Suggestions for extracting new markdown...() display out of dataview embed and directly into note text?

[AnnaKornfeldSimpson]

I would like to be able to put the output of the new markdownList() markdownTable() markdownTaskList() functions directly into my note text as a static "print-out". This would let links in those views show up in my outlinks/graph, provide me more options for viewing and sharing the output, and also makes it easy to capture snapshots for queries whose values might change in the future (e.g. file modification times).

Does anyone have suggestions for a nice way to do this?

Conceptually nonsense but partially worked: I managed to get a "print-out" out of the dataviewjs embed and into the note content by making a blank inline dataview field and then using the "update" function from the MetaEdit community plugin to fill the field with the markdownList()/markdownTable() output. This is of course conceptually silly for an "inline field" since the output is multi-line and needs to start on a blank line. This meant that MetaEdit API could not see that the field was full, and so every time dataview refreshed I got a new static printout added to the page.

myInlineField::
markdownTable from most recent refresh
markdownTable from a few seconds ago
markdownTable from a few seconds before that
...
...
...
...

Eeek! I commented out the MetaEdit code and deleted the extra repetitions of the table.
Can anyone think of a more logical way to do this? I can add whatever structure I want to the note - I certainly would prefer NOT to have an inline field there! - and I am open to suggestions of additional community plugins to help with the task, or to using Obsidian's APIs directly. e.g. is there a conceptual equivalent to the MetaEdit API that will replace the contents under a specific heading, while leaving subsequent sections under other headings alone?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[blacksmithgu]

This is the exact goal of #42, since doing this correctly is a tad involved. It's technically possible to write some DataviewJS which replaces itself with the markdown render of the query using the Obsidian API, which may work instead.

As an alternative, you can use Templater to implement this for templated files.

[AnnaKornfeldSimpson]

@filmgal So if you have a dataviewjs codeblock that ends with calculating a markdownTable(... and saving the result to a variable (in this example const myTable = dv.markdownTable(...), and instead of displaying that table from the dataview codeblock you want to put it into the note text, there are a few key steps.

1. Copy-paste your codeblock to whatever file you want to use as a template.
2. Change all uses of dv to be DataviewAPI. This means that things like dv.current() do not exist anymore: I just hardcoded the filename and changed dv.current() to DataviewAPI.pages('"pathToMyFileThatWasCurrent"').first().
3. Remove the backticks and dataviewjs label around the codeblock. Instead put a Templater Javascript execution starter <%* where the beginning of the codeblock was, the Templater ender -%> (dash is optional, gets rid of some extra whitespace) where the end of the codeblock was.
4. Somewhere below the Templater block you have just made, output whatever you named the variable that is holding your markdownTable <% myTable %>.
5. Use the command "Templater: replace templates in the active file" to see if it successfully converts the code into a table. I had to pull up the Developer Console and debug a series of errors before it successfully converted. Once it does convert, take a look at it in Source Mode to see what the raw markdown output looks like. Then you can use "Undo" command to get the code back.
6. Insert your shiny new template wherever you want your markdown table!

Example from my notes just to show a translation (remove any and all lines containing 4 backticks in a row if copy-pasting)
Before:

```dataviewjs
const headers = ["Day", "Tasks Done", "Reflection"];
const tableValues = dv.pages('"testFolder"')
    .where(p => p.file.day < dv.current().date)
    .sort(p => p.file.day, "desc").limit(7)
    .map(p => [ dv.fileLink(p.file.path), p["tasks-done-today"], p["reflection"] ]);
const myTable = dv.markdownTable(headers, tableValues);
```

After:

<%*
const headers = ["Day", "Tasks Done", "Reflection"];
const tableValues = DataviewAPI.pages('"testFolder"')
.where(p => p.file.day < DataviewAPI.pages('"path/To/The/File/That/Was/Current"').first().date)
.sort(p => p.file.day, "desc").limit(7)
.map(p => [ DataviewAPI.fileLink(p.file.path), p["tasks-done-today"], p["most-proud-of"] ]);
const myTable = DataviewAPI.markdownTable(headers, tableValues);
-%>
<% myTable %>

If you get an example working for you, please share!

[filmgal]

Got one to work! Thank you SO MUCH @AnnaKornfeldSimpson!
Used to get a list of films that I have but haven't seen yet that are on my wishlist for the next Criterion Blu-ray sale.
Includes pages from a folder and a tag and not a another tag with a where condition: where some field == "this text" (can use contains instead: .where (p => p.edition.includes("Criterion"))

Code that goes in a templater template:

<%*
const headers = ["File", "file.folder"];
const tableValues = DataviewAPI.pages('"Films" and -#saw and #wishlist')
.where (p => p.edition == "Criterion")
.sort(p => p.file.name, 'asc')
.map(p =>[p.file.link, p.file.folder]);
const myTable = DataviewAPI.markdownTable(headers, tableValues);
-%>
<% myTable %>

Results:

[AnnaKornfeldSimpson]

@filmgal Congrats, this is fantastic! And a much better example than mine! If you are willing to answer questions & help other users with doing something similar, could you please post your example to Discord / the Obsidian Forum dataviewjs snippets thread / anywhere else you think people might search for help on this? (I happened to have time to figure this out 20hrs ago, but I do not have ongoing availability to be helpful for folks figuring this out. Luckily, you stopped by to collaborate!)

[filmgal]

I beat you to it! Already in Discord. Will post in Obs forum now.
Not sure how much help I can be, but I'll try to create a wider variety using tasks and due dates etc and see where I get.
Thanks again. I never would have figured this out on my own.

[filmgal]

2. Change all uses of dv to be DataviewAPI. This means that things like dv.current() do not exist anymore: I just hardcoded the filename and changed dv.current() to DataviewAPI.pages('"pathToMyFileThatWasCurrent"').first().

@AnnaKornfeldSimpson @blacksmithgu - Is there any way around this limitation? I need to use const Values = DataviewAPI.pages("[[#]] and -outgoing([[#]])") to populate my various Index pages with their backlinks ("Appetizers", "Desserts", etc). I've tried various manifestations of replacing # with tp.file.title without luck. I'd rather not have one template (with the hardcoded title) per index page.

Full code
<%* const Values = DataviewAPI.pages("[[Appetizers]] and -outgoing([[Appetizers]])") .sort(p => p.file.name, 'desc') .map(p => p.file.link); const myList = DataviewAPI.markdownList(Values); -%> <% myList %>

[markfaine]

This looks great but I don't understand how to do this while maintaining a variable for the current page. If I have to hardcode the page that limits the usefulness. Is there a way to do this while maintaining some sort of current page variable?

[filmgal]

I figured out a way to use "this page". The following template produces an Index page, listing all files that link to this one:

<%*
var dv = DataviewAPI
const Values = dv.pages("[[" + tp.file.title + "]]") 
  .sort(p => p.file.name, 'asc')
  .map(p => p.file.link);
const myList = dv.markdownList(Values);
-%>
<% myList %>

You just have to get creative with the dv.pages(). You can use tp.frontmatter.somefield, like a title field.