Obsidian Plugin: Xournal++
Description
This Obsidian plugin seamlessly integrates Xournal++ into Obsidian. Xournal++ is an open-source and cross-platform note taking application for digital, handwritten notes and PDF annotations.
My Problem
As a huge fan of Obsidian, I’ve fine-tuned the settings and plugins to create the optimal setup for note-taking at university. But Obsidian does not support handwritten notes, which is very important to me especially for classes like Mathematics where I need to jot down formulas quickly on my touchscreen laptop. Even tough popular software like OneNote are out there, I stuck with Obsidian, as I am a Linux user. Then I found Xournal++, an optimal open-source note-taking application for handwritten notes and annotations.
However, switching between applications was disrupting, especially as both use different file formats. So I decided to develop my own Obsidian plugin that allows me to integrate Xournal++ notes into Obsidian. This gave me the best of both worlds: A smooth note-taking experience with Obsidian’s organization and typed notes as well as Xournal++’ handwritten notes.
Features
- Automatically export Xournal++ notes to PDF whenever they are modified, so that they can be linked, embedded, and viewed in Obsidian
- Easily create new Xournal++ files (.xopp) directly from within Obsidian, accessible from the ribbon icon, file explorer, and command palette
- Access the “Edit in Xournal++” option via an icon in the PDF preview and PDF embed toolbar as well as in file explorer (by clicking on
X++), enabling quick navigation to the corresponding Xournal++ file.
Tech Stack & Learnings
Obsidian is an application based on Electron (JavaScript) and provides a Plugin-API that I used to create my plugin. This was my first time contributing to public software, I had to learn how the Obsidian Plugin-API works, make sure my code is compatible with the core system, and that it complies with the guidelines.