Views and editing mode

aliases:
  - How to/Read and edit modes
  - Editing and formatting/Editing and previewing Markdown
  - Editing and formatting/Edit and previewing Markdown
  - Reading view
  - Live preview
  - Source mode
  - Editing view
  - Editing mode
permalink: edit-and-read

Obsidian lets you control how you read and edit notes written in Markdown using views and modes.

Views toggle between reading and editing your notes.
Modes control how Markdown appears while you're editing.

Note

By default, Obsidian opens new tabs in editing mode. You can change this under Settings → Editor → Default view for new tabs.

Reading view

Reading view shows your note without Markdown syntax, offering a clean, readable format for focused review.

To switch to Reading view:

Click the view switcher ( ) in the upper-right corner of the editor.
Or click the interactive status icon ( or ) in the status bar and select Reading view.
Or press Ctrl+E (Cmd+E on macOS).

Note

Enable Settings → Appearance → Show tab title bar to see the view switcher icon.

If that is disabled, turn on Settings → Editor → Show editing mode in status bar to toggle views from the status bar.

View side-by-side

To open a note in both Editing and Reading view at the same time, hold Ctrl (or Cmd on macOS) and click the view switcher.

Editing view

Editing view lets you make changes to your note.

While in Editing view, the Editing mode defines, how Markdown is displayed. You can choose one of two Editing modes: Live Preview or Source mode.

Live Preview

Live Preview shows formatted text inline while hiding most Markdown syntax. When your cursor enters formatted content, the underlying syntax becomes visible for editing.

To switch to Live Preview:

Click the view switcher ( ) in the upper-right corner of the editor.
Or click the interactive status icon ( or ) in the status bar and select Live Preview.
Or press Ctrl+E (Cmd+E on macOS).
Or use the command Toggle Reading view.

Note

By default, editing view is set to Live Preview. You can change this under Settings → Editor → Default editing mode.

In many cases, Live Preview can eliminate the need to switch to Reading view.

Source mode

Source mode displays all Markdown syntax exactly as written. Use it if you prefer plain text or need precise formatting control.

To switch to Source mode:

Click the interactive status icon ( or ) in the status bar and select Source mode.

Note

By default, editing view is set to Live Preview. Change this to Source mode under Settings → Editor → Default editing mode.

To switch to Source mode, now additionally you can:

Click the view switcher ( ) in the upper right corner of your note.
Or press Ctrl+E (Cmd+E on macOS).
Or use the command Toggle Reading view.

Toggle Editing mode

To toggle between Live Preview and Source mode quickly, you can set a Hotkey for the command Toggle Live Preview/Source mode.