[GUI Plugin] Highlights to Obsidian

[theducks]

Originally Posted by justanotheruser.

I’d really appreciate some help in seeing if we can get some more field options please?

I’m hoping to get pages (page length), isbn and published year as options when sending to obsidian. I normally have the book sync plugin do this for me but with these implementations I would not need that plugin anymore.

@jm289765

Otherwise, can someone show me where I could add that myself? If it is possible?

Preferences: Add your own columns

[justanotheruser.]

Originally Posted by theducks

Preferences: Add your own columns

Thanks, I have now added that for isbn. Haven’t figured out pages count yet, but I’ll try.

I’m looking for how to implement that into this plugin so that it also comes into obsidian when it is imported. I tried just adding the {isbn} tag but looks like it isn’t supported.

Any idea how I would do that please?

[jm289765]

Originally Posted by justanotheruser.

I tried just adding the {isbn} tag but looks like it isn’t supported.

Any idea how I would do that please?

How to add the isbn formatting option.

Go to make_book_format_dict in highlight_sender.py. Edit the format_options dict to have an "isbn" element with the book's ISBN. The keys in this dict should be the same as the formatting options you plan to use in H2O, e.g. an "isbn" key in format_options will let you use the {isbn} tag.

You'll need to modify the make_book_format_dict function to take the book's isbn as an input. To do that, put the isbn into a dict similar to how the book titles and authors are handled, and pass that value through make_format_dict (lines 237, 705).

The value of book_titles_authors is set on line 564. The logic for calculating the value of it is in button_actions.py, lines 49 and 227-246. It should be relatively easy to make something similar for isbn.

I think db.field_for("column_name", book_id) will give you the value of custom columns via the lookup name that you choose when creating the column in calibre, but i'm not completely sure.

Formatting options for page length and pub_date can be created similarly.

[justanotheruser.]

Originally Posted by jm289765

How to add the isbn formatting option.

Go to make_book_format_dict in highlight_sender.py. Edit the format_options dict to have an "isbn" element with the book's ISBN. The keys in this dict should be the same as the formatting options you plan to use in H2O, e.g. an "isbn" key in format_options will let you use the {isbn} tag.

You'll need to modify the make_book_format_dict function to take the book's isbn as an input. To do that, put the isbn into a dict similar to how the book titles and authors are handled, and pass that value through make_format_dict (lines 237, 705).

The value of book_titles_authors is set on line 564. The logic for calculating the value of it is in button_actions.py, lines 49 and 227-246. It should be relatively easy to make something similar for isbn.

I think db.field_for("column_name", book_id) will give you the value of custom columns via the lookup name that you choose when creating the column in calibre, but i'm not completely sure.

Formatting options for page length and pub_date can be created similarly.

Wow, thank you for such a detailed response from the developer of the plugin themselves. Thank you. I can’t wait to delve into it.

While you are here, is there any chance you could point me in the direction to inherit the chapter number for the highlights/annotations that are coming through please? Similar to when exporting in .md through annotations

That is literally the only other thing I would need to make this perfect for importing in one go.

Again, thank you for taking the time to respond.

[theducks]

Do you really need a custom column for ISBN?
This number can be INCLUDED in identifiers
The search is just a bit more complex to extract just that.

identifiers:=isbn:=123456789 will find books with a type equal to ISBN having a value equal to 123456789.

BTW custom columns are always referenced by their lookup name which get a leading (#name}

[jm289765]

Originally Posted by justanotheruser.

While you are here, is there any chance you could point me in the direction to inherit the chapter number for the highlights/annotations that are coming through please? Similar to when exporting in .md through annotations

Use toc_family_titles from the annotation's json object.

Instead of make_book_format_dict, you would add this one to make_highlight_format_dict.

highlight_format = {
    ...
    chapter_title: str(annot["toc_family_titles"])
}

[retval]

Greetings, I am trying to use this plugin, but it does not recognize the specific folder inside my vault. I have thought that maybe the path is too long and I have shortened it, but it still doesn't work.

I get the following error message:
Vault not found.
A vault could not be found for the URL.

The address of the vault is this
D:\NUESTROS DOCUMENTOS\CHRISTIAN\Bobeda de notas OBSIDIAN\Mi boveda
I appreciate your help.

[jm289765]

Originally Posted by retval

Greetings, I am trying to use this plugin, but it does not recognize the specific folder inside my vault. [...]

H2O uses the "vault" and "file" parameters when using the Obsidian URI. Maybe Obsidian defaults to only checking the C:\ drive, and it might be fixable by either changing H2O to use the "path" URI parameter or by moving your vault from your D:\ drive to your C:\ drive.

Alternatively, if your vault is on a USB stick or something similar, your Obsidian installation might not be aware that the vault exists. You can fix that by opening the vault in Obsidian.

It's also possible that your H2O config is wrong. Under Config -> Other Options, the "Obsidian vault name" setting should be the name of the folder that has a folder called .obsidian inside it. The name of the sub-folder inside your vault should be specified in Config -> Formatting Options -> Note title format.

[ecovisiones]

Hi! First of all, thanks for this plugin — it’s a great idea and very helpful for anyone who uses Calibre + Obsidian.

I’ve been testing the latest version (1.4.1) on Linux (Ubuntu 24.04), and here’s what I’ve found regarding the obsidian:// URI flow and note creation:
What works:

The obsidian://new?... URI does work to create notes in Obsidian.

After allowing the system handler prompt in the browser once, Obsidian handles the link correctly and creates the note in the vault.

❌ What doesn’t work automatically:

webbrowser.open() opens the default browser (as expected), but requires a manual click every time to "Visit site" or confirm the handler.

Enabling the checkbox “Use Linux xdg-open command…” in the plugin does not change the behavior — it still opens the browser.

I tested replacing webbrowser.open() with:

os.system("xdg-open 'obsidian://...'")

subprocess.run(["xdg-open", ...])

Direct call to Obsidian binary with the URI
But none of these worked when executed from within Calibre, even though they work fine from the terminal.

Hypothesis:

Calibre (installed in /opt) may be running in an environment where graphical environment variables ($DISPLAY, DBus, etc.) are not inherited correctly. That prevents xdg-open or GUI apps from launching from subprocesses.

Current best option:

Returning to webbrowser.open(uri) is the most stable method. After the first browser confirmation, it works every time — but requires a manual click unless browsers allow persistent approval (not always the case).
Suggestion:

It would be helpful if the plugin’s config UI made this clearer — maybe by noting that:

The xdg-open option might not work reliably under some Linux environments.

And that browsers will always require user interaction for security reasons.

Thanks again for the great plugin, and happy to share test cases if useful!

ecovisiones