Filter tasks dynamically based on a list in file properties

[JohannaHerbst]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to filter tasks dynamically based on a list stored in file properties (Frontmatter). Specifically, I have a property called task-filter-status, which contains multiple status names as an array (e.g., ["In_Progress", "Waiting"]).

I want to write a Tasks query that automatically filters tasks based on this list, without manually adding each status with OR. Here’s what I tried:

filter by function task => task.file.property("task-filter-status")?.includes(task.status.name) ?? false

Unfortunately, this results in an error:

Error: filtering function must return true or false.

Even though task-filter-status is correctly defined as a list in the file properties, the query doesn’t seem to recognize it properly.

Has anyone successfully used filter by function to reference a list from file properties? Is there another way to make this work?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[claremacrae]

@JohannaHerbst, I'm happy to help, but please help me to help you.

1. Please create a small sample Markdown file that demonstrates what you need, with representative file properties and tasks, so I can test the answer.

Put it in a fenced code block, so that I can reliably copy-and-paste the text in to Obsidian.

2. Please write out the query as though it was written with OR, so that it is clear what you are trying to achieve.

Thanks in advance.

[JohannaHerbst]

---
task-filter-status-view:
  - In_Progress
  - Waiting
task-filter-status:
  - a
  - w
---

# Test Task List

- [a] #task #task/test 1 🏗️ I'm a task with status 'In Progress'.
- [w] #task #task/test 2 ⏳ I'm a task with status 'Waiting'.
- [x] #task #task/test 3 ✅ I'm a task with status 'Done'.

## Expected Query

```tasks
(status.name includes In_Progress) OR (status.name includes Waiting)
```

Goal:

I want to dynamically filter tasks based on the task-filter-status-view list in file properties, without manually writing each status in the query.

Below I included an example in Dataview to illustrate what I'm aiming at.

Dynamic Filter with Dataview

TASK
WHERE contains(task-filter-status, status) AND contains(text,"task/test")

Thank you very much
Johanna

[claremacrae]

Solution

Here you go:

filter by function return task.file.property("task-filter-status-view").includes(task.status.name)

Make sure you paste it all on one line, or use Lines Continuations (\) to break the line up.

Assumptions made

• That the task-filter-status-view property is always provided, and the value is always a list
• That you really did intend the query to be in the same file as the tasks, and so task.file.property() was the right function, rather than query.file.property()

How it works

It uses Array.includes() to return true of any of the values in the property match the predicate.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/includes

The strings must exactly match an array element - it is not a sub-string search.

[JohannaHerbst]

@claremacrae
Thank you so much for your help and pointing out the difference between 'task.file.property()' and 'query.file.property()'!

filter by function return query.file.property("task-filter-status-view")?.includes(task.status.name) ?? false

This worked perfectly and really helped to improve my workflow in Obsidian! Thanks again!

I really appreciate your support and the great documentation in Tasks!
Best regards, Jomo

[23426356587]

I just posted a similar question here in case you guys have any ideas...