When Dear? - Tag Cloud Plugin for Obsidian

A time-filtered tag cloud plugin for Obsidian that helps you visualize and navigate your most relevant tags based on recent activity.

Features

• Time-filtered Tag Cloud: View tags from files modified in the last N days
• Frequency Filtering: Hide infrequent tags by setting a minimum occurrence threshold
• Visual Word Cloud: Tag size reflects frequency - more common tags appear larger
• Interactive Navigation: Click any tag to search for it in your vault
• Live Controls: Adjust the time filter directly in the panel with a slider
• Compact Interface: Minimal design that fits perfectly in your sidebar

How It Works

When Dear? collects tags from your vault and displays them as a word cloud, with powerful filtering options to help you focus on what matters:

• Recent work: See what you've been tagging lately by filtering by modification date
• Significant tags: Hide infrequent tags to focus on your most-used ones
• Active projects: Identify tags from files you're currently working on
• Trending topics: Discover patterns in your recent note-taking

Installation

1. Copy the built files to your vault:

   VaultFolder/.obsidian/plugins/when-dear/
   ├── main.js
   ├── manifest.json
   └── styles.css
   

2. Enable the plugin in Settings → Community Plugins

3. Open the panel using:

   • The tag icon in the ribbon
   • Command Palette: "Open When Dear?"

Usage

Opening the Panel

• Ribbon Icon: Click the tag icon in the left toolbar
• Command: Use "Open When Dear?" from the Command Palette
• View Menu: Select "When Dear?" from the View menu

Time Filter

• Use the slider at the top of the panel to adjust the time range
• Set to "All" for all-time tags, or select 1-365 days
• The tag cloud updates immediately when you change the filter

Navigation

• Click any tag to search for it in your vault
• Hover over tags to see their occurrence count
• Larger tags indicate more frequent usage

Settings

Access settings via Settings → Plugin Options → When Dear?

• Days back: Default time filter (0-365 days, 0 = all time)
• Minimum occurrences: Hide tags that appear fewer than N times (1-20, default: 5)
• Font size range: Customize minimum and maximum tag sizes
• Color scheme: Choose your preferred color theme (future feature)

Development

Built with TypeScript for Obsidian. Key files:

• main.ts: Core plugin logic and tag cloud view
• styles.css: Visual styling and layout
• manifest.json: Plugin metadata

Building

npm install
npm run build

Development Mode

npm run dev

Why "When Dear?"

The name reflects the plugin's core purpose - answering "when" you were working on topics by showing tags filtered by time. It helps you understand the temporal context of your knowledge work.

License

MIT License - see the repository for details.