Bases View for Literature Notes

Obsidian's Bases feature (available in Obsidian 1.10+) allows you to create queryable table views of your notes. This page provides a Bases configuration for browsing your BibLib literature notes.

Quick Start

1. Create a new file in your vault with the .base extension (e.g., Literature Notes.base)
2. Copy the configuration below into the file
3. Open the file to see your literature library as an interactive table

Features

The provided Bases configuration includes:

• Multiple views: All References, By Type, By Year, By Author, By Venue, and more
• Filtered views: Journal Articles, Books & Chapters, Conference Papers, Theses, Web Sources
• Attachment tracking: Views for notes with/without attachments
• Reading workflow: Track reading status with grouped views
• Computed fields: Author formatting, publication type labels, citation display

Configuration

Copy this configuration into a .base file:

# BibLib Literature Notes
# A Bases view for managing your academic reference library
# Assumes literature notes are tagged with #literature_note (configurable in BibLib settings)

filters:
  and:
    - file.hasTag("literature_note")

formulas:
  # === AUTHOR FORMATTING ===
  # First author's family name (for sorting and display)
  firstAuthor: 'if(author && list(author).length > 0, list(author)[0].family, "Unknown")'

  # Author count for display
  authorCount: 'if(author, list(author).length, 0)'

  # Formatted author string: "Smith" or "Smith et al." or "Unknown"
  authorsShort: 'if(!author || list(author).length == 0, "Unknown", if(list(author).length == 1, list(author)[0].family, list(author)[0].family + " et al."))'

  # Two authors: "Smith & Jones"
  authorsTwoOrLess: 'if(!author || list(author).length == 0, "Unknown", if(list(author).length == 1, list(author)[0].family, if(list(author).length == 2, list(author)[0].family + " & " + list(author)[1].family, list(author)[0].family + " et al.")))'

  # === PUBLICATION TYPE ===
  # Human-readable type labels
  typeLabel: 'if(type == "article-journal", "Journal Article", if(type == "book", "Book", if(type == "chapter", "Book Chapter", if(type == "thesis", "Thesis", if(type == "paper-conference", "Conference Paper", if(type == "report", "Report", if(type == "webpage", "Web Page", if(type == "article-magazine", "Magazine", if(type == "article-newspaper", "Newspaper", if(type == "dataset", "Dataset", if(type == "software", "Software", type)))))))))))'

  # Type category for grouping (broader categories)
  typeCategory: 'if(type == "article-journal" || type == "article-magazine" || type == "article-newspaper", "Articles", if(type == "book" || type == "chapter", "Books & Chapters", if(type == "thesis" || type == "dissertation", "Theses", if(type == "paper-conference" || type == "speech", "Conference", if(type == "webpage" || type == "post-weblog", "Web", if(type == "dataset" || type == "software", "Data & Software", "Other"))))))'

  # Type icon (emoji indicators)
  typeIcon: 'if(type == "article-journal", "📄", if(type == "book", "📚", if(type == "chapter", "📖", if(type == "thesis", "🎓", if(type == "paper-conference", "🎤", if(type == "webpage", "🌐", if(type == "dataset", "📊", if(type == "software", "💻", "📝"))))))))'

  # === DATE HANDLING ===
  # Publication year (handles both 'year' field and 'issued' CSL date)
  pubYear: 'if(year, year, if(issued && issued["date-parts"] && list(issued["date-parts"]).length > 0, list(issued["date-parts"])[0][0], "n.d."))'

  # Decade for grouping
  decade: 'if(year, (number(year) / 10).floor() * 10 + "s", if(issued && issued["date-parts"], (number(list(issued["date-parts"])[0][0]) / 10).floor() * 10 + "s", "Unknown"))'

  # Age of reference (years since publication)
  yearsOld: 'if(year, (number(today().format("YYYY")) - number(year)), null)'

  # Recency category
  recency: 'if(!year, "Unknown", if(number(today().format("YYYY")) - number(year) <= 2, "Recent (0-2 years)", if(number(today().format("YYYY")) - number(year) <= 5, "Fairly Recent (3-5 years)", if(number(today().format("YYYY")) - number(year) <= 10, "Moderate (6-10 years)", "Older (10+ years)"))))'

