Sequential Notes

Navigate book chapters, daily notes, or any sequential content with next/prev relations. This example shows chain sorting and flat list display.

---

Goal

Create a sequential navigation system where:

• Notes link to their next/previous items
• Navigation works both directions automatically
• Items stay in sequence order
• Works for books, courses, daily notes, and more

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Configuration

Relations

Relation: next

Setting	Value
Name	next
Visual direction	Sequential
Aliases	Property: next
Implied	prev (reverse)

Relation: prev

Setting	Value
Name	prev
Visual direction	Sequential
Aliases	Property: prev
Implied	next (reverse)

Groups

Group: "Sequence"

Setting	Value
Name	Reading Order
Members	next depth 3, prev depth 3
Chain sort priority	Primary
Display properties	order

---

Use Case 1: Book Chapters

Sample Notes

Chapter 1 - Introduction.md

---
type: chapter
book: "[[My Book]]"
order: 1
next: "[[Chapter 2 - Getting Started]]"
---

# Chapter 1: Introduction

Welcome to the book...

Chapter 2 - Getting Started.md

---
type: chapter
book: "[[My Book]]"
order: 2
next: "[[Chapter 3 - Deep Dive]]"
---

# Chapter 2: Getting Started

Let's begin with the basics...

Chapter 3 - Deep Dive.md

---
type: chapter
book: "[[My Book]]"
order: 3
next: "[[Chapter 4 - Advanced Topics]]"
---

# Chapter 3: Deep Dive

Now we go deeper...

How It Works

When viewing Chapter 2:

▼ Reading Order
  prev  Chapter 1 - Introduction    [1]
  next  Chapter 3 - Deep Dive       [3]

You see what comes before and after. The prev relation is implied—you only added next links.

One-Way Linking

You only need to link in one direction:

Chapter 1 --next--> Chapter 2 --next--> Chapter 3

Trail implies the reverse:

Chapter 1 <--prev-- Chapter 2 <--prev-- Chapter 3

---

Use Case 2: Daily Notes

Sample Notes

2024-03-14.md

---
type: daily
next: "[[2024-03-15]]"
---

# Thursday, March 14, 2024

## Tasks
- [ ] Review PR
- [ ] Team meeting

2024-03-15.md

---
type: daily
next: "[[2024-03-16]]"
---

# Friday, March 15, 2024

## Tasks
- [ ] Deploy update
- [ ] Weekly review

Navigation

When viewing March 15:

▼ Reading Order
  prev  2024-03-14
  next  2024-03-16

Navigate through your daily notes chronologically.

Automation Tip

Use Templater or another plugin to automatically add:

---
prev: "[[<% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD", -1) %>]]"
next: "[[<% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD", 1) %>]]"
---

---

Use Case 3: Course Lessons

Sample Notes

Lesson 01 - Setup.md

---
type: lesson
course: "[[Web Development Course]]"
duration: 15
next: "[[Lesson 02 - HTML Basics]]"
---

# Lesson 1: Setup

Install the required tools...

Configuration Enhancement

Add course context:

Group: "Course"

Setting	Value
Name	Course
Members	course depth 1
Show conditions	type equals lesson

Group: "Lessons"

Setting	Value
Name	Lesson Navigation
Members	next depth 2, prev depth 2
Display properties	duration

Result

When viewing a lesson:

▼ Course
  course  Web Development Course

▼ Lesson Navigation
  prev  Lesson 01 - Setup          [15]
  next  Lesson 03 - CSS Intro      [20]

---

Chain Sorting

Chain sort keeps sequential items together, even with property sorting.

Example

Notes with dates and next/prev relations:

Week 1 Day 1 (date: 2024-01-01) → Week 1 Day 2 (date: 2024-01-02) → Week 1 Day 3
Week 2 Day 1 (date: 2024-01-08) → Week 2 Day 2 (date: 2024-01-09)

With chain sort: Primary

▼ Sequence
  Week 1 Day 1
    Week 1 Day 2
      Week 1 Day 3
  Week 2 Day 1
    Week 2 Day 2

Chains stay intact.

Without chain sort

▼ Sequence
  Week 1 Day 1
  Week 1 Day 2
  Week 1 Day 3
  Week 2 Day 1
  Week 2 Day 2

Sorted by date, but chain structure lost.

---

Depth Limits

For long sequences, limit depth:

Depth	Shows
1	Immediate next/prev only
3	Up to 3 items in each direction
0	Entire sequence (can be slow)

Recommended: depth 2-3 for navigation, depth 0 only for short sequences.

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Combining with Hierarchy

Many sequences exist within a hierarchy:

Book
├── Part 1
│   ├── Chapter 1 → Chapter 2 → Chapter 3
│   └── ...
├── Part 2
│   ├── Chapter 4 → Chapter 5
│   └── ...

Configuration

Add both hierarchy and sequence relations:

Relations:

• up (ascending) → book/part container
• next (sequential) → next chapter

Groups:

1. "Book Context": up depth 2
2. "Chapter Navigation": next/prev depth 1

Result

When viewing Chapter 2:

▼ Book Context
  up  Part 1
    up  My Book

▼ Chapter Navigation
  prev  Chapter 1
  next  Chapter 3

Both contexts available.

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Tips

Consistent Linking

Always link the same direction:

# Good: Always use 'next'
Chapter 1: next: Chapter 2
Chapter 2: next: Chapter 3

# Avoid: Mixed directions
Chapter 1: next: Chapter 2
Chapter 2: prev: Chapter 1  # Redundant!

Trail handles the reverse automatically.

Finding Broken Chains

A note without next or prev is an endpoint. Multiple endpoints might indicate a broken chain.

Circular Sequences

For cyclical content (like days of week), you can create a loop:

Monday → Tuesday → Wednesday → ... → Sunday → Monday

Trail handles cycles by visiting each note once.

---

Complete Configuration

Relations:

1. next (sequential) → implied: prev (reverse)
2. prev (sequential) → implied: next (reverse)

Groups:

1. Reading Order: next + prev depth 3, chain sort: primary, display: order