column header to open the column menu. Then click Frontmatter key. Select a key from the dropdown menu. If you would like to add a new key, click Custom and enter your key name.
Each column can only have one frontmatter key. Once a key is assigned to a column, it cannot be assigned to other columns. If you would like to use a key on a different column, you will need to remove the key and assign it to the new column.
When you edit a cell in your loom the corresponding frontmatter value will be updated. Similarly, when you edit a frontmatter value in Obsidian, the corresponding cells will be updated in your looms.
Accepted properties
Obsidian adds a validation layer and user interface on top of frontmatter called properties.
Cell types can only accept properties of a certain type. For example, a text cell can only accept a text property.
When you choose a frontmatter key for a text cell column, only keys that are a text property will be displayed in the dropdown menu.
| Column Type | Accepted Properties | Comments |
|---|---|---|
Text | Text | |
Embed | Text | |
File | Text | |
Number | Number | |
Tag | Text | Obsidian does not have a single tag property yet |
Multi-tag | tags, List, aliases, cssclasses | Obsidian does not have an additional tags property, so list can be used as an alternative |
Date | Date, Date & time | |
Checkbox | Checkbox | |
Creation | Uses file creation time | |
Last edited | Uses file modification time |