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Breadcrumbs Docs

Export to Canvas

This command traverses the current note’s Breadcrumbs graph and writes the result to a native Obsidian Canvas (.canvas) file, then opens it.

Each note becomes a file node and each followed edge becomes a labelled arrow. Nodes are placed as a tidy tree — depth sets the level, and each parent is centred over its children — so the canvas reads like an org chart rather than a tangle.

When you run the command, a dialog lets you set the field groups to follow, the depth, the layout direction, and whether to use semantic edge anchors for this export. If a canvas already exists at the target path, Breadcrumbs asks whether to overwrite it or create a new one (a numbered copy).

Settings

Section titled “Settings”

Change the defaults under Settings > Commands > Create canvas

  • Field groups: Which field groups the traversal follows. Empty follows every field — which from a hub note can pull in the whole connected graph, so pick a direction like down for a focused map. The fields are read from the selected groups each time you export, so a field you add to a group later is included automatically.
  • Depth: How many edges to follow out from the active note.
  • Direction: Left → right (depth runs in columns) or Top → bottom (depth runs in rows).
  • Semantic edge anchors: Attach each edge by the meaning of its field instead of by the layout direction. Off by default. See Semantic edge anchors.
  • Target Path Template: Template for the name (path) of the canvas file. You don’t need to add the .canvas extension. Placeholders:
    • {{source.folder}}: The folder of the current note
    • {{source.path}}: The path of the current note
    • {{source.basename}}: The basename of the current note
    • e.g. {{source.folder}}/{{source.basename}} canvas

Semantic edge anchors

Section titled “Semantic edge anchors”

Added in 4.21.14.

By default, every edge on the canvas runs in the layout direction: from the right side of one card to the left side of the next (or bottom to top with Top → bottom). That suits the automatic tree layout.

If you rearrange the cards by hand — parents above, children below, siblings to the side — turn on Semantic edge anchors. Each edge then attaches to the sides that match its field’s group:

Field group Edge runs from → to
ups top → bottom
downs bottom → top
nexts right → left
prevs, sames left → right

Once you move a parent above its note and the children below it, the edges already connect cleanly, with no re-anchoring by hand.

The side comes from the field’s group, not its name, so custom fields work: put a parent field in the ups group and it anchors like up. Fields that aren’t in one of these five default groups keep the direction-based sides.