**Created**:: [[2024-08-31 Saturday]]
**Link**:: https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc
**Duration**:: 6:10
# Summary
In this video, Zsolt presents an overview of the new features and improvements in Excalidraw Obsidian version 2.4.0. Key updates include enhanced flowchart capabilities, better PDF integration, and improved user experience with UI adjustments and performance enhancements. Zsolt also highlights the ability to modify hotkeys to minimize conflicts with Obsidian, as well as significant improvements in search functionality.
# Key Takeaways
- Excalidraw now allows for easy creation and navigation of flowcharts using control/command and arrow keys.
- Enhanced PDF support enables importing of PDF pages as images and linking back to the original document for reference.
- The search functionality highlights results effectively across various elements, including text, images, and links.
- Users can now implement hotkey overrides to prevent conflicts with Obsidian's existing shortcuts.
- The performance improvements make handwriting and text editing smoother, along with new features like pan and zoom during text editing.
# Content
Hey everyone, it's Zsolt here with a very quick overview of what's new, along with quality of life improvements and fixes in Excalidraw Obsidian 2.4.0. Flowcharts have arrived! If you create an element and then press control or command along with the arrow keys, you can create next elements in a flowchart. If you press the arrow key multiple times, you can create multiple elements, and if you want to navigate your flowchart, you can use the alt arrow keys to do so. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=0)
I've made some improvements to the PDF support. Namely, if you select a cropped area in the PDF Plus+ plugin, you can paste that area into Excalidraw, and it will be displayed. This does not copy the image; it creates a reference to the image. This means that if you click on this reference, it will take you back to the PDF page and show you where that reference is. Also, in PDF Plus+, you can see all your highlights in all your different documents. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=31)
The second big improvement is that you can now import PDF pages as images into frames. Why is this good? It's good because now you can reference a page—including all its markups—in a markdown document simply by using the frame number, which is the page number. This just makes it so much better and easier to reference your pages with markup. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=67)
Then, I implemented element links that support metadata like tags and inline data view fields. For example, if I take this monkey and add metadata to the link at the top that reminds me of monkeys, when I open Excalibrain, you can see that I created a relationship between this document and monkeys with the "reminds me of" tag. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=95)
I also implemented Obsidian hotkey overrides, so you will notice that Excalidraw comes with a wealth of great hotkeys. However, these hotkeys often conflict with Obsidian's hotkeys. For example, grouping elements in Excalidraw is done with control or command + G, but this opens the graph view in Obsidian. Now, if you don’t want to change your Obsidian hotkeys, you can add overrides here. What the override means is you can tell Excalidraw to disregard the Obsidian hotkeys for these keys while using Excalidraw. You'll find this feature under plugin settings, under appearance and behavior. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=122)
Now, let’s move on to the quality of life improvements. If you Control + Meta (that’s the Windows key) click or Control + Command click on a Mac on an image, then the editor door will open up, and here you can modify the link, change the image itself, or in case of the PDF Plus+ plugin, you can change the crop area. There’s some description at the bottom of the screen to help you do this. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=169)
I’ve made some tweaks to how search works in Excalidraw. First of all, if you press Control + F to bring up the search, Excalidraw is going to search not only in text elements but also in image names, frame names, element links, and so on. Second, the results will be highlighted strongly, so even on a very busy image where you have results all over the place, it’s very easy to spot them. Additionally, if you click a link, a backlink, or a search result from Obsidian, Excalidraw will highlight the results of that search properly; or if the search result is on the markdown side of the document, Excalidraw will flip the document over and show you the result on the markdown side. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=196)
Now there are some new settings as well. For example, you can enable or disable double tap eraser in pen mode, or you can choose single or double click for markdown embed editing. Single click editing means that with a single click, you move into the edit mode instead of having reading mode and needing to click once more to start editing. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=250)
There are some other nice features. If you right-click on the canvas and select canvas and shape properties, now you can change the grid size and grid step. You first need to enable the grid by toggling it on. Once the grid is turned on, you will see the grid size and grid step number that you can change based on your needs. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=275)
There are some exciting performance improvements as well, especially if you use Excalidraw to take handwritten notes. Look at this page; I'm at 10% zoom and it's filled with handwritten text. If I zoom in and start writing, the writing is still smooth; it flows well. I’ve also made some changes that Autosave will now cause much fewer and shorter glitches—hopefully, it will not cause any glitches at all. [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=298)
Now, the other exciting feature is pan and zoom while editing text. This is great; it's such an awesome feature. I can start to edit text, and if I need to move it to the side, I can move it and still continue editing text. Plus, there are a couple of other small enhancements as well. Remember, the next update will come at the beginning of October. If in the meantime, you’re interested in the shiny new things, you can join the beta testing group. I’m going to link the video that explains how to do that in the description. Thank you! [* ](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=353)
# YouTube Details
## YouTube Description
✏️ Sign up for the Visual Thinking Workshop: https://www.visual-thinking-workshop.com/
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If you find my videos helpful, please say thanks by buying me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/zsolt
📩 If you want to connect, you can reach me: (@zsviczian) on the Obsidian Members Group (OMG) on Discord, or on 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/zsviczian
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This video introduces the new feature in Excalidraw Obsidian 2.2.10, Image Fragments, and compares Image Fragments to Image Deconstruction using a Double Bubble Map.
