Obsidian lets you control how you read and edit notes written in Markdown using _views_ and _modes_. - **Views** toggle between reading and editing your notes. - **Modes** control how Markdown appears while you're editing. > [!note] > By default, Obsidian opens new tabs in editing mode. You can change this under **Settings → Editor → Default view for new tabs**. ## Reading view *Reading view* shows your note without Markdown syntax, offering a clean, readable format for focused review. To switch to *Reading view*: - Click the view switcher ( ![[lucide-book-icon.svg#icon]] ) in the upper-right corner of the editor. - Or click the interactive status icon ( ![[lucide-edit-3.svg#icon]] or ![[lucide-code-xml.svg#icon]] ) in the status bar and select **Reading view**. - Or press `Ctrl+E` (`Cmd+E` on macOS). > [!note] > Enable **Settings → Appearance → Show tab title bar** to see the view switcher icon. > > If that is disabled, turn on **Settings → Editor → Show editing mode in status bar** to toggle views from the status bar. > [!tip] View side-by-side > To open a note in both *Editing* and *Reading view* at the same time, hold `Ctrl` (or `Cmd` on macOS) and click the view switcher. ## Editing view *Editing view* lets you make changes to your note. While in *Editing view*, the *Editing mode* defines, how Markdown is displayed. You can choose one of two *Editing modes*: *Live Preview* or *Source mode*. ### Live Preview *Live Preview* shows formatted text inline while hiding most Markdown syntax. When your cursor enters formatted content, the underlying syntax becomes visible for editing. To switch to *Live Preview*: - Click the view switcher ( ![[lucide-edit-3.svg#icon]] ) in the upper-right corner of the editor. - Or click the interactive status icon ( ![[lucide-book-icon.svg#icon]] or ![[lucide-code-xml.svg#icon]] ) in the status bar and select **Live Preview**. - Or press `Ctrl+E` (`Cmd+E` on macOS). - Or use the [[Command palette|command]] **Toggle Reading view**. > [!note] > By default, editing view is set to *Live Preview*. You can change this under **Settings → Editor → Default editing mode**. > [!tip] In many cases, Live Preview can eliminate the need to switch to [[#Reading view]]. ### Source mode *Source mode* displays all Markdown syntax exactly as written. Use it if you prefer plain text or need precise formatting control. To switch to *Source mode*: - Click the interactive status icon ( ![[lucide-book-icon.svg#icon]] or ![[lucide-edit-3.svg#icon]] ) in the status bar and select **Source mode**. > [!note] > By default, editing view is set to *Live Preview*. Change this to *Source mode* under **Settings → Editor → Default editing mode**. > > To switch to *Source mode*, now additionally you can: > > - Click the view switcher ( ![[lucide-edit-3.svg#icon]] ) in the upper right corner of your note. > - Or press `Ctrl+E` (`Cmd+E` on macOS). > - Or use the [[Command palette|command]] **Toggle Reading view**. > [!tip] Toggle *Editing mode* > To toggle between *Live Preview* and *Source mode* quickly, you can set a [[Hotkeys|Hotkey]] for the [[Command palette|command]] **Toggle Live Preview/Source mode**.