  # === VENUE / SOURCE ===
  # Where it was published (journal, book, publisher)
  venue: 'if(container-title, container-title, if(publisher, publisher, ""))'

  # === ATTACHMENTS ===
  # Has attachment?
  hasAttachment: 'attachment && !attachment.isEmpty()'

  # Attachment count
  attachmentCount: 'if(attachment, list(attachment).length, 0)'

  # === IDENTIFIERS ===
  # Has DOI?
  hasDOI: 'DOI && DOI != ""'

  # Has URL?
  hasURL: 'URL && URL != ""'

  # Has ISBN?
  hasISBN: 'ISBN && ISBN != ""'

  # Has any identifier
  hasIdentifier: 'formula.hasDOI || formula.hasURL || formula.hasISBN'

  # === CONTENT INDICATORS ===
  # Has abstract?
  hasAbstract: 'abstract && abstract != ""'

  # === READING STATUS ===
  # Common reading workflow statuses (assumes optional 'status' field in frontmatter)
  # Users can add 'status: unread/reading/read/cited' to their literature notes
  readingStatus: 'if(status, status, "unread")'

  # Reading status category
  readingCategory: 'if(status == "cited", "Cited", if(status == "read", "Read", if(status == "reading", "In Progress", "To Read")))'

  # === SORTING ===
  # Sort by year descending (newer first), nulls last
  yearSort: 'if(year, 10000 - number(year), 0)'

  # Sort by author then year
  authorYearSort: 'formula.firstAuthor + "-" + formula.pubYear'

  # === DISPLAY HELPERS ===
  # Citation-like display: "Smith (2024)"
  citationShort: 'formula.authorsShort + " (" + formula.pubYear + ")"'

  # With type icon
  citationWithIcon: 'formula.typeIcon + " " + formula.citationShort'

  # === JOURNAL ARTICLE SPECIFIC ===
  # Volume/issue/pages combined
  volumeIssuePage: 'if(volume, volume + if(number, "(" + number + ")", "") + if(page, ": " + page, ""), if(page, page, "—"))'

  # === AGE CATEGORIES ===
  # When was note created (for tracking reading backlog)
  addedRecently: 'if(((number(now()) - number(file.ctime)) / 86400000) < 7, "This week", if(((number(now()) - number(file.ctime)) / 86400000) < 30, "This month", if(((number(now()) - number(file.ctime)) / 86400000) < 90, "Last 3 months", "Older")))'

  # Days since added
  daysSinceAdded: '((number(now()) - number(file.ctime)) / 86400000).floor()'

views:
  # === ALL REFERENCES (Default Table) ===
  - type: table
    name: "All References"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - formula.venue
      - attachment
      - DOI
      - file.tags
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC
      - property: formula.firstAuthor
        direction: ASC

  # === COMPACT VIEW ===
  - type: table
    name: "Compact"
    order:
      - formula.citationWithIcon
      - title
      - attachment
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === BY TYPE (Grouped Table) ===
  - type: table
    name: "By Type"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - formula.venue
      - attachment
    groupBy:
      property: formula.typeCategory
      direction: ASC
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === BY YEAR (Grouped Table) ===
  - type: table
    name: "By Year"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - formula.venue
      - attachment
    groupBy:
      property: formula.pubYear
      direction: DESC
    sort:
      - property: formula.firstAuthor
        direction: ASC

  # === BY DECADE (Grouped) ===
  - type: table
    name: "By Decade"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - attachment
    groupBy:
      property: formula.decade
      direction: DESC
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === BY FIRST AUTHOR ===
  - type: table
    name: "By Author"
    order:
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - formula.venue
      - attachment
    groupBy:
      property: formula.firstAuthor
      direction: ASC
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === BY JOURNAL/VENUE ===
  - type: table
    name: "By Venue"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - attachment
    groupBy:
      property: formula.venue
      direction: ASC
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === BY RECENCY ===
  - type: table
    name: "By Recency"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - attachment
    groupBy:
      property: formula.recency
      direction: ASC
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === RECENT ADDITIONS ===
  - type: table
    name: "Recently Added"
    order:
      - formula.citationShort
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - attachment
      - file.ctime
    sort:
      - property: file.ctime
        direction: DESC
    limit: 50

