From r/ObsidianMD 📅 • 📊 6 upvotes • ⭐ 7/10 • 🚀 high
*Analysis generated: Feb 8, 2026*
🔗 Source: View on Reddit
—

Summary

The user wants to display a property (Author) from a linked file (Text) within a Dataview table (base) in a separate file (Character). The link is established via a ‘Source’ property in the Character file pointing to the Text file. The user attempted `[Source.Author]` without success and explicitly requested a solution without plugins.

Key Insights

1. Users frequently attempt to pull frontmatter properties from linked files directly into tables.
2. The correct Dataview syntax for this operation is essential for advanced metadata handling.
3. The request highlights the need for users to understand the difference between Obsidian’s standard link syntax and query language link syntax (like Dataview’s).

Enhancement Suggestions

No enhancement suggestions available

Analysis

This is a classic request for linking metadata across files within Obsidian, specifically using Dataview functionality (implied by ‘base’ table structure). The user is asking for inline field access on a linked property, which is achievable using Dataview’s dot notation syntax on link variables, but their specific syntax was slightly incorrect for Dataview context (though they didn’t explicitly name Dataview). Since they requested no plugins, this points directly to Dataview functionality, which is often considered ‘core’ for this type of query, though it technically is a plugin.
—
*Curated by AI for Paul’s Vault Members*