Date and time shortcuts

Two-letter shortcuts that expand into the date or the time as you type.

Why you'd care#

Timestamping a note by hand is enough friction that most people stop doing it. Two keystrokes is not.

The shortcuts#

The exact expansions follow your date format and clock settings, so they read correctly wherever you are.

Going further#

You may not need them at all. Every thing already records when it was created, when it was last edited, and when it was completed or canceled, on its own. You can see those in the thing's info, or above the thing while you edit it. These shortcuts are for when you want the date written into the text itself, where you can see it at a glance.

These insert text, they do not set reminders. A date typed this way is a label, not an alert. To attach an actual time to a thing, see set a reminder.

They are customizable. The trigger letters can be changed, which matters if dd or tt collides with a word you type often, or with another language. See Settings → Appearance & accessibility → Customize shortcuts.

Settings that change this#

• Settings → Appearance & accessibility → Date & time keyboard shortcuts turns the expansions on and off.
• Settings → Appearance & accessibility → Customize shortcuts changes the trigger letters.
• Settings → Appearance & accessibility → Date format and Settings → Appearance & accessibility → 24-hour clock decide how the inserted text reads.

Tips#

• tt at the start of a line makes a running log out of an ordinary day.
• If you keep triggering these by accident, change the letters rather than turning the feature off.

Related#

• Dates Twos finds for you, which is the opposite direction
• The capture bar