BUG: Context menu not showing

Have you searched for existing issues (including closed ones)?

• Yes, I have searched the existing issues.

Does this bug persist in a new vault with only Excalidraw installed?

• Yes, I have verified the issue persists.

Your environment

SYSTEM INFO: Obsidian version: 1.13.7 Installer version: 1.5.12 Operating system: Windows 10 Home 10.0.26200 Login status: not logged in Language: en Insider build toggle: off Live preview: on Base theme: adapt to system Community theme: none Snippets enabled: 2 Restricted mode: off Plugins installed: 7 Plugins enabled: 3 1: Excalidraw v2.27.3 2: Excalidraw Extras v0.1.0 3: Templater v2.25.0

RECOMMENDATIONS: Custom theme and snippets: for cosmetic issues, please first try updating your theme and disabling your snippets. If still not fixed, please try to make the issue happen in the Sandbox Vault or disable community theme and snippets. Community plugins: for bugs, please first try updating all your plugins to latest. If still not fixed, please try to make the issue happen in the Sandbox Vault or disable community plugins.

Your NotebookLM query

the right click button doesn't bring any menu anymore

If right-clicking in Excalidraw is no longer opening the context menu, it is usually caused by one of two plugin settings being enabled:

1. The Context Menu Was Toggled Off

Excalidraw includes an option to disable or enable the context menu (often used to prevent accidental touches on mobile or stylus devices)[1]. This setting can be saved per drawing or template[1].

• How to fix: Open the Obsidian Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P) and search for "Excalidraw: Toggle enable context menu" to re-enable it[1].

2. Right-Mouse Button Panning Is Enabled

If you have Miro-style panning enabled, the right mouse button is assigned to panning across the canvas instead of opening the context menu[2].

• How to fix: Go to Settings > Excalidraw and look under the Zoom and Pan section for "Pan with right mouse button (Miro-style)" to toggle it off[2].
• Shortcut alternative: If you want to keep right-click panning turned on, you can press the m key on your keyboard to open the context menu instead (provided you are not currently editing text)[2].

Let me know if re-enabling the context menu through the command palette solves the issue, or if you're trying to access a specific feature!

it doesn't seem to fix it. I tried both solutions. I can see that when I enable "pan with right mouse buttom" it does actually allow me to pan. But when i disable it and toggle the enable context menu" it does nothing

If toggling the context menu and disabling right-click panning didn't restore the menu, here are the most effective steps to isolate and resolve the issue:

1. Test the Keyboard Shortcut (m key)

Select an element or click an empty area on your canvas, then press the m key on your keyboard[1].

• If the menu appears: Excalidraw's context menu system is working properly, which indicates that the right-click mouse input is being intercepted or remapped elsewhere (such as by an OS trackpad setting or another Obsidian plugin).
• Important: Note that pressing m will not open the context menu if you are currently editing text inside a text box[1].

2. Check for View Mode

If the drawing is currently set to View Mode (read-only), drawing elements cannot be modified[2][3]. Check whether View Mode is active on the canvas toolbar or if your file's document properties/frontmatter contain excalidraw-default-mode: view[4].

3. Force Save After Toggling

The context menu toggle setting is saved directly at the drawing file level[5]. Run "Excalidraw: Toggle enable context menu" from the Command Palette again, then press Ctrl + S (or Cmd + S on Mac) to force save the drawing before closing and reopening the note[5].

4. Ensure Text Editing is Inactive

Confirm that you are not actively typing in or editing a text element, as right-clicking while editing text disables the standard Excalidraw context menu[1].

---

Does pressing the m key bring up the context menu, or does it remain hidden?

selecting something and pressing m doesn't do anything. I can edit the file adding shapes for instance so it's not in view mode

Since both right-clicking and pressing m are fail to open the menu—even though the drawing is editable—here are the most likely causes and how to resolve them:

1. Check the YAML Frontmatter (Markdown View)

The "Toggle enable context menu" action writes a configuration property directly into the note's frontmatter. If this property is stuck on false, the menu will remain disabled:

• Press Ctrl + Alt + E (or Cmd + Option + E on Mac) or open the Command Palette and select "Excalidraw: Toggle between Excalidraw and Markdown mode" to view the note text[1][2].
• Look at the YAML frontmatter block at the top of the file[3][4]. If you see the line excalidraw-enable-context-menu: false, change it to true or delete the line entirely[1][2].
• Press Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + E again to return to the canvas view[1].

