

How the Graph View Works in Roam Research The local graph automatically updates when you open a new active note, and it can be stored in the sidebar so you can quickly access it. These bidirectional links allow you to navigate between your notes by clicking the dots in the local graph. This opens a simpler graph that shows the notes in your vault that link to the active note, and the notes that the active note links to. You can open a local graph by clicking the three dots in the upper-right of the active note and selecting Open local graph from the menu. Not only is it super-fast, but you can apply filters, create groups, and even change the look and functionality of the graph itself:īut the real magic in Obsidian happens in the local graph. It can be useful to help see links between notes and ideas, but can also be overwhelming when you have a lot of notes. The Graph is kind of like a mind map, showing all of the connections between all of the notes. Winner (best UI for working with your text-based notes): Roam Research (Close Second: LogSeq) Graph View There’s a lot of thought that went into Roam’s simple interface, and while we appreciate that LogSeq is trying to push things forward in specific areas (like the addition of a Journals page), it doesn’t feel quite as smooth. While LogSeq and Roam function very similarly, LogSeq isn’t quite as refined. Like Roam, LogSeq renders text live when you switch to a new line. The User Interface in LogSeq is very obviously influenced by the user interface in Roam Research. We’ll dig deeper into backlinks in the next section, but it’s worth calling out here because being able to see and link related pages is an important facet of the user interface and Roam does this better. Roam also includes a section at the bottom of each note that shows the backlinks, making them more easily discoverable for new users. This is a great way to work with your text. It has a clever way of displaying the raw text when you click a line, then rendering the preview when you switch the focus to another line. The user interface is where Roam really shines. The addition of the Live Preview allows you combine these though, much like Roam Research does (though not all plugins support it yet, which makes it a little clunky). I actually prefer to write this way as the preview gets updated in real-time, but it’s not entirely discoverable for a brand new user.

You can actually hold the Command key when you click on the Preview icon to open the preview in a new pane, which gives you a side-by-side view of your note. You can switch modes by clicking the icon in the top-right of the document pane, but if you switch back and forth a lot this can be a little tedious.

The user interface is arguably the most important aspect of a note-taking app, making it easy (or unnecessarily difficult) to capture your ideas and thoughts when you have them. In this article, we’re going to carefully consider the design choices each app makes in these categories and do our level best to help you pick the right PKM app to fit your workflow. There are lots of things you can look at when picking your PKM app, but here are the criteria we used: On the surface, they may seem similar, but there are several important differences that stem from fundamentally different approaches to how your notes are stored and managed. It’s impossible to say “just use this one” when it comes to picking the right connected note-taking app for you. Roam or Obsidian – which one is right for you?Which connected note-taking app fits your workflow best? Do all roads lead to Rome, or is Obsidian more than just the new shiny? Find out here!ObsidianRoam ResearchIs functionality or design more important to you?Do you like to visualize the connections between your notes in a “graph” view?How often do you write in Markdown?How often do you use search to find things?How familiar are you with bidirectional linking & backlinks?How do you prefer to handle tasks?Where do you prefer your data be stored?How important is it for you to be able to move your data in the future?How important is data security for you?Do you often access your notes on a mobile device?How important is customization for your connected note-taking app?PKM apps can be expensive – how big is your budget for a PKM app? The Approach
