Obsidian, the note-taking app powered by markdown, has received its version 1.9.10 update, now available for everyone to download. It brings a new Bases core plugin, one breaking change, as well as multiple bug fixes.
Bases was first introduced back in version 1.9.0 in Early Access, but now everyone gets to use it. With it, you can transform a collection of notes into a structured database to do things like manage projects or track reading lists, all without your data ever leaving your local markdown files. This works by using your existing properties stored in YAML, along with a new .base file format and syntax.
The Footnotes view core plugin adds a convenient way to manage footnotes for a document, thanks to a new sidebar tab that prevents you from losing your place while writing.
With version 1.9.10, there are several improvements, like the focus now shifting to the export button in the "Export to PDF" dialog, and whitespace is now displayed correctly in Sync history view. The Markdown parser now renders tables and callouts more efficiently, which means that while large notes might take a moment longer to load initially, they will be very responsive afterward.
The link context menu gained handy "Copy path" and "Copy relative path" options. If you"re on macOS and want to try Apple"s new system-wide Writing Tools, this update adds support for them in the editor, but you must install the latest version from the website and enable the "Native menus" option in settings.
As for bug fixes, the team addressed an issue with page preview where clicking the fold icon would cause the preview to hide or switch to edit mode. The update also fixed inconsistent list numbering when editing inside callouts and improved sorting in the command palette.
Obsidian no longer supports the singular properties tag, alias, and cssclass. The team says you should use the plural versions: tags, aliases, and cssclasses. You must also make sure the values are formatted in a list (e.g., aliases: [Note A, Note B]). The "Format converter" plugin has a new function to help you automatically update your notes to the new format.