2. Check for Obsidian Hotkey Conflicts

If pressing m produces no response, the m key might be assigned to a different global hotkey in Obsidian[5]:

• Open Settings > Hotkeys in Obsidian and search for m[5].
• If m is mapped to another action, Obsidian will intercept the keypress before Excalidraw can trigger the context menu[5].

3. Ensure Selection Tool (Pointer) is Active

If a drawing tool is currently active or locked (such as the freedraw pen or shape tool), pressing m will not open the context menu.

• Press v or 1 on your keyboard to switch back to the standard Selection / Pointer Tool before selecting the element and pressing m.

4. Reload Obsidian

If Excalidraw's canvas event listeners became desynchronised after toggling input settings:

• Open the Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P) and select "Reload app without saving" to refresh the workspace[6].
• Close and reopen the drawing tab.

Did inspecting the YAML frontmatter in Markdown view show excalidraw-enable-context-menu set to false?

---

excalidraw-plugin: parsed tags:

• excalidraw

---

Since your YAML frontmatter only contains excalidraw-plugin: parsed and tags: [excalidraw], the note itself does not have a property locking the context menu off[1][2].

Since neither right-clicking nor pressing m brings up the menu, try these remaining troubleshooting steps:

1. Switch to Selection Tool: Press v or 1 on your keyboard to switch back to the standard Selection/Pointer Tool[3]. If a drawing tool (such as Freedraw or Laser Pointer) is currently locked or active, the m hotkey will not trigger the menu.
2. Clear Active Text Focus: Click once on an empty area of the canvas to make sure you are not actively focused inside a text editing box, as text editing suppresses the Excalidraw context menu[3].
3. Test in a New File: Create a completely new drawing from the Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P > "Excalidraw: Create new drawing") to see if the issue is vault-wide or file-specific[4][5].
4. Check Plugin Intercretions & Reload: Another installed Obsidian plugin (such as a mouse gesture plugin, Hover Editor, or custom CSS) may be intercepting mouse events[6]. Open the Command Palette and run "Reload app without saving" to reset Obsidian's event listeners[7].

Does the context menu work if you open a brand-new drawing, or is it missing across all Excalidraw files in your vault?

it's missing in a new drawing as wlel

Since the issue occurs vault-wide across both existing and newly created drawings, it is caused by a global setting, a persistent tool state, or an event listener conflict in Obsidian rather than a single file's metadata.

Here are the step-by-step actions to troubleshoot and fix a vault-wide context menu issue:

1. Test for Community Plugin Conflicts

Another installed Obsidian plugin (such as Hover Editor, mouse gesture plugins, or custom CSS) may be intercepting mouse events across your vault[1]:

• Go to Settings > Community plugins.
• Temporarily toggle Restricted mode ON (or disable other community plugins one by one).
• Open the Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P) and run "Reload app without saving" to apply the change[2].
• Test right-clicking or pressing m on a drawing.

2. Reset Active Tool & Lock State

If Excalidraw is saving active tool states, a locked tool (such as Freedraw, Eraser, or Laser Pointer) may persist across new drawings and suppress the context menu:

• Click on your canvas and press v or 1 to force the Selection / Pointer Tool to be active.
• Ensure no drawing tool lock icon is toggled on.

3. Check for Plugin Updates

A desynchronised event listener or a version bug can cause mouse interactions to fail:

• Go to Settings > Community plugins > Check for updates and make sure the Excalidraw plugin is updated to the latest version[3].
• After updating, restart Obsidian completely.

4. Verify Touch / Stylus Settings (If on Mobile / Tablet)

If you are using Obsidian on an iPad, Android tablet, or touchscreen device, context menus can be suppressed by touch interactions or tray UI modes[4]. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P) and run "Excalidraw: Toggle enable context menu" to re-enable touch context

Describe the bug

When I right click in the canvas i don't get the context menu. This has started to happen only a few days (one week) ago.

Steps to reproduce

In any of the excalidraw drawing, right click doesn't bring the context menu.

Expected behavior

The context menu to appear

Additional context

I have tried:

• to reinstall the pluggin.
• disable pluggins
• In a brand new vault it does work.