Obsidian 1.10.0 (Desktop) is out now in Early Access, bringing improvements for Bases, a new Bases API, and several bug fixes. If you don"t know what Obsidian is, it is a note-taking app that runs on a local folder of plain text Markdown files, giving you full control over your data.
Bases was first introduced back in version 1.9.0 as a core plugin for turning your collections of notes into structured databases. It is quite useful for things like project management or tracking a reading list. The system uses a special .base extension but keeps all the data stored right where it has always been, in your local Markdown files and YAML frontmatter.
Obsidian 1.10.0 updates Bases with some powerful new ways to visualize that data. There is now a new Maps plugin that lets you see your entries on a map. The team also introduced a new List view that displays files as bulleted or numbered lists, complete with support for multi-line content and nested properties. You can also now group data by a specific property and create table summaries by right-clicking a column.
As for improvements, the system will now periodically refetch the results of file.backlinks and other formulas, which keeps your data from getting stale. You can now click the ribbon item with modifier keys to open a file in a new tab, a new split, or an entirely new window. The initial Bases API shipped with this release and can be found in this GitHub repo.
Other changes with version 1.10.0 include a fix that reloads your selected theme whenever its appearance.json file changes. The app now activates the tab to the right when you close a tab, instead of the one on the left.
In the File Explorer, your sort layout is saved after a change, and using keyboard shortcuts to navigate files now correctly updates the sidebars. Properties also received some attention, with list properties now allowing duplicate values and the Global Properties view gaining the ability to delete a property from all your notes at once.
Obsidian is a free application for personal use, but if you want early access to test out the features in this release, you would have to purchase a Catalyst license. It is a one-time payment that supports the developers. Or you can just wait till this update lands in the Stable channel for everyone.