ExecuteIT-Consulting/MANUAL_SETUP_INSTRUCTIONS.md

# Manual Setup Instructions for ExecuteIT Consulting Vault

## ✅ Vault Structure Created
The complete folder structure and templates have been created automatically.

## 🔌 Recommended Community Plugins Setup

### Step 1: Enable Community Plugins
1. Open Obsidian
2. Go to Settings (gear icon) → Community plugins
3. Click "Turn on community plugins"
4. If prompted about safe mode, click "Turn off Safe Mode"

### Step 2: Install Recommended Plugins

#### Essential Plugins

**1. Dataview**
- Click "Browse" in Community plugins
- Search for "Dataview"
- Click Install, then Enable
- **Purpose**: Dynamic tables and queries for job tracking
- **Configuration**: Settings → Dataview → Enable JavaScript Queries

**2. Templater**
- Search and install "Templater"
- **Purpose**: Advanced template functionality with dynamic dates
- **Configuration**: 
  - Settings → Templater → Template folder location: `07-Templates`
  - Enable "Trigger Templater on new file creation"

**3. Calendar**
- Search and install "Calendar"
- **Purpose**: Visual calendar navigation for daily notes
- **Configuration**: 
  - Settings → Calendar → Dot threshold: 1

#### Highly Recommended Plugins

**4. Kanban**
- Search and install "Kanban"
- **Purpose**: Visualize job pipeline as a kanban board
- **Usage**: Create a kanban board in `02-Jobs` to track application stages

**5. Advanced Tables**
- Search and install "Advanced Tables"
- **Purpose**: Better table editing experience
- **Usage**: Auto-formats tables as you type

**6. Tag Wrangler**
- Search and install "Tag Wrangler"
- **Purpose**: Easier tag management
- **Usage**: Rename tags across all notes easily

#### Optional but Useful

**7. Periodic Notes**
- For advanced weekly/monthly note creation
- Works with Calendar plugin

**8. Graph Analysis**
- Better graph view with more options
- Useful for seeing connections between jobs, skills, projects

**9. Excalidraw**
- For drawing diagrams and architecture sketches
- Great for technical interviews prep

### Step 3: Configure Daily Notes (Already Done)
The daily notes configuration is already set up, but verify:
- Settings → Daily notes → Date format: `YYYY-MM-DD`
- New file location: `01-Daily`
- Template file location: `07-Templates/Daily Note`

### Step 4: Configure Templates (Already Done)
The templates configuration is already set up, but verify:
- Settings → Templates → Template folder location: `07-Templates`

## 📊 Setting Up Dataview Queries

Once Dataview is installed, add these queries to your Home.md dashboard:

### Active Jobs Table
```dataview
TABLE 
  status as Status,
  priority as Priority,
  applied-date as Applied,
  company as Company
FROM "02-Jobs/Active"
WHERE contains(tags, "job-application")
SORT priority DESC, applied-date DESC
```

### Recent Daily Notes
```dataview
LIST
FROM "01-Daily"
SORT file.name DESC
LIMIT 7
```

### Skills by Category
```dataview
TABLE 
  proficiency as Level,
  category as Category
FROM "04-Skills"
WHERE contains(tags, "skill")
SORT proficiency DESC
```

## 🎨 Appearance Settings (Optional)

### Theme Recommendations
1. Settings → Appearance → Themes → Manage
2. Try these popular themes:
   - **Minimal**: Clean, professional look
   - **Things**: GTD-inspired theme
   - **Blue Topaz**: Feature-rich with good color coding

### CSS Snippets (Optional)
You can create custom CSS snippets in `.obsidian/snippets/` for:
- Custom callout styles
- Better table formatting
- Tag coloring

## 📱 Mobile Setup (Optional)

### Obsidian Mobile App
1. Download Obsidian from App Store/Google Play
2. Open existing vault from iCloud/Dropbox/local storage
3. Same plugins available on mobile

### Sync Options
- **Obsidian Sync** (paid, official, most reliable)
- **iCloud** (free for Mac/iOS users)
- **Dropbox/Google Drive** (free, works cross-platform)

## ⚙️ Additional Configuration

### Graph View
Settings → Graph view:
- Enable "Show attachments"
- Groups: Create color groups for tags (jobs, skills, reflections)
- Forces: Adjust for better layout

### Hotkeys
Set up custom hotkeys for frequent actions:
- Settings → Hotkeys
- Recommended:
  - "Open today's daily note" → Ctrl/Cmd + T
  - "Insert template" → Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + T
  - "Quick switcher" → Ctrl/Cmd + O

### File & Links
Settings → Files & Links:
- Default location for new notes: `00-Inbox`
- Automatically update internal links: ON
- Default location for attachments: `08-Resources/Attachments`

## 🎯 First Actions Checklist

After setup is complete:

- [ ] Open vault in Obsidian
- [ ] Install Dataview plugin
- [ ] Install Templater plugin
- [ ] Install Calendar plugin
- [ ] Create first daily note (Ctrl/Cmd + P → "Open today's daily note")
- [ ] Review and customize [[Home]] dashboard
- [ ] Fill out [[Skills Inventory]]
- [ ] Create profiles in `03-Profiles/`:
  - [ ] Data Architect profile
  - [ ] Backend Developer profile
  - [ ] Technical Architect profile
- [ ] Move existing job applications to proper folders:
  - [ ] SEB application → `02-Jobs/Active/`
  - [ ] Vattenfall application → `02-Jobs/Pipeline/`
  - [ ] Svenska Kraftnät → `02-Jobs/Pipeline/`
- [ ] Document 2-3 major Tieto projects in `05-Projects/`
- [ ] Create first weekly reflection

## 📚 Learning Obsidian

### Quick Start Resources
- Obsidian Help Vault (Help → Open help vault)
- [Official Documentation](https://help.obsidian.md/)
- [Obsidian Hub Community](https://publish.obsidian.md/hub)

### Key Concepts
- **Double brackets [[]]**: Create links between notes
- **Tags #**: Categorize and filter notes
- **Frontmatter**: YAML metadata at top of notes
- **Backlinks**: See what notes link to current note
- **Graph view**: Visualize connections

### Markdown Basics
- `#` Headers
- `**bold**` and `*italic*`
- `- [ ]` Checkboxes
- Tables with `|`
- `> ` Blockquotes

## 🆘 Troubleshooting

### Dataview not showing results
- Check that plugin is enabled
- Verify frontmatter YAML is correct (no typos)
- Check query syntax

### Templates not working
- Verify template folder path in settings
- Check that Templater plugin is enabled
- Ensure template files exist in `07-Templates/`

### Sync issues
- Check sync service status
- Verify folder permissions
- Try manual sync/refresh

## 💡 Tips for Success

1. **Start simple**: Don't try to use every feature immediately
2. **Daily notes are key**: Build the habit of daily journaling
3. **Link generously**: Create connections between related notes
4. **Review weekly**: Use weekly reflections to see progress
5. **Customize gradually**: Adjust system as you learn what works
6. **Backup regularly**: Your vault is just a folder - back it up!

---

**Need help?** 
- Obsidian Forum: https://forum.obsidian.md/
- Obsidian Discord: https://discord.gg/obsidianmd
- Reddit: r/ObsidianMD

**Ready to start?** Open [[Home]] and begin your consulting journey!