# Note overview

**URL:** <https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962>\
**Category:** Plugins\
**Created:** [16 January 2021 13:56 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962 "2021-01-16T13:56:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 7

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**Author:** ![arghnono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@arghnono](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/arghnono)\
**Post date:** [7 May 2021 22:40 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/122 "2021-05-07T22:40:46Z")

</div>

I have found this plugin immensely useful for organizing my notes. Thank you! I am generally a fan of Joplin plugins, also having stuff like the backlink tool added. And this is where there appears to be a bit of a conflict.

I have two Note Overview searches in a folder that list notes created today and the last 3 days, and those work brilliantly as expected. I would also like to have a stored search for notes I have _changed/updated_ the current day and the last n days. Something like this:

```
<!-- note-overview-plugin
search: updated:day-1
fields: title, notebook, tags, user_updated_time
sort: user_updated_time DESC
alias: user_updated_time AS Updated, title AS Title, notebook AS Notebook
-->

```

Alas, the combination of several search notes and the backlink plugin updates a lot of notes all the time, so this search includes too many notes.

I have found the field "user\_updated\_time" (seen above) which _appears_ to do what I want - ie it is updated when I type something in the note but not when a plugin adds something. Please correct me if I am wrong here. However, I haven't found a way to search using this field in the _Note overview_.

It would also be brilliant if it is possible to search for notes added last 24 _hours_ (or whatever), not only added the last n days which becomes empty past midnight. Let me know if I am missing something.

_Edit_: With a bit more testing I see that the user\_updated\_time field is also updated whenever a note is touched by the backlink plugin. I would love to have a time field that is only updated when a note is edited manually.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JackGruber](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/jackgruber/32/3231_2.png) [@JackGruber](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/JackGruber)\
**Post date:** [8 May 2021 06:44 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/124 "2021-05-08T06:44:06Z")

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> [@arghnono](#):
>
> Alas, the combination of several search notes and the backlink plugin updates a lot of notes all the time, so this search includes too many notes.

You can try to use exludes some notes.  
All my noteoverviews have a tag `noteoverview` and I exclude this from my overviews with `-tag:noteoverview`, since I do not want to see them in the changed list.

> [@arghnono](#):
>
> _Edit_ : With a bit more testing I see that the user\_updated\_time field is also updated whenever a note is touched by the backlink plugin. I would love to have a time field that is only updated when a note is edited manually.

This does not exist, because it is only tracked when the note was edited, there is no differentiation by which action type the note was edited. In short, edited is edited and is reflected in the date fields.  
The difference user\_created\_time/user\_updated\_time (for example to correct the date after an import/set it to the value of evernote) and created\_time/updated\_time is only that the user\_\* can be edited, but the others remain on the real date for the sync.

> [@arghnono](#):
>
> It would also be brilliant if it is possible to search for notes added last 24 _hours_ (or whatever), not only added the last n days which becomes empty past midnight. Let me know if I am missing something.

No the time filters works for the complete day/week/month/year (`user_updated_time:day-1` means from/including yesterday's day [updated \>= 07.05.2021 midnight])

You can try to make a feature request for a real `hours` filter.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JackGruber](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/jackgruber/32/3231_2.png) [@JackGruber](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/JackGruber)\
**Post date:** [8 May 2021 08:06 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/125 "2021-05-08T08:06:39Z")

</div>

# v1.4.1 (2021-05-08)

- Optimize: An empty date is output instead of `01/01/1970`
- Add: Option to set the color for `todo_due` and `todo_completed`
- Add: `file` and `file_size` as fields for output
- Add: `status` as fields for todo status output

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![arghnono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@arghnono](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/arghnono)\
**Post date:** [8 May 2021 12:57 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/126 "2021-05-08T12:57:50Z")

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Thank you for the detailed response, Jack.

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**Author:** ![uxamanda](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/uxamanda/32/6786_2.png) [@uxamanda](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/uxamanda)\
**Post date:** [10 May 2021 18:37 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/127 "2021-05-10T18:37:23Z")

</div>

Sorry if this has been discussed before, I didn't see it.

Is there a way to have a search for a specific tag and then exclude based on other tags?

For example:  
search: tag:A, -tag:Y OR -tag:Z

Ideally this would return everything tagged A that is not tagged Y or Z. I saw the any:1, but adding to that doesn't work.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JackGruber](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/jackgruber/32/3231_2.png) [@JackGruber](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/JackGruber)\
**Post date:** [10 May 2021 18:44 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/128 "2021-05-10T18:44:58Z")

</div>

For this we must wait for nested search queries.