  # === READING LIST (by status) ===
  - type: table
    name: "Reading List"
    order:
      - formula.citationShort
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - attachment
      - formula.readingStatus
    groupBy:
      property: formula.readingCategory
      direction: ASC
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === WITH ATTACHMENTS ONLY ===
  - type: table
    name: "With Attachments"
    filters:
      and:
        - formula.hasAttachment
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - attachment
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === MISSING ATTACHMENTS ===
  - type: table
    name: "Missing Attachments"
    filters:
      and:
        - '!formula.hasAttachment'
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - formula.typeLabel
      - DOI
      - URL
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === JOURNAL ARTICLES ONLY ===
  - type: table
    name: "Journal Articles"
    filters:
      and:
        - type == "article-journal"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - container-title
      - formula.volumeIssuePage
      - attachment
      - DOI
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === BOOKS & CHAPTERS ===
  - type: table
    name: "Books & Chapters"
    filters:
      or:
        - type == "book"
        - type == "chapter"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - publisher
      - edition
      - attachment
      - ISBN
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === CONFERENCE PAPERS ===
  - type: table
    name: "Conference Papers"
    filters:
      and:
        - type == "paper-conference"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - container-title
      - publisher-place
      - attachment
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === THESES ===
  - type: table
    name: "Theses"
    filters:
      or:
        - type == "thesis"
        - type == "dissertation"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - publisher
      - attachment
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === WEB SOURCES ===
  - type: table
    name: "Web Sources"
    filters:
      or:
        - type == "webpage"
        - type == "post-weblog"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - URL
      - attachment
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === WITH ABSTRACTS ===
  - type: table
    name: "With Abstracts"
    filters:
      and:
        - formula.hasAbstract
    order:
      - formula.citationShort
      - title
      - abstract
      - attachment
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === BY TAGS ===
  - type: table
    name: "By Tags"
    order:
      - formula.authorsShort
      - formula.pubYear
      - title
      - attachment
    groupBy:
      property: file.tags
      direction: ASC
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

  # === LIST VIEW ===
  - type: list
    name: "Simple List"
    order:
      - formula.citationShort
      - title
      - attachment
    sort:
      - property: formula.firstAuthor
        direction: ASC
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

Customization

Changing the Literature Note Tag

If you've configured BibLib to use a different tag (not #literature_note), update the filter at the top:

filters:
  and:
    - file.hasTag("your_custom_tag")

Adding a Reading Status Field

The "Reading List" view uses an optional status field. To use this feature, add a status field to your literature notes' frontmatter:

---
status: unread  # or: reading, read, cited
---

You can add this as a custom frontmatter field in BibLib's settings.

Adding Custom Views

You can add your own views by following the pattern in the configuration. For example, to create a view filtered by a specific tag:

  - type: table
    name: "My Project"
    filters:
      and:
        - file.hasTag("my-project")
    order:
      - formula.citationShort
      - title
      - attachment
    sort:
      - property: formula.yearSort
        direction: DESC

Available Formulas

The configuration includes these computed properties you can use in your views:

Formula	Description	Example Output
formula.authorsShort	First author with "et al."	"Smith et al."
formula.firstAuthor	First author's family name	"Smith"
formula.pubYear	Publication year	"2024"
formula.typeLabel	Human-readable type	"Journal Article"
formula.typeIcon	Emoji for type	"📄"
formula.venue	Journal or publisher	"Nature"
formula.citationShort	Short citation	"Smith et al. (2024)"
formula.decade	Publication decade	"2020s"
formula.recency	Age category	"Recent (0-2 years)"

Requirements

• Obsidian 1.10 or later (Bases feature)
• Literature notes created with BibLib (CSL-JSON frontmatter)

Related

• Obsidian Bases Documentation
• Bases Syntax Reference
• Bases Functions