Bookmarks
Bookmarks give you instant access to your most-used notes. Instead of searching or scrolling through the file tree, bookmarked notes appear in a dedicated sidebar panel, always one click away.
Adding and Removing Bookmarks
Keyboard Shortcut
Press Ctrl+Shift+B (or Cmd+Shift+B on macOS) to toggle a bookmark on the currently open file. If the file is not bookmarked, it is added. If it is already bookmarked, it is removed.
Context Menu
Right-click a file in the sidebar and select "Bookmark" to add it. This works without opening the file first.
From the Bookmarks Panel
Each bookmarked entry in the panel has a remove button (an X icon) on the right side. Click it to unbookmark the file without opening it.
Bookmarks Panel
The bookmarks panel is a sidebar section that lists all your bookmarked files.
Opening the Panel
The bookmarks panel appears in the sidebar when you toggle it via the sidebar panel selector or through the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P, search for "Toggle Bookmark").
Layout
The panel has two parts:
Header. Displays a star icon, the label "Bookmarks", and the total count of bookmarked files.
Bookmark list. Each entry shows:
- A filled star icon indicating the file is bookmarked.
- The file name (without extension).
- The relative path within the vault (shown below the name when the file is not in the vault root).
- A remove button on hover.
Active File Highlighting
If one of your bookmarked files is currently open in the editor, its entry in the panel is highlighted with a distinct background color. This gives you a visual indicator of where you are relative to your pinned notes.
Empty State
When no files are bookmarked, the panel shows a star icon with the message "No bookmarks yet" and a hint: "Right-click a file or use Ctrl+B to bookmark."
Navigation
Click any entry in the bookmarks panel to open that file in the editor. This is the primary use case: one-click access to files you reference frequently, regardless of where they are in the folder tree.
Persistence
Bookmarks are stored as an array of file paths in Noteriv's local settings. They persist across sessions -- closing and reopening the app does not lose your bookmarks.
If a bookmarked file is moved or renamed through the sidebar, the bookmark path is updated automatically. If a bookmarked file is deleted, the entry remains in the list but will show as unavailable until you remove it.
Use Cases
Reference Notes
Pin your style guide, project glossary, or API reference. These are files you look up repeatedly but rarely edit.
Active Projects
Bookmark the main note for each active project. When you need to context-switch, click the bookmark instead of digging through folders.
Daily Workflow
Bookmark your daily note template, inbox file, or task list. Pair this with Daily Notes for a streamlined morning routine: click the bookmark, then Ctrl+D for today's entry.
Meeting Prep
Before a recurring meeting, bookmark the meeting notes file. After the meeting, remove the bookmark and add the next one.
Bookmarks vs. Favorites vs. Pinned Tabs
Noteriv distinguishes between three related but different features:
| Feature | Scope | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Bookmarks | Sidebar panel | Persistent list of files for quick access |
| Pinned Tabs | Tab bar | Prevents a tab from being closed; tab stays at the left end of the tab bar |
| Recent Files | Quick Open | Automatically tracked; shows your most recently opened files |
Bookmarks are manually curated, which means they represent an intentional decision that a file is important, not just that you opened it recently.
Tips
- Keep the list short. Bookmarks lose their value if you have 50 of them. Aim for 5-10 files that you genuinely access multiple times per day.
- Review periodically. Remove bookmarks for projects or topics that are no longer active. Stale bookmarks add noise.
- Combine with tags. Bookmarking a file does not replace tagging it. Tags are for categorization and querying; bookmarks are for fast access.
- Use relative paths as context. The bookmarks panel shows the relative path below the filename, which helps when you have files with the same name in different folders (e.g.,
projects/alpha/README.mdvsprojects/beta/README.md).