A hotkey to insert the current date?

[097115]

Probably, a very simple question, just can't wrap my head around it...

So, let's say I want to create a mapping that would populate the selected cell with the current date in %Y-%m-%d format. Where do I start?

It seems that sc-im alone can't solve this problem, right? So, probably calling @ext? or some external script? or @lua / lua script? would be a way to go? But how do I combine all this? :)

Really, any help will be deeply appreciated :)

[1dancook]

Check for this entry in the help file (:help): @date({date_expr}, {sexpr}). (And the context around that entry)

Then for mapping search for mapping in the help. Specifically you likely want to use :nmap. Write your mappings in your config.

[097115]

@1dancook, thanks for your answer!

However, @date still needs {date_expr}, right? We have to feed it with an epoch second. And if I use @now as {date_expr} -- or some other function, like @ext("date +'%s' #", 0) -- it will be recalculated in the future.

The point is, I'd like to press a hotkey and automatically / programmatically get the current cell filled with the current date. Which will not change tomorrow :)

[andmarti1424]

may be adding and @if to not override if date already has been filled?
move this to discussion.

[097115]

I'm not sure I understand you correctly?

Let's say the cell is indeed empty. Can I somehow programatically fill it with the current Epoch second? In such a way that it indeed would be a number, not a function call (so that it wouldn't change in the future)?

As I understand, the solution provided by @1dancook still requires a user to provide the date, {date_expr}, manually...

[andmarti1424]

Actually what I suggested I believe it wont work. Dont really know if this is possible, even on sc.

[097115]

Thanks for the confirmation, Andrés :)

(So that I know that it's not just my head but that the task may actually be impossible at the moment :)

[1dancook]

I am sorry I don't have a lot of time to play around with this myself at the moment, but I wonder if something like this might work:

Make date.lua in ~/.config/sc-im/lua/ with contents:

--get date
current_date = os.date()
--get current column and row (current cell)
current_col = sc.curcol()
current_row = sc.currow()
--write date string to current cell label
sc.lsetstr(current_col, current_row, current_date)

Then in sc-im you need to call the script with: \"@lua("date.lua", 0) which you should be able to set to a mapping.

I tried this and it doesn't work!! Theoretically we are putting a string value in the label and just getting the lua script to overwrite the label with the date string.

@andmarti1424 is there a possible bug here?

I'm also pretty tired, maybe I missed something or there might be a way to do it similar to this.

I haven't written about this yet as a discussion topic, but I think being able to call a script as a command will be really great. :lua scriptname.lua -- sending all the appropriate data to the script to use (like how we can currently use sc.curcol() and etc. That needs a lot more thought though - but I think being able to call scripts like that independent of the cell content would be a really awesome thing.

[1dancook]

I was able to sit down and try this again. I have it working.

1- Make date.lua in ~/.config/sc-im/lua

current_date = os.date()
current_col = sc.curcol()
current_row = sc.currow()
sc.lsetstr(current_col, current_row, current_date)

I don't know lua very well, but a quick online search should display some ways to manipulate the date string to your liking.

2- Map something to call the script:

This is going in your scimrc file

nmap ",d" "=@ston(@lua(\"date.lua\", 0))<CR>k=<CR>"

Note: At the end here I am doing k=<CR> to effectively go back to the cell and erase the part of calling the script. At the end we should be left with just a static string in the label of the cell. If you happy to be moving to the right on <CR> then change it to h=<CR>.

[097115]

Thanks, Daniel!

This neat trick, going back to the cell and pressing =<CR> to eliminate the function part, it only works for @lua, right? Because lau scripts append the result to the cell with the formula (as a string, with sc.lsetstr), not just return the value on enter/demand? It's really smart, and it's a pity we can't use something like with this with just @ext...

BTW, the original sc had those macros... but we can't use anything like this in sc-im except lua, can we?

CC: @andmarti1424 :)

[1dancook]

Yeah I am not sure the same trick will work with @ext since it will just return the value into that which you called it from. This is why as I mentioned elsewhere it'd be incredibly powerful to call scripts from command rather than just from inside a cell. If we would be able to do that we can do all kinds of fun things and the lua interface is great as well.

[097115]

Well, there's an easier way after all :) (h can be replaced with k, of course, according to the personal settings):

nnoremap ",d" "=@ston(@ext(\"date +'%s' #\", 0))<CR>h:valueize<CR>:format \"d%Y-%m-%d\"<CR>"

I.e., thanks to :valueize, we actually can eliminate the function part not only from @lua calls but any function call :)

[1dancook]

That's a good find.
I had thought there must be a way to copy/or set just the value of the cell but couldn't remember how. I haven't used that command for anything.
Awesome. 👌👌

[097115]

BTW, with complex mappings that include this h/k choice, it seems a way better solution to use b instead, which according to the help page, "goes back to the previous valid cell".

[knivey]

I found simplifying just using @now instead of externally calling date works just as well since its valueized it wont change in future.

nnoremap ",d" "=@now<CR>h:valueize<CR>:format \"d%Y-%m-%d\"<CR>"