Using Wiki Links Effectively

Wiki-links are one of Atlas's most powerful features for building connections between ideas. This guide covers strategies for getting the most out of them.

The Basics

Type [[ anywhere in the editor to search for and insert a link to any document in your project. The linked document's title updates automatically if you rename it, so links never go stale.

Under the hood, wiki-links are the same thing as creating a link through the Link Editor and choosing a document as the destination — both produce an internal document token link. The [[ shortcut is just the fastest way to get there. You can open any existing wiki-link in the Link Editor to see or change its destination, edit its display text, or remove it.

Discovering Connections with Incoming Links

Every wiki-link creates a two-way relationship. When document A links to document B, that link appears as an Incoming Link in document B's Inspector under the Attachments tab.

This means you can see everywhere a document is referenced without searching — just open the Inspector. Incoming links are useful for:

Finding every chapter that mentions a character
Seeing which draft sections cite a particular source
Discovering unexpected connections between ideas

Naming Documents for Easy Linking

Since wiki-links search by document title, clear and consistent naming makes linking faster:

Use distinctive names — "The Storm" is easier to find than "Chapter 12"
Keep names concise — shorter titles are quicker to search and select
Be consistent — if you use "Location:" as a prefix for all locations, you can type [[Location: to filter to just location documents

Where to Use Wiki-Links

In chapters and drafts — Link to character profiles, location descriptions, or research notes the first time they're relevant. This creates a navigable web you can follow while writing or reviewing.

In research notes — Link to the draft sections a finding supports. Incoming links then show you which research feeds into which sections.

In character profiles — Link to other characters, locations, and the chapters where the character appears. The Incoming Links tab becomes a character index across your entire project.

In templates — Wiki-links work in the template editor too. Create templates with pre-filled links to common reference documents.

Wiki-Links on Canvases

Wiki-links and canvases complement each other. In your text, wiki-links create navigable connections between documents. On a canvas, those same documents can appear as visual cards with edges showing relationships. The Inspector ties both views together — Incoming Links show you the text-based references pointing to a document, while the References section shows which canvases include it. Between the two, you get a complete picture of how a document connects to the rest of your project.

Building a Knowledge Graph

Over time, wiki-links naturally form a knowledge graph within your project. Each document becomes a node, and each link becomes an edge. For example, a novel project might have character documents linked from every chapter where they appear, location documents linked from scenes set there, and research notes linked from the passages they inform. Open any document's Inspector to see its Incoming Links — the more connections it has, the more central it is to your project's network.

Tip

Periodically check the Incoming Links on key documents (main characters, central concepts, important sources) to see how well-connected they are. A document with no incoming links may be orphaned from your project's network.