Links and embeds

Wikilinks

Type [[ to link to a note or another file, and autocomplete lists the notes and other files in the notebook. A link can show other text ([[note|text]]), lead to a heading ([[note#heading]]), or name a path: ./ and ../ are relative to the note the link is in. A link to a block ([[note#^id]]) opens the note but does not go to the block; an embed of it (![[note#^id]]) shows the block. Clicking a link to a missing note creates it. Alt+Enter follows the link at the cursor. Ctrl+click opens a link in a new tab, and so does a middle click in the editor.

A link finds its note by the exact path in the notebook (.md is optional), then by a path relative to the note the link is in, then by the note's name. Case does not matter in any of these steps. A link that names folders, such as [[Projects/Plan]], finds by name only a note whose path ends in those folders, so it does not open Archive/Plan.md. When several notes have the name, the one in the same folder as the linking note wins, then the one with the shortest path.

Standard Markdown links to .md files in the notebook count as links too. They look first for the path relative to the note the link is in, then follow the same steps as a wikilink.

Embeds

![[note]] and ![[note#heading]] embed a note or one of its sections. Images (![[photo.jpg|300]]), audio and video embed too. A small text file (up to 256 KB) embeds as text; any other file embeds as a card with its name.

Attachments

Paste or drop images and other files into a note. Cairn stores them in the notebook's attachment folder and links them. Notebooks and files describes how images and other files open.