Display Properties¶

Display properties let you show frontmatter values as badges next to file names in the Trail pane. See important metadata at a glance without opening each note.

Setting Up Display Properties¶

Open Settings → Trail
Expand the group where you want to show properties
Find the Display properties field
Enter property names, comma-separated

Example: status, priority, due

How It Looks¶

With display properties configured, the Trail pane shows:

▼ Children
  down  Task A      [active] [high]
  down  Task B      [done]
  down  Task C      [active] [low] [2024-03-15]

Each property value appears as a small badge after the file name.

Property Display¶

What's Shown¶

The property's value is displayed directly:

Property Value	Badge
`status: active`	`[active]`
`priority: 1`	`[1]`
`due: 2024-03-15`	`[2024-03-15]`

Missing Properties¶

If a note doesn't have a configured property, no badge appears for that property. This is normal—not every note needs every property.

Array Properties¶

For array properties, only the first value is shown:

tags:
  - important
  - work
  - urgent

With tags as a display property → [important]

Choosing Display Properties¶

Good Candidates¶

Properties that help you quickly identify or prioritize notes:

Property	Use Case
`status`	See task states at a glance
`priority`	Identify high-priority items
`type`	Distinguish note categories
`due`	Spot upcoming deadlines
`author`	Attribution in references
`year`	Chronological context

Less Useful¶

Properties that don't add quick-scan value:

Property	Why It's Less Useful
`title`	Already shown as file name
`description`	Too long for a badge
`content`	Not meant for badges
`relations`	Internal, not metadata

Examples¶

Task Management¶

Group: "Project Tasks" Display properties: status, priority

▼ Project Tasks
  down  Fix login bug     [active] [high]
  down  Update docs       [active] [low]
  down  Add tests         [done]
  down  Review PR         [pending]

Academic Papers¶

Group: "Citations" Display properties: year, author

▼ Citations
  cites  Machine Learning Overview  [2023] [Smith]
  cites  Neural Networks Study      [2022] [Jones]
  cites  AI Ethics Paper            [2024] [Lee]

Family Tree¶

Group: "Family" Display properties: birth, gender

▼ Family
  parent  Alice Smith    [1960] [F]
  parent  Bob Smith      [1958] [M]
  child   Carol Smith    [1985] [F]

Project Hierarchy¶

Group: "Milestones" Display properties: due, status

▼ Milestones
  milestone  Phase 1    [2024-Q1] [done]
  milestone  Phase 2    [2024-Q2] [active]
  milestone  Phase 3    [2024-Q3] [planned]

Different Properties Per Group¶

Each group has its own display properties setting. This lets you show relevant metadata for different contexts:

Group: "Ancestors" Display properties: type

Group: "Children" Display properties: status, priority

Group: "Siblings" Display properties: order

Formatting Considerations¶

Keep Values Short¶

Long property values become unwieldy badges:

Value	Badge Appearance
`active`	`[active]` ✓ Good
`This is a very long status description`	`[This is a very long...]` ✗ Too long

Use concise values for properties you'll display.

Use Consistent Value Formats¶

Inconsistent values make badges less useful:

Inconsistent	Consistent
`done`, `Done`, `DONE`, `completed`	`done`, `done`, `done`, `done`
`high`, `HIGH`, `1`, `urgent`	`high`, `high`, `high`, `high`

Standardize your property values across notes.

Order Matters¶

Properties appear in the order you list them:

status, priority → [active] [high]
priority, status → [high] [active]

Put the most important property first.

Performance Note¶

Display properties require reading each file's frontmatter. For groups with many items, this is fast but not instant. Keep display properties focused on what you actually need to see.

Best Practices¶

Start minimal: Begin with one or two properties and add more only if needed
Match context: Different groups often benefit from different properties
Use short values: Design your property values to display well as badges
Be consistent: Standardize values across your vault