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Timestamps:
[00:00](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=0) Intro
[00:10](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=10) Flowcharts
[00:30](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=30) PDF Improvements
[01:33](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=93) Element Links with Metadata
[02:46](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=166) Link Editor
[03:16](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=196) Better Search
[04:07](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=247) New Settings
[04:34](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=274) Change Grid Size and Frequency
[04:58](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=298) Improved Ink Flow
[05:31](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=331) Pan & Zoom While Editing Text
[05:51](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=351) Closing remarks
-------
🍿Watch next:
📽️ The Excalidraw-Obsidian Showcase: 57 key features in just 17 minutes https://youtu.be/P_Q6avJGoWI
📽️ Getting Started with Excalidraw https://youtu.be/QKnQgSjJVuc
📽️ Getting Started with ExcaliBrain https://youtu.be/8LE_QdYQZVk
📽️ The Playful PKM Castle: A Whirlwind Tour of Zsolt's Visual Thinking World! https://youtu.be/X0AmZGQ_7z4
📽️ Which Obsidian-Excalidraw release channel is the right for you? https://youtu.be/2poSS-Z91lY
📽️ Idea Mixer https://youtu.be/ItV8PEaPorE
📽️ 6 Strategies for Linking Visual Thoughts https://youtu.be/qiKuqMcNWgU
📽️ Visually Connect Ideas https://youtu.be/mvMQcz401yo
📽️ How are these related? https://youtu.be/N6EFydv0tug
📽️ Deconstruct Elements Script: https://youtu.be/HRtaaD34Zzg
📽️ Knowledge Discovery Using Icons https://youtu.be/_OEljzZ33H8
📽️ Block Reference Images https://youtu.be/yZQoJg2RCKI
📽️ Double Bubble Map https://youtu.be/Hm4En13TDjs
📽️Visual Tools for Transforming Information Into Knowledge https://youtu.be/i5J5pzICrho
---------
Visual Thinking Workshop: https://www.visual-thinking-workshop.com/
My blog: https://zsolt.blog/
https://excalidraw-obsidian.online/
Obsidian: https://obsidian.md
Excalidraw-Obsidian: https://github.com/zsviczian/obsidian-excalidraw-plugin/
## YouTube Transcript
[hey everyone it's jolt here with a very](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=0) [quick overview what's new quality of](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=2) [life improvements and fixes in excolo](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=5) [obsidian](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=7) [2.4.0 flowcharts have arrived if you](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=9) [create an element and then press control](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=12) [or command arrow keys you can create](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=15) [next elements in a flowchart if you](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=18) [press the arrow key multiple times then](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=20) [you can create multiple elements and if](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=22) [you want to navigate your flowchart you](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=25) [can use the alt arrow keys to do do so](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=27) [then I've made some improvements to the](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=31) [PDF support namely if you select a cbed](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=33) [area in the PDF Plus+ plugin you can](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=37) [paste that area into exol draw and that](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=41) [area is going to be displayed this is](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=44) [not going to copy the image this is a](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=47) [reference to the image this means that](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=49) [if you click on this reference it will](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=52) [take you back to the PDF page and show](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=54) [you where that reference is and also in](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=56) [PDF Plus+ you can see all your](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=59) [highlights in all your different](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=61) [documents the second big Improvement is](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=64) [now you can import PDF Pages as images](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=67) [into frames why is this good for example](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=71) [this is good because now you can](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=74) [reference a page including all its](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=76) [markups in a markdown document simply by](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=79) [using the frame number which is the page](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=83) [number and this just makes it so much](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=86) [better and easier easier to reference](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=89) [your mark your pages with markup then I](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=90) [implemented element links that support](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=95) [metadata like tags and inline data view](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=98) [Fields so for example if I take this](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=101) [monkey and add the metadata the link at](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=104) [the top reminds me of monkeys then if I](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=108) [open EXC brain you can see that with](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=111) [this I created a](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=113) [relationship between this document and](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=115) [monkeys with the reminds me of](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=118) [tag I implemented obsidian hotkey](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=122) [overrides so you will notice that exol](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=125) [comes with a wealth of great hot keys](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=127) [but these hot Keys often conflict](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=131) [obsidian hot keys so for example](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=134) [grouping elements in exol draw is done](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=136) [with control or command G but this opens](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=139) [the graph view in an obsidian now if you](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=143) [don't want to change your obsidian hot](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=145) [case you can add over rides here what](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=148) [the