START HERE / CORE
Bring earlier work back into view from the note you are writing.
Preview one source. Keep only what helps.
Use the arrows or tap to continue at your pace.
FIRST USE / 1 OF 7
Open a project, meeting, draft, research, or decision note.
Use the work already in progress. An empty test note gives little to compare.
FIRST USE / 2 OF 7
If prompted, select Load Smart Environment.
Continue when the status says Smart Environment ready or Ready.
Core retrieval uses local embeddings by default. No API key is needed.
FIRST USE / 3 OF 7
Use the Command Palette command for your edition:
Core: Smart Connections: Open: Connections view
Pro: Smart Connections Pro: Open: Connections view
FIRST USE / 4 OF 7
Expand one promising row to read the source.
Treat the score as review order, not confidence or quality.
Open the source when the excerpt is not enough.
FIRST USE / 5 OF 7
Before opening a result, select Pause auto-refresh to keep the starting target.
Check the editor and target names. They should now differ.
Resume when results should follow the active note again.
FIRST USE / 6 OF 7
Return to the note that owns the work.
Write the useful conclusion, keep the source open, or drag it in when the relationship should become a link.
The link is optional. Progress in the original work is the goal.
FIRST USE / 7 OF 7
You can name the source, what it contributed, and what should change.
Here, Beta Reader Feedback argues for concrete language.
Use that evidence to revise the draft, or reject it when it does not fit.
CORE LOOP COMPLETE
When you think, "I wrote this somewhere," let the note in view surface candidates.
Inspect only enough context to continue the work, then apply what helps.
Stop when the original note, decision, or next action advances. Everything after this is optional.
RECOVERY / ONLY IF STUCK
Try a note with more meaningful text.
Check that auto-refresh is running.
After major edits or settings changes, use Refresh connections.
RECOVERY / ONE NOTE
Keep the missing note active.
Select Inspect active note from the Smart Environment status menu.
Check eligibility and current source or block state before changing ranking.
RECOVERY / SEVERAL NOTES
Choose Show stats from the status menu, or Environment stats from the status view.
Compare Eligible, Current embeddings, and Needs embedding.
Finish preparation, then preview a result from the same meaningful note.
CONTINUE / CORE CONTROLS
Pin a useful reference. Hide a recurring distraction.
Use Copy as list of links when the visible set belongs in a review note.
Unpin All and Unhide All reverse those states.
CONTINUE / CORE MINI GRAPH
Version 4.0 (Graph + List) adds the Core Connections mini graph.
Use it to scan the current candidate neighborhood, then inspect a source.
Its lines do not create links in your notes.
CONTINUE / RESULT TYPE
Sources returns whole-note candidates.
Blocks returns smaller sections when block indexing is available.
Change Connection results type, not Change target -> Blocks.
CONTINUE / TUNE AFTER VALUE
Lower the result limit or choose Sources versus Blocks.
Move the sidebar where it fits your workspace.
Connections Pro filters displayed results; Environment exclusions change indexing scope.
CONTINUE / CORE FOOTER
Enable Footer connections, then scroll to the note ending.
Expand one result before opening or linking it.
Footer has its own component choice. List only keeps it compact.
ANOTHER START / SMART LOOKUP
Use Smart Lookup when a typed question or remembered idea should determine the results.
Keep Connections for the note in view.
Use native Obsidian search for exact words, filenames, or tags.
OPTIONAL / CONNECTIONS PRO
Run Smart Connections Pro: Toggle: Inline connections.
Hover a marker to see related results for that passage.
The line range identifies the anchor. The marker is not a saved link.
OPTIONAL / CONNECTIONS PRO
On desktop, hold Cmd/Ctrl while hovering an Inline result to use Hover Preview.
Inspect the source before changing context.
Click when you need to open the note.
OPTIONAL / CONNECTIONS PRO
Select the popover header with Connections and its line range.
The main Connections view opens the full result set for that block.
Use it when the small popover is not enough.
OPTIONAL / CONNECTIONS PRO
With a .base file active, run Smart Connections Pro: Add: Connections score bases column.
Choose a reference note. Filter the Base, then sort by score.
Treat values as relative within that Base and reference.
OPTIONAL / CONNECTIONS PRO
Use file.list_connections() in a Bases formula column.
It returns related links with connection scores.
Use score_connection for a numeric value to sort or filter.
Open and review a source before using it.
OPTIONAL / CONNECTIONS PRO
Fix candidate scope and limits first.
Scoring sets the primary relevance value. Ranking changes the final order.
Change one control, refresh the same target, and keep it only when useful results improve.
ANOTHER JOB / SMART GRAPH PRO
Use Smart Graph to explore a topic as a visual source set.
It is a separate Pro plugin, not the Core Connections mini graph.
Review selected sources before using them or sending them onward.
ANOTHER JOB / SMART CONTEXT
Choose Send to Smart Context to open a reviewable set of Connections results.
Confirm the source identities. Remove what does not belong.
Copy only after review. Sending to Context does not send the set to an AI provider.
WHAT DOES THE WORK NEED NEXT?
Smart Lookup: start from a question or remembered idea. It returns sources to inspect, not a written answer.
Smart Context: when another tool needs a bounded set of reviewed notes, build and inspect the package before sending it.
REUSE / CONTINUITY
Smart Templates: when a useful request shape repeats, combine reviewed context, reusable structure, and the instruction unique to this run. Current Templates ends at Copy prompt.
Smart Chat: when a conversation belongs with a note, keep the provider thread attached so you can return to the same work without rebuilding where it belongs.
EXPLORE / REVIEW / ACT
Smart Graph: explore how several notes relate, then open or select the sources that matter.
Smart Dedupe: compare likely overlap before deciding to keep, clarify, consolidate, archive, or ignore.
Connect Pro: let a trusted client invoke bounded vault actions; use the review path for consequential proposed changes.
Graph | Dedupe | Connect Pro
HELP / MATCH THE SYMPTOM
For missing results, check note eligibility and preparation.
For controls or editions, use the current documentation.
After the fix, return to the same note and preview one source.
BACK TO THE WORK
Open a meaningful note. Open Connections.
Preview one related source, then decide what to use or ignore.
The note, decision, or next action is the destination - not this slideshow. Add another plugin only when the next job needs it.
OPTIONAL VIDEO / 01:56-09:04
See meaningful text change which related notes surface.
This older demonstration explains the idea; use this guide for current commands and controls.
OPTIONAL VIDEO / FULL WALKTHROUGH
See the broader workflow in action.
Some interface and plugin details have changed. Follow the current guide when they differ.