> [!info]
> This is how I set up an offline [[Obsidian]] vault for [[Worldbuilding]]. You can see the published version of my world [here](https://www.worldanvil.com/w/Melior) which is hosted on [[World Anvil]] š
### What do I want my vault to do & how will I use it?
I want worldbuilding is my lifelong hobby as it encompasses many of my creative passions.
- Manual offline backups that are also in a searchable and editable format
- I enjoy doing manual backups (copy/pasting, linking, & formatting) because it forces me to re-visit and review my worldbuilding so that I can remember what I've created and make new connections to other areas of my world)
- File syncing (also with backups to cloud storage) - potential for syncing to the mobile Obsidian app using [[Obsidian Sync]] if I decide that I need to use it
- Futureproof and protect my worldbuilding so that nothing is lost if I make any mistakes like accidentally deleting something, or if any platforms I use become unavailable for any length of time or discontinue any broken features
- Distraction-free worldbuilding, which I wrote about in [[Why I write offline]]
- I will use Obsidian's [[Graph view]] to visualise the connections between my worldbuilding articles and find new ways of making deeply interconnected lore
### Setup
1. Create a new vault & set the default colour to something different so I can easily tell which vault I'm writing in
2. Set up backups/cloud storage syncing in [[Dropbox]]
3. Set up folders/categories
- One main folder for the worldbuilding (see: [[Fixing Melior's categories]]), one separate folder for things like templates, reference documents, and a planning area
4. Set up plugins (for now I will only add [Dataview](https://github.com/blacksmithgu/obsidian-dataview))
- See: [[Thoughts on using community plugins in Obsidian]] + [[Using Obsidian without community plugins]] and also [[Obsidian plugins I use]] in this vault
5. Set up templates
6. Set up any reference documents I want to use (I just started with a metadata reference document so that I can remember what status options to use)
7. Import the basics of my articles to start with (titles, links, and tags)
8. Check out graph view
- I set the search to: `path:Melior` so it excludes things from my planning area & templates. This is 511 files: ![[2023-06-20 Melior graph view screenshot.png]]
- I set up coloured groups based on template tags:
**Orange**: `tag:#template/building OR tag:#template/settlement OR tag:#template/organization`
**Pink**: `tag:#template/character OR tag:#template/ethnicity OR tag:#template/language OR tag:#template/profession`
**Red**: `tag:#template/conflict OR tag:#template/military-unit OR tag:#template/rank-title`
**Green**: `tag:#template/natural-law OR tag:#template/geography OR tag:#template/material OR tag:#template/species OR tag:#template/condition`
**Blue**: `tag:#template/myth-legend OR tag:#template/tradition OR tag:#template/document OR tag:#template/plot OR tag:#template/prose`
**Yellow**: `tag:#template/spell OR tag:#template/technology OR tag:#template/item OR tag:#template/vehicle`
(**Grey** is the generic article template)
I first tried every template with a distinct colour but it was too messy and hard to compare.
9. Set up dataview thingies in my planning area to show:
- **Uncreated files** (lists where something has been mentioned with a link but not created yet)
- **Unlinked files** (lists all articles that are unlinked to anything)
- See [[Dataview Examples]]