override means is you can tell exol](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=151) [draw to disregard the obsidian hot keys](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=155) [for these keys while using excal draw](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=158) [you'll find this feature under plugin](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=161) [settings under appearance and behavior](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=164) [now let's move on to the quality of life](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=167) [improvements if you control plus meta](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=169) [that's the Windows key click or Control](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=172) [Plus command click on a Mac on an image](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=175) [then this editor door will open up and](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=178) [here you can modify the link you can](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=181) [change the image itself or in case of](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=183) [the PDF Plus+ plugin for example you can](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=186) [change the crop area there's some](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=189) [description at the bottom of the screen](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=191) [to help you do this I've made some](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=193) [tweaks how search in exol works first of](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=196) [all if you press contrl F to bring up](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=201) [the search now excolo is going to search](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=204) [not only in text elements but also in](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=208) [image names in frame names in element](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=210) [links and so on and second the results](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=213) [are going to be highlighted strongly so](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=216) [even on a very busy image where you have](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=219) [results all over the place it's very](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=222) [easy to spot the results also if you](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=225) [click a link a back link a search result](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=229) [from obsidian then excolo is going to](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=232) [highlight the results of that search](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=235) [properly or if the search result is on](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=238) [the markdown side of the document EXC](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=240) [colro is going to flip the document over](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=242) [and show you the result on the markdown](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=245) [side now there are some new settings as](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=247) [well for example you can enable or](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=250) [disable double tap eraser in pen mode or](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=253) [you can choose single or doubleclick](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=257) [markdown embed editing single click](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=261) [editing means that with a single click](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=263) [you move into the edit mode instead of](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=266) [having reading mode and then needing to](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=268) [click once more to start](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=271) [editing now there are some other nice](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=273) [features if you right click on the](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=275) [canvas and select canvas and shape](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=278) [properties now you can change the grid](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=281) [size and grid step you first need to](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=284) [enable grid by toggling the grid and](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=287) [once the grid is turned on you will see](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=290) [the grid size and grid step number that](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=292) [you can change based on your needs now](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=295) [there's some exciting performance](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=298) [Improvement as well especially if you](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=301) [use excolo to take handwritten notes](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=303) [look at this page I'm at 10% zoom and](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=307) [it's filled with handwritten text if I](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=310) [zoom in and start writing the writing is](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=313) [still smooth it flows well and also I've](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=316) [made some changes that Autos saave will](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=319) [cause much fewer and shorter glitches](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=322) [hopefully it will not cause any glitches](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=325) [at all now the other exciting feature is](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=328) [pan and zoom while editing text which is](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=331) [great it's such an awesome feature I can](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=336) [start to edit text and if I need to move](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=338) [it to the side I can move it and still](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=341) [continue editing text plus there are](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=344) [couple of other small enhancements as](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=347) [well remember the next update will come](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=350) [at the beginning of October if in the](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=353) [meantime you're interested in the shiny](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=356) [new things you can join the beta testing](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=358) [group I'm going to link the video that](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=362) [explains how to do that in the](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=365) [description thank you](https://youtu.be/LtuAaqY_DNc?t=368)