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A Matchlink is a variation of Superlinks that functions like a bookmark to a specific tab. Think of it as the combination of a browser bookmark and a Superlink. It’s designed to be a very simple way to manage your browser without worrying about cluttering your workspace (or making it worse if it’s too late). Just set a URL pattern, and whenever you run the Matchlink from root search, Monarch will switch to the tab matching that URL pattern, or open it if it’s not found. Whether you have 3 tabs open or 300, Matchlinks is a perfect feature for the naturally disorganized! Matchlinks and Superlinks are both created with the same form. Run Create Superlink from Monarch’s main search bar. From there, you’ll give it a name, skip the Link field, and then give it a Match Link value.
In order to create a Matchlink you MUST leave the Link field blank and while supplying the Match Link field. A fallback link is not necessary in a Matchlink.
This value should be something simple and straightforward. This value tells Monarch “find the tab that has this URL and always use this tab when I run this Superlink”. There is no special syntax required here, no splat operators or anything to learn. A Match Link value should always be a valid URL on its own. Let’s say you have different Google accounts and you want to manage a specific account’s Google Drive, and want to be able to work on your Google Drive, from anywhere in that Google Drive while always being in that specific tab. Normally apps simply let you create some command that will then continuously open new tabs no matter how many times you run it, regardless of whether or not you’re already using that site elsewhere in your browser. With Monarch, you can create a Matchlink for https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1 and you can even give it a unique icon for visual distinction among commands (Monarch will attempt to retrieve the favicon if not). Call this Matchlink “Personal Drive”. Now imagine you open Personal Drive from Monarch while working out of Obsidian or some other app. Monarch will summon your browser and open https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1 if it is not already open another tab. If it is already open, Monarch will simply switch to that tab. But let’s say you go to a folder within your drive, and now the URL in the tab becomes https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/6LMplEgP. Open Monarch and run Personal Drive again, and it will take you to the tab where you were working out of that folder, because its tab still matches the URL for the Personal Drive Matchlink. This effectively allows you to use tabs like small apps within your browser without worrying about tab clutter!