Welcome to the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Today we’re looking at Editor Modes.

If you use Obsidian to manage your notes and documentation, you’ve probably noticed there are a few different ways to view and edit a note. Obsidian gives you three distinct modes, and knowing when to use each one can make a real difference to how smoothly you work.

Let’s start with the big picture. The three modes are Live Preview, Source Mode, and Reading View. You can switch between them on a per-note basis, or you can set a default in your Settings so every new note opens the way you prefer.

The first mode is Live Preview, and this is the default. Think of it as the best of both worlds. You’re writing in markdown, but Obsidian renders your formatting as you go. So if you bold some text, the asterisks disappear and you instantly see bold text right there in the editor. Links look like clickable links rather than showing the raw bracket syntax. Headers jump up in size as soon as you finish typing them. It gives you a clean, almost word-processor feel while still working in plain markdown underneath.

The second mode is Source Mode. This is where you see everything — all the raw markdown syntax exactly as written. Bold text shows the asterisks on both sides. Links show their full bracket and parenthesis structure. Headers show the hash symbols out front. Nothing is hidden or rendered. This mode is especially useful when you need to do precise editing — for example, if you’re troubleshooting why some formatting isn’t working, or you need to copy raw syntax without Obsidian processing it.

The third mode is Reading View. This is fully rendered and read-only. You can’t edit in this mode — it’s purely for reading your finished note as it would look when published or shared. Everything is formatted, links are clickable, and no markdown syntax is visible at all.

So how do you switch between them? The keyboard shortcut Control and E toggles you between your current editing mode and Reading View. To switch specifically between Live Preview and Source Mode while you’re already in the editor, you go to the three-dot menu in the top right corner of the note and choose Toggle Source Mode.

If you want to set a default so all your notes open in a particular mode, go to Settings, then Editor, and look for Default Editing Mode. You can pick either Live Preview or Source Mode there, and that preference applies across your entire vault.

There are also a couple of other editor settings worth knowing about. If you’re a Vim user — that’s a keyboard-driven editing style where you switch between different modes like insert and normal — Obsidian has you covered. Go to Settings, then Editor, and you’ll find a Vim Key Bindings toggle. Switch that on and you get the classic Vim experience: press i to enter insert mode and start typing, press Escape to return to normal mode, and all the standard Vim navigation shortcuts work exactly as you’d expect. There’s also a community plugin called Vimrc Support, which lets you load a custom configuration file to tailor your Vim setup even further.

Finally, spellcheck. You’ll find it under Settings, then Editor — it’s a simple on and off toggle. When it’s on, Obsidian underlines words it thinks are misspelled, and right-clicking on an underlined word gives you suggestions. The language is set per vault, so if you’re running multiple vaults in different languages, each one can have its own setting.

So to recap: Live Preview is your everyday writing mode where formatting renders as you type. Source Mode is for when you need to see and edit the raw markdown directly. And Reading View is for when you just want to read without making any changes. Use Control E to flip between editing and reading, and head into Settings then Editor to lock in your defaults and any extras like Vim or spellcheck.

That’s it for this episode of the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Thanks for listening.