How to Create a Map of Content (MOC) using Dataview in Obsidian

Image by author of his MOC with Description removed for illustration purposes.

One issue with Obsidian that I have found is you can’t see a body of related work all in the one place. You can search on tags or aliases, but this will return a list in the left-hand column to scroll through. It is designed to select notes as opposed to an index of related notes.

I found this frustrating, particularly with the articles I write, for example. It is handy to look through an index note to see what I have already written. It can save me writing another article on the same subject without referring to one I have already published. Another aspect is that looking through the index can spark some ideas for other articles.

Of course, articles are not the only area where such an index page is useful. How can you see a list of all the books you have read? Perhaps some inspirational quotes?

The solution is a Map of Content or (MOC). I cannot say for sure where the term originated, but my first exposure to it was through Nick Milo of Linking Your Thinking. If you break down the term, Map is the index or table and the Content is the collection of notes being indexed. The MOC is effectively collating all the notes relating to a particular subject or theme in a singular higher level note. By creating your MOC using linked notes, you are creating a jumping off point into the deeper…