Filtering and Customizing Your Graph

As your knowledge base grows, the full graph can become overwhelming. Filters let you focus on what matters. Customization options let you make the graph look exactly how you want.

Filter Query Basics

Open the settings sidebar (click the arrow button in the top left) to find the filter input. You can filter by:

• tag:name - Show cards with a specific tag (e.g., tag:programming)
• source:domain - Show cards from a specific website (e.g., source:github.com)
• name:card name - Show a card with an exact name (e.g., name:My Project Notes)
• search:text - Search within card names (e.g., search:react)

Negating Filters Put a minus sign before any filter to exclude matches:

• -tag:archived shows everything except archived cards
• -source:twitter.com hides cards from Twitter

Combining Filters Add multiple filters to narrow down results. By default, filters use AND logic:

• tag:tech source:youtube shows only tech-tagged cards from YouTube

Using OR Logic Use OR between filters to match either condition:

• tag:work OR tag:personal shows cards with either tag

Autocomplete As you type, suggestions appear for your existing tags, sources, and card names. Press Tab or click to accept a suggestion.

Connection Depth

When you apply a filter, you can also include connected cards that do not match the filter themselves. The Connection Depth slider controls this:

• 0: Only cards matching the filter appear
• 1: Adds cards directly connected to matches
• 2: Adds cards two connections away from matches
• 3+: Expands further into the network

This is useful when you want context. For example, filter to tag:project-x with depth 1 to see Project X cards and all the resources they reference.

Show/Hide Node Types

Three toggles let you control which nodes appear:

Show Unconnected When on, cards with no connections appear on the graph. Turn this off to focus only on connected content.

Show Leaf Nodes Leaf nodes are reference cards that are only linked to (not from). These are often auto-extracted references like people, places, or concepts. Turn this off for a cleaner view.

Show Auto Generated Connections When on, cards that were automatically created from Wikipedia and other sources appear on the graph. These are unsaved reference cards that Recall generates to enrich your knowledge base. Turn this off if you only want to see content you have explicitly saved.

Timeline Feature

The timeline slider lets you filter and animate your graph by when cards were created:

Static Filtering Drag the handles on the timeline to set a date range. Only cards created within that range will appear.

Animated Playback Click the play button to watch your knowledge grow over time:

• Nodes appear in the order they were created
• The current date and card count display as the animation runs
• Cards created on the same day appear faster than cards from different days

Playback Controls

• Play: Start the animation
• Pause: Stop at the current point and explore the graph at that moment
• Stop: End the animation and return to the full graph
• Speed (1x/2x/3x): Click to cycle through animation speeds

The timeline is a great way to see how your knowledge evolved. You can pause at any point to explore what your graph looked like at that moment in time.

Color Groups

By default, nodes are colored based on their first tag. Reference nodes appear in gray. You can create custom color groups for more control:

1. Open the Groups section in the settings sidebar
2. Click + New group
3. Click the color dot to pick a color
4. Enter a filter query to match cards

Example Groups

• Red group with tag:urgent to highlight important items
• Blue group with source:wikipedia for reference material
• Green group with search:completed for finished projects

Color Legend Click the palette icon in the bottom right corner to see which colors map to which tags or groups. The legend shows:

• Color dot and group/tag name
• Count of nodes in each group
• Click any item to instantly add it as a filter

Layout Physics

The graph uses physics simulation to position nodes. Adjust these settings in the Layout section:

Node Spacing Controls how much nodes push each other apart. Increase for a more spread out graph.

Link Length
Sets the ideal distance between connected nodes. Longer means clusters are more spread out.

Link Force Controls how strongly connections pull nodes together. Higher values create tighter clusters.

Center Force Controls how strongly nodes are pulled toward the center. Prevents nodes from drifting off screen.

Visual Appearance

Fine-tune how the graph looks in the Appearance section:

Node Size Base size of the circles. Larger nodes are more visible but the graph can feel more crowded.

Link Thickness Width of the connection lines between nodes.

Label Visibility Controls at what zoom level card names appear. Higher values mean labels show from further away.

Show Arrows Displays directional arrows on connections showing which card connects to which.

Always Show Labels Keeps labels visible even when zoomed out. Useful for smaller graphs.

Highlight on Hover Dims unconnected nodes when you hover over a node. Helps you focus on direct connections.

Saving Your View with Presets

While your settings are preserved during a session, returning to the graph later loads the default settings. Presets let you save and quickly restore your favorite configurations.

Creating a Preset

1. Configure your graph exactly how you want it (filters, colors, layout, appearance settings)
2. Click the Presets dropdown at the top of the settings sidebar
3. Click Save new preset
4. Give your preset a name and save

Using Presets

• Click the Presets dropdown to see all your saved presets
• Click any preset to instantly apply all its settings
• The active preset shows a checkmark next to its name

Managing Presets

• Update: If you have modified settings after applying a preset, click the update button to save the changes to that preset
• Rename: Click the pencil icon next to a preset to change its name
• Delete: Click the trash icon to remove a preset you no longer need
• Reset to defaults: Click the reset button to return to the default settings

What Presets Save Presets remember everything: filters, connection depth, color groups, layout physics, appearance settings, timeline range, and all toggle states. This makes it easy to switch between different views of your knowledge base.

Tips for Managing Large Graphs

Use Filters Aggressively Do not try to look at everything at once. Filter to the topic you care about right now.

Turn Off Leaf Nodes Auto-extracted references can add a lot of visual noise. Hide them unless you specifically need them.

Increase Node Spacing If things feel cramped, give nodes more room to breathe.

Save Presets for Common Views If you frequently look at specific topics or use particular filter combinations, save them as presets. This saves time and ensures consistency.