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Common Issues

Possible causes:
  1. Modifier key not held down - You must hold the modifier key (Cmd/Win/Ctrl/Alt) while pressing the number key. Pressing them sequentially won’t work.
  2. Wrong modifier key - Check your settings to confirm which modifier key is configured. Go to Settings → Quick Select → Modifier key.
  3. System shortcuts conflicting - On Windows, Win+1 through Win+9 are used to launch taskbar applications. Try switching to Ctrl or Alt as your modifier key.
  4. Plugin not loaded - Verify Quick Select is enabled in Settings → Community plugins.
  5. No modal open - Shortcuts only work when a modal or suggestion popup is active. Try opening the Quick Open modal (Ctrl/Cmd+O) first.
Solution:
1. Open Settings → Quick Select
2. Change "Modifier key" to "Control" or "Alt"
3. Open any modal (e.g., Cmd/Ctrl+O)
4. Hold Ctrl (or Alt) and press 1
Possible causes:
  1. Modifier key not pressed - Counters only appear when you hold down the configured modifier key (unless transition style is set to “permanent”).
  2. Transition style set to “none” - With this setting, counters still function but may appear/disappear too quickly to notice.
  3. CSS theme conflict - Some custom themes may hide or obscure the counter elements.
  4. Transition delay - There’s a 150ms delay before counters appear (see main.ts:288).
Solution:Try setting transition style to “permanent” to always show counters:
1. Open Settings → Quick Select
2. Set "Counter transition style" to "Permanent"
3. Counters should now always be visible in modals
If counters still don’t appear, check for theme conflicts by temporarily switching to Obsidian’s default theme.
Possible causes:
  1. Another plugin using the same shortcuts - Some plugins may register Mod+Number shortcuts globally.
  2. Custom hotkeys configured - Check Settings → Hotkeys for conflicting shortcuts.
  3. System-level shortcuts - Operating system shortcuts take precedence over Obsidian.
Solution:
1. Open Settings → Hotkeys
2. Search for shortcuts using numbers (1-9)
3. Remove or reassign conflicting hotkeys
4. Change Quick Select modifier key if needed
Quick Select uses Obsidian’s Scope API to register shortcuts only when modals are open, minimizing conflicts. However, some plugins may use global shortcuts that override Quick Select.
Expected behavior:Quick Select fully supports popout windows. The plugin detects popout windows and initializes keyboard listeners for them (see main.ts:311-322).If not working:
  1. Popout window opened before plugin loaded - Try closing and reopening the popout window.
  2. Window focus issues - Ensure the popout window has keyboard focus.
Solution:
1. Close any popout windows
2. Reload Obsidian (Ctrl/Cmd+R)
3. Re-open popout windows
4. Try Quick Select shortcuts in the popout window
The plugin listens for layout-change events and automatically initializes support for new popout windows.
Possible causes:
  1. Scope not cleaned up properly - If a modal closes unexpectedly, the keyboard scope may not be removed.
  2. Plugin error - Check the Developer Console (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I) for errors.
Solution:
1. Open Developer Console (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I)
2. Look for errors starting with "QuickOpen:"
3. Try reloading Obsidian (Ctrl/Cmd+R)
4. If issue persists, disable and re-enable Quick Select
The plugin includes error handling to prevent scope leaks (main.ts:100-132), but edge cases may occur.
Expected behavior:Quick Select patches two types of Obsidian UI components:
  • SuggestModal - Standard modals like Quick Open, Command Palette
  • PopoverSuggest - Inline suggestions like tag autocomplete, link suggestions
Not supported:
  • Custom modals that don’t extend SuggestModal or PopoverSuggest
  • Plugin-specific modals that don’t use Obsidian’s standard APIs
If a specific modal doesn’t work, it may be using a custom implementation that Quick Select can’t automatically enhance.

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Performance Considerations

Quick Select is designed to be lightweight and performant. It only activates when modals are open and cleans up resources when they close.

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Performance Tips

  1. Permanent counters - Setting transition style to “permanent” adds minimal overhead
  2. Popout windows - Each popout window adds one set of keyboard listeners
  3. Scope management - The plugin maintains scope stacks to prevent memory leaks

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Known Limitations

  • Only the first 9 items in a modal can be selected with shortcuts
  • Group headers in suggestions are skipped (see main.ts:160-163)
  • Items must be visible in the list (scrolled items work, but you must scroll to them first)

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Debugging

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Enable Developer Console

  1. Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + I to open Developer Tools
  2. Go to the Console tab
  3. Look for messages starting with "QuickOpen:"

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Common Error Messages

Error MessageMeaning
"QuickOpen: Error in SuggestModal.open"Failed to patch modal open
"QuickOpen: Error in SuggestModal.close"Failed to clean up after modal close
"QuickOpen: Failed to pop scope"Scope cleanup issue
"QuickOpen: Error in PopoverSuggest.open"Failed to patch popover

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Reporting Issues

If you encounter persistent issues, please report them on GitHub with:
  • Your Obsidian version
  • Quick Select plugin version (currently v1.5.1)
  • Operating system and version
  • Steps to reproduce the issue
  • Any error messages from the Developer Console
Report bugs here:
https://github.com/itsonlyjames/quick-open/issues

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Getting Help

If you need additional support:
  1. Check the documentation - Review the Introduction and Quick Start guides
  2. Search existing issues - Your problem may already be documented
  3. Open a new issue - Provide detailed information and reproduction steps
  4. Support the developer - Consider sponsoring on GitHub

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Plugin Information

  • Plugin ID: quick-open
  • Current Version: 1.5.1
  • Minimum Obsidian Version: 0.15.0
  • Desktop Only: No (works on mobile)
  • Author: James Alexandre