NoteMods

How to open a citation at the right PDF page in Obsidian

As of October 2026, Obsidian supports PDF page fragments such as #page=3, which require a supplied PDF path and page. The link itself does not resolve a manuscript citekey. Local Citation Page Jump reads its reference note and adds an offset to the printed page.

Updated · 2 ways compared · 2 sources

Background

A printed page and a PDF page can have different numbers. The plugin README uses printed page 44 and physical page 1 as its offset example.

2 ways to do it

  1. Write a PDF page link

    Use a vault PDF link with a page fragment, such as [[Papers/Lee.pdf#page=3]]. Obsidian documents #page=N for opening a specific PDF page.

    limits
    You supply the PDF path and page number yourself. This link contains no citekey lookup or offset calculation.

  2. Local Citation Page Jump from this site

    Keep your existing citation and add a reference note with its citekey, local PDF path and integer offset. Run the preview command at the citation to inspect the computed page.

    limits
    One key per citation is supported. Roman page labels, clusters and locators outside brackets need manual handling.
    The citation preview maps printed page 44 to physical page one.
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    Install in Obsidian
    Directory pageSource on GitHub

    MIT · no telemetry · core features free

    All features of Local Citation Page Jump

Try it with your notes

  1. Keep the source PDF inside your vault and create a Markdown reference note.

  2. Set citekey to Lee2020 and pdf to the exact vault path, such as Papers/Lee.pdf.

  3. Set page-offset to -43 if printed page 44 is physical page 1.

  4. Open your manuscript in Source mode or Live Preview and put the cursor inside [@Lee2020, p. 44].

  5. Run Preview the citation target, check the calculation, then select Open PDF.

Common questions

How do I work out the offset?

Subtract the printed page number from its physical PDF page number. If printed page 44 is physical page 1, the offset is -43.

Which page does a range open?

The plugin takes the first page of a valid numeric range. For printed pages 46 to 48 with offset -43, it opens physical page 3.

What if my citation has no page number?

A bare key or bracketed key without a locator opens physical page 1. The plugin does not add the saved offset to that default page.

Sources

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The plugin in this guide