@tja - FYI the [[…]] syntax Obsidian/Markdown uses does work in DevonThink, if enabled under settings/WikiLinks. Though, it only works within databases (which is a light bummer, if an entirely understandable limitation).
Ah, yes - thanks!
I enabled it:
But the backlinks cannot be seen, which makes this … much less usable.
You need a way to get back to the file you were coming from!
WikiLinks aren’t backlinks nor is it part of the mechanism. They merely point to an existing item or allow creating a new WikiLinked document.
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No.
The point of WikiLinks is the chaining in both directions!
Any Wiki I know of - incl. the one used by Wikipedia - has some “links to this page” option where you can see which pages contain a WikiLink to the respective page.
That’s the whole point of WikiLinks - building a knowledge network!
Apps like Obsidian even offer a graphical view of this network - but even without this, you need the backlinks to find the related knowledge!
Without this, you don’t really have WikiLinks … they only add some convenience but cannot be used to build up knowledge.
That is not part of WikiLinking. Again, a WikiLink is merely a URL to another item, typically another document. The “links to this page” is not part of it. That is something added to the destination document’s content for backlink functionality. Therefore, that’s up to the individual to implement. It’s also why there’s an option in Preferences > WikiLinks to modify the WikiLink template.
Also…
You can Command-Option drag and drop documents to insert item links into a document, creating your own backlinking.
You can also make use of the Document > Links and Mentions inspectors to view or access crosslinked documents.
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I second what Jim says, that’s not a function of Wikilinks specifically, but actually I just wanted to respond and say that Wikipedia does not offer a function that shows inbound links to a page either. Many pages are interlinked (i.e. have mutual links on both pages), but that’s a function of the people writing the pages, it doesn’t happen by automation. Links that do go both ways are not identified, and there are many cases where it doesn’t happen.
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To my knowledge, this is not true - creating a WikiLink automatically creates a backlink that can be seen in the “What links here” tool.
But I am too lazy to test this now.
Anyways, the WikiLink implementation from DTTG simply cannot replace Obsidian for me!
I need automatic backlinking … this is the main thing that connects knowledge.
The DTTG implementation is also … difficult to use, in the details - if I may report:
- It seems to add WikiLinks for any word that was used as a WikiLink.
Who would want that? - SOLVED by a change in the settings …
It also seems to remember WikiLinks that you already renamed and still shows them when you type the word again. That seems to be a bug.
Here, “again” was renamed to “testagain” but “again” still will be shown as WikiLink - like any instance of a word that was created as a WikiLink.
This should not be done automatically, but only when using the double square brackets!
P.S. I could change this by disabling Names and Aliases in the settings - was not sure for what this could be, but found out!
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It does not seem to have a setting were you can just start typing, esp. after you created a new document with a WikiLink and tapped on this - you need to use the Edit button first.
This could be solved by two different modes - Edit mode and View mode, like Obsidian does. In Edit mode, you really need to be fast - I use it to transcript speech or text and really cannot constantly tap on the Edit button. -
It does not seem to allow to select a word and then make it a WikiLink …
This makes really makes it slow to create WikiLinks!
There is a “Link” option in one of the menus, but no “WikiLink” option - but at best this would also work over the keyboard: Select a word, then type in the square bracket and the selected word get’s a WikiLink.
Did you have a look at Obsidian? Just to have an idea.
Given that you can create links to pages that don’t even exist yet, how’s that possible. And Wikipedia is full of such links to pages that still have to be written.
Otoh, if obsidian fits your needs, why not use it?
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It also seems to remember WikiLinks that you already renamed and still shows them when you type the word again. That seems to be a bug.
Did you deselect and reselect the document?
It does not seem to have a setting were you can just start typing, esp. after you created a new document with a WikiLink and tapped on this - you need to use the Edit button first.
This was discussed at length in our beta testing pool and the majority decision was using an explicit Edit mode, hence the need to tap the Edit button to edit the document.
It does not seem to allow to select a word and then make it a WikiLink …
This makes really makes it slow to create WikiLinks!
At this time, using square bracket syntax allows creation of WikiLinked documents. Bearing in mind, this is an entirely new feature in DEVONthink To Go and this is not macOS, there isn’t feature parity between the two apps.
Anyways, the WikiLink implementation from DTTG simply cannot replace Obsidian for me!
…
Did you have a look at Obsidian? Just to have an idea.
Obsidian is not the originator of WikiLinks so any behavior they’ve implemented is their own. Also, you’re confusing what they’ve done as standard behaviors.
PS: We aren’t trying to “replace Obsidian” or other apps. If it works for you, use it. This is no different than how some people use external Markdown editors, even though DEVONthink and DEVONthink To Go can create and edit Markdown.
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OK, thanks.
You meant “the decision was NOT to use an explicite edit mode”, right?
As you need to tab the edit button every time, this is not an “edit mode” in my mind …
I am aware that you don’t want to replace other Apps, but of course it would be great if it could result in exactly that - one App is better than several, if possible.
But for this, you would need to have a look at the features of those other Apps.
Of course you are aware of this 
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Good idea! You’ve resolved my confusion!