This page covers advanced formatting elements that go beyond basic Markdown. For the foundational syntax, see Basic formatting.
Tables
Create tables using vertical bars (|) to separate columns and hyphens (-) to define the header row:
| First name | Last name |
| ---------- | --------- |
| Max | Planck |
| Marie | Curie |
First name | Last name
-- | --
Max | Planck
Marie | Curie
In Live Preview, right-click a table to add or delete columns and rows, or to sort and move them using the context menu. You can also insert a table using the Insert Table command from the Command Palette.
Aligning table columns
Align column content by adding colons (:) to the header row separator:
Left-aligned text | Center-aligned text | Right-aligned text
:-- | :--: | --:
Content | Content | Content
Formatting content within a table
You can use basic Markdown formatting (bold, italic, inline code) inside table cells. To use a vertical bar | inside a cell — for example in an alias or image resize — escape it with a backslash:
First column | Second column
-- | --
[[Basic formatting syntax\|Markdown syntax]] | ![[image.jpg\|200]]
Math
Obsidian supports math expressions using MathJax and LaTeX notation.
Block math
Surround the expression with double dollar signs ($$) to display it as a block:
$$
\begin{vmatrix}a & b\\
c & d
\end{vmatrix}=ad-bc
$$
Inline math
Wrap the expression in single $ symbols to display it inline within a sentence:
This is an inline math expression $e^{2i\pi} = 1$.
Mermaid diagrams
Obsidian supports Mermaid for creating diagrams and charts, including flow charts, sequence diagrams, and timelines.
Create a diagram by opening a mermaid code block:
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>+John: Hello John, how are you?
Alice->>+John: John, can you hear me?
John-->>-Alice: Hi Alice, I can hear you!
John-->>-Alice: I feel great!
```
```mermaid
graph TD
Biology --> Chemistry
```
Linking notes from a diagram
You can create internal links inside a diagram by attaching the internal-link class to nodes:
```mermaid
graph TD
Biology --> Chemistry
class Biology,Chemistry internal-link;
```
```mermaid
graph TD
A[Biology]
B[Chemistry]
A --> B
class A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z internal-link;
```
If a note name contains special characters, wrap it in double quotes: class "⨳ special character" internal-link. Internal links from diagrams do not show up in Graph view.