> <https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/pull/4653>
>
> Since a few people seem to need nested search, I implemented it by doing multipl…e queries instead of having a complicated single SQL query.
> 
> This means that the nested search would be slower. Also, the ranking function won't work for these types of queries. 
> 
> But it does the job.
> 
> Some examples:
> 
> tag:tag1 (any:1 tag:tag2 tag:tag3) // Select notes that have tag1 and (tag2 or tag3)
> 
> any:1 important (abc def) // Select notest that have the text "important" or both "abc" and "def"
> 
> 
> \<!--
> 
> Please prefix the title with the platform you are targetting:
> 
> Here are some examples of good titles:
> 
> \- Desktop: Resolves #123: Added new setting to change font
> \- Mobile, Desktop: Fixes #456: Fixed config screen error
> \- All: Resolves #777: Made synchronisation faster
> 
> And here's an explanation of the title format:
> 
> \- "Desktop" for the Windows/macOS/Linux app (Electron app)
> \- "Mobile" for the mobile app (or "Android" / "iOS" if the pull request only applies to one of the mobile platforms)
> \- "CLI" for the CLI app
> 
> If it's two platforms, separate them with commas - "Desktop, Mobile" or if it's for all platforms, prefix with "All".
> 
> If it's not related to any platform (such as a translation, change to the documentation, etc.), simply don't add a platform.
> 
> Then please append the issue that you've addressed or fixed. Use "Resolves #123" for new features or improvements and "Fixes #123" for bug fixes.
> 
> AND PLEASE READ THE GUIDE: https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/blob/dev/CONTRIBUTING.md
> 
> \--\>

The `any` is for the completequery.  
`any:1` = OR  
`any:0` = AND (default)

` tag:A, -tag:Y any:1 -tag:Z` = A OR NOT Y OR Z  
I hope that's true and I'm not talking crap 😃

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![uxamanda](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/uxamanda/32/6786_2.png) [@uxamanda](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/uxamanda)\
**Post date:** [10 May 2021 19:16 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/129 "2021-05-10T19:16:37Z")

</div>

Thanks for trying, I think I'll wait for nested queries 😛 . Somehow that search just returned all of my notes! No worries, I can change my workflow slightly for now.

FYI, I have been able to really put this plugin to use on a new project and has been very helpful, thank you!

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**Author:** ![CoarseGrater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@CoarseGrater](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/CoarseGrater)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 11:51 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/130 "2021-05-12T11:51:45Z")

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Dears,

I love this plugin (maybe I have mentioned this before :-)).

Still, to get me closer to GTD heaven I am still missing 2 functionalities:

**1. A filter for due:today**

In GTD methodology, I have anote for **today** , one for "next action" and one for a "waiting for".

The note created for "today" gathers my todos for this day.

I currently filter my todos like this: "search: title:210512" This does not seem to be possible with note-overview and the set of filters that are available currently - all todos without fixed due-date are automatically set to todo\_due:1970-02-01 or something. I played around with  
`due:day-0` or `due:day+2`, but that gives me all future todos indiscriminately.

And related to this:

1. I would love to have a **date format set to YYMMDD** (which is nicely sortable and in my eyes more readable). But my understanding is that this would be a Joplin setting.

Cheers,

CoarseGrater

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JackGruber](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/jackgruber/32/3231_2.png) [@JackGruber](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/JackGruber)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 12:07 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/131 "2021-05-12T12:07:09Z")

</div>

> [@CoarseGrater](#):
>
> `due:day-0` or `due:day+2` , but that gives me all future todos indiscriminately.

Is due day bigger today or today + 2 day, for only today use `-due:day+1 due:day-1` = smaler tomorrow and bigger equal yesterday.

> [@CoarseGrater](#):
>
> I would love to have a **date format set to YYMMDD**

The date format is depinding on your settings in Joplin.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CoarseGrater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@CoarseGrater](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/CoarseGrater)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 12:09 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/132 "2021-05-12T12:09:47Z")

</div>

Ok , thanks for pointing this out.

"Today" = `search: -due:day+1 due:day-1`, makes sense.

Cheers,

CoarseGrater

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JackGruber](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/jackgruber/32/3231_2.png) [@JackGruber](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/JackGruber)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 12:12 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/133 "2021-05-12T12:12:27Z")

</div>

maybe i could add in the next version, that you can configure the date field differently from the joplin setting. 🤔

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CoarseGrater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@CoarseGrater](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/CoarseGrater)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 12:59 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/134 "2021-05-12T12:59:20Z")

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That would be great, but there are already a handful of date formats available in Joplin core - maybe adding centrally another format would be easier.

