Prefer linking with the actual filename, instead of aliases or display text
Obsidian Aliases ↗ (and more specifically Obsidian link display text in Internal links ↗) causes the link label (display text) to not explicitly match the link destination.
Link display Text:
You can add [[Links#Change the link display text|link display text]], and this will render as “You can add link display text”.
Alias:
This is even easier if the note has an aliases frontmatter property value, since that alias would show on the autosuggest.
Encourage naming notes with maximum context, or refactoring notes to prevent uncertain context.
Link resource routes are already implicitly hidden for better prose; furthermore, wikilinks mask the full filepath to a (possibly very nested) file resource, instead providing a shortcut/alias to that file resource via unique filenames.
Reasons to use aliases:
- More natural flow in prose (applies for display text)
- Better discoverability: in Obsidian, (un)linked mentions via Backlinks are identified via filename AND aliases!
- Aliases help identify further connections besides direct filenames
Reasons to avoid aliases:
- it’s hard to guess the right destination by a different label
- it’s easy to guess another destination by similar labels
- the label is mistaken as its own note (which doesn’t exist)
- when renaming the file, aliased links don’t get updated
This is to make the linked note explicit at a glance + cognitively/computationally coupled.
Your options should be, in descending order of desirability:
- BEST: explicitly use the link’s actual filename, without an alias,
- reuse an existing alias,
- create a new alias in the source note to use in the destination note
- or use custom display text in the destination note (that is, without an alias in the source note)
- preferably as a close variation of the current note title
Aliases are best used for discoverability.
Especially in fuzzy-search quick-switcher. To find a specific note, purposely, or even accidentally when about to create a similar note.
Aliases also help to discover unlinked mentions.