# Obsidian Scatter

> Because staring at tables until your eyes glaze over is *not* a productivity strategy.

A scatter plot view for [Obsidian Bases](https://help.obsidian.md/bases). Turn your notes into dots. Watch patterns emerge. Pretend you're a data scientist.

![Obsidian](https://img.shields.io/badge/Obsidian-1.10.0+-purple)
![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue)

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![](./screenshot.png)

## The Problem

You've got notes. Those notes have numbers. Maybe it's `effort` and `value`. Maybe it's `pages` and `interest`. Maybe it's `complexity` and `how-much-I-want-to-cry`.

Bases shows you tables. Tables are fine. Tables are *responsible*. But tables make you *think* to find patterns. And thinking is exhausting.

**What if your notes could just... show you where they belong?**

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## The Solution

**Obsidian Scatter** adds a scatter plot view to Bases. Pick two numeric properties, and suddenly your notes are points on a chart. The good stuff floats to the top-left. The dumpster fires sink to the bottom-right. No math required.

It's the Eisenhower Matrix, the BCG Matrix, or whatever 2x2 framework your PM is obsessed with this quarter — except it builds itself from your actual data.

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## Features

### What It Does

| Feature | What That Means For You |
|---------|------------------------|
| **Scatter plot view** | Your notes become clickable dots. Revolutionary. |
| **Auto-scaling axes** | No manual axis configuration. We do the math so you don't have to. |
| **Color by category** | Optional rainbow mode. Group by status, type, or vibe. |
| **Click to open** | Dots are doors. Click one, open the note. |
| **Hover preview** | Peek at notes without committing. Like window shopping, but for productivity. |
| **Responsive design** | Works in sidebars, splits, or that tiny corner you've crammed it into. |
| **Graceful degradation** | Missing values? We skip them and tell you how many. No crashes, no drama. |

### Configuration

All settings live in the standard Bases "Configure view" menu:

| Setting | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| **X axis** | The property that goes sideways (must be a number) |
| **Y axis** | The property that goes up and down (also a number) |
| **Color by** | Optional property to make things colorful |

---

## Use Cases (a.k.a. "Why Would I Want This?")

### The Quick Wins Hunt

Plot tasks by `effort` (X) and `value` (Y). Sprint to the top-left quadrant. That's where the glory lives.

```yaml
---
effort: 2
value: 8
status: todo
---
```

Low effort. High value. *Chef's kiss.*

### The Book Stack of Shame

You bought 47 books this year. You've read 3. Plot them by `pages` (X) and `interest` (Y). Find the short, exciting ones. Pretend the 800-page biography doesn't exist.

### Project Risk Bingo

Plot projects by `complexity` (X) and `uncertainty` (Y). The top-right corner is where dreams go to die. Steer clear.

### The Research Paper Triage

`citation_count` vs `relevance_score`. Find papers that are both important *and* actually useful. Unicorns, basically.

### Goal Setting for Realists

`time_to_complete` vs `impact`. See which goals are quick wins and which are "maybe next quarter."

---

## Installation

### From Community Plugins (when we're famous)

1. **Settings → Community plugins**
2. Search for "Scatter"
3. Install and enable
4. Celebrate

### Manual Installation (for the impatient)

1. Download `main.js`, `manifest.json`, and `styles.css` from the [latest release](https://github.com/MartinSeeler/obsidian-scatter/releases)
2. Create `.obsidian/plugins/scatter-chart/`
3. Drop the files in
4. Reload Obsidian
5. Enable in **Settings → Community plugins**

### From Source (for the brave)

```bash
git clone https://github.com/MartinSeeler/obsidian-scatter.git
cd obsidian-scatter
npm install
npm run build
# Copy main.js, manifest.json, styles.css to your vault's plugins folder
```

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## Usage

1. Create a Base (or open one you've been neglecting)
2. Filter to notes with numeric properties
3. Click the view selector → **Change layout → Scatter Plot**
4. Open "Configure view" and pick your axes
5. Optionally pick a "Color by" property
6. Marvel at your data visualization skills

**Pro tip:** Use Bases formulas to create computed properties:

```
formula.priority: value * (10 - effort)
```

Now you can plot against `priority`. Big brain energy.

---

## Why Not Just Use Excel?

Oh, you *could* export your notes to Excel. You could wrestle with pivot tables. You could lose an afternoon to conditional formatting. You could email yourself a spreadsheet and never open it again.

Or you could stay in Obsidian, click three buttons, and see your data as a scatter plot.

Your call.

---

## Roadmap

### Coming Soon™

- **Size by property** — Bubbles! The third dimension! (v0.2)
- **Quadrant lines** — Draw threshold lines to create actual zones (v0.2)
- **Legend** — Know what the colors mean (v0.2)
- **Log scale** — For data that spans orders of magnitude (v0.2)

### Coming Eventually™

- **Drag to edit** — Move points to update property values
- **Lasso select** — Grab multiple points for bulk operations
- **Zoom controls** — Buttons for people who don't trust scroll wheels

### Coming Someday™

- **Trend lines** — Linear regression for the statistically inclined
- **Animations** — Smooth transitions that make you feel fancy
- **Time dimension** — Watch your data evolve over time
- **Quadrant labels** — "Quick Wins", "Big Bets", "Money Pits", "Avoid"

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## Contributing

Found a bug? Got a feature idea? PRs welcome — just open an issue first so we can chat.

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## License

MIT © [Martin Seeler](https://github.com/MartinSeeler)

Do whatever you want with it. Just don't blame me if your scatter plot reveals uncomfortable truths about your productivity.

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## Acknowledgments

- The [obsidian-maps](https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-maps) plugin for showing how Bases views work
- The Obsidian team for making Bases happen
- Coffee, for making everything else happen