Cheers,

CoarseGrater

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tessus](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/tessus/32/13_2.png) [@tessus](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/tessus)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 15:27 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/135 "2021-05-12T15:27:38Z")

</div>

> [@CoarseGrater](#):
>
> maybe adding centrally another format would be easier.

It's certainly not a technical problem to add another date format. But we thought that we had already covered pretty much all common formats.

There are a few options available depending on Laurent's decision:

- add a new format to the core
- add an input field to allow custom formats set by users to the core
- create an API call to allow setting the date format to a custom value
- create a plugin that makes use of the API call

They are listed in order of complexity and the 4th depends on the 3rd. The question is, if we want to spend time on something that only comes up once every few years.  
I know that this is important to you, but there are more critical issues to tackle. Since we don't have 20 full time developers, we have to prioritize often more stricly than we want to.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CoarseGrater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@CoarseGrater](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/CoarseGrater)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 15:43 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/136 "2021-05-12T15:43:30Z")

</div>

Yes, I agree that there are more critical issues. I thought maybe the sorting aspect gives YYMMDD a bit more weight, as well as readability. But that's just my personal flavour and most certainly not my decision, since I am neither a programmer nor familiar with the priority list.

Anyhow: Cheers and keep up the good work!

CoarseGrater

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![laurent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@laurent](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/laurent)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 16:34 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/137 "2021-05-12T16:34:25Z")

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We can indeed add more date formats if needed. I would accept a pull request for it.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tessus](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/tessus/32/13_2.png) [@tessus](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/tessus)\
**Post date:** [12 May 2021 23:22 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/138 "2021-05-12T23:22:01Z")

</div>

> <https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/pull/4954>
>
> /ref https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/130?u=tessus

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JackGruber](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/jackgruber/32/3231_2.png) [@JackGruber](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/JackGruber)\
**Post date:** [16 May 2021 11:55 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/139 "2021-05-16T11:55:55Z")

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# v1.4.2 (2021-05-16)

- Improved: Sort the tags in the field `tags`
- Add: `image` as field, to display a image resource from the note
- Add: `excerpt` as field

I use the `image` field for my cooking notes overview 🙂

 ![grafik](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/cozic/original/2X/7/71ea174c862372ca1e02d9701f0a77b0aaad8588.jpeg)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![uxamanda](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/uxamanda/32/6786_2.png) [@uxamanda](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/uxamanda)\
**Post date:** [17 May 2021 04:33 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/140 "2021-05-17T04:33:19Z")

</div>

> [@JackGruber](#):
>
> I use the `image` field for my cooking notes overview 🙂

Looks tasty!

* * *

I installed the update and now get this error `Nested mappings are not allowed in compact mappings`, but I don't know what it means. Here's the search.

```auto
search: tag: * post
fields: updated_time, title, tags
alias: title AS Title, updated_time AS Last
sort: updated_time DESC

```

I use the note it lives in as an Index of things, so there are 2 other note overviews in the same one (in case that affects things?). The overview still seems to be generating correctly (EDIT: ah. i think it is cached, not regenerating).

EDIT2: It seems like this was caused by the space before the colon next to the word `tag:` Changing it to `tag:*post` seems to have fixed it. Leaving this in case someone else hits this error.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JackGruber](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/jackgruber/32/3231_2.png) [@JackGruber](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/JackGruber)\
**Post date:** [17 May 2021 05:33 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/141 "2021-05-17T05:33:28Z")

</div>

> [@uxamanda](#):
>
> It seems like this was caused by the space before the colon next to the word `tag:`

Oh, this is from the cange to real YAML syntax. When you really want `tag: * post` as search query, than write it the following way: `search "tag: * post"`, but i think the search is invalid with `tag`:` becaus the tag has no parameter.

I will include this in the documentation as a hint.

EDIT1:

## Error: Nested mappings are not allowed in compact mappings

This error message occurs when a colon is used in the option value and an space character follows the colon. Just enclose the value of the option in quotes like `alias: "title AS : Title :"`.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![arghnono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@arghnono](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/arghnono)\
**Post date:** [17 May 2021 12:45 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/note-overview/13962/142 "2021-05-17T12:45:23Z")

</div>

This has been one of the favorite plugins. This latest update (image field) broke at least one of my existing searches, and it even pops up a messagebox on each refresh which forces me to remove the search note completely.

It is the implicit map keys errors. The search:

```
<!-- note-overview-plugin
search:sourceurl:*reddit.com*
fields: title, notebook, created_time 
alias: created_time AS Created 
sort:created_time DESC 
-->

```

The error box:  
 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/cozic/original/2X/0/0dac737cddaeea58938da4ea6bf8b2992cf4bbea.png)

I have tried to move the colons around to no avail.

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