In Notepad++, how can I insert the current date and time?

On Windows Notepad.exe, I simply press F5 and it inserts the date and time like this:

11:05 AM 1/14/2015

Can I add similarly simple functionality to Notepad++?

Solution 1:

If your Notepad++ shipped with TextFX, you can find this in TextFX > TextFX Insert > Date & Time - short format, which will insert a string in the exact same format. If you don't see a TextFX menu, install it via the plugin manager and it will appear.

You can then bind it to a keyboard shortcut in Settings > Shortcut Mapper... > Plugin Commands. Look for I:Date & Time - short format in the mappings.

Solution 2:

Step 1 : Install plugin TextFX
Step 2 : Insert Date & time

Insert Date & Time in Notepad++

Solution 3:

Try "Python Script" plugin

I prefer to use the Python Script plugin as documented here: https://ardamis.com/2014/03/09/adding-an-insert-datestamp-or-timestamp-macro-to-notepad-plus-plus/ because it gives me total control over how I want to the datetime stamp formatting to look, and it also allows me to create macro scripts for inserting other types of values that I want to compute.

Install "Python Script" MANUALLY

Please note that you must download the Python Script plugin from http://npppythonscript.sourceforge.net/download.shtml because downloading it from the Plugin Manager in Notepad++ doesn't always work. (See this thread for details.)

Write "Time.py" script

Then you can write a simple script like this:

import time
# import sys
timeStr = time.strftime( '%Y-%m-%d' + ' @ ' + '%I:%M %p' )
# sys.stdout.write(timeStr)
editor.addText( timeStr )

You can change the format string as you wish. This allows you to have total control over the text output. (See Python 2's time.strftime documentation for details.)

Then save the script to this filename:

"%AppData%\Notepad++\plugins\Config\PythonScript\scripts\Time.py"

Create "menu item" inside "Python Script"

Navigate here: Menu bar -> Plugins -> Python Script -> Configuration like this:

Click on configuration

Then you can add the script like this:

Add script to config

Assign hotkey

Then, when you restart Notepad++, you can assign the script to a shortcut like this by going to Menu bar -> Settings -> Shortcut Mapper -> Plugin Commands -> Time:

Add keyboard shortcut to Notepad++