P2-06: DateTime insertion

[hybridmachine]

Description

Insert current date/time at cursor position.

Implementation

• Edit menu: "Insert Date/Time"
• Default format: ISO 8601 (yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss)
• Optional: Configurable format via NSDateFormatter pattern in preferences
• Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+Shift+D or similar
• Insert via SCI_REPLACESEL

Key Files

• macos/platform/main_phase7.mm

[hybridmachine]

Implementation Plan

Overview

Add two "Insert Date/Time" commands to the Edit menu that insert the current date and time at the cursor position (or replace the current selection). Two formats are supported: a short ISO-style format (2024-03-15 14:30:45) and a long localized format (Friday, March 15, 2024 2:30:45 PM). This is a small, self-contained feature touching four files.

Step-by-step Implementation

Step 1: Define IDM constants

• File: macos/platform/npp_constants.h
• Changes: Add two new command IDs after the last edit command (42045):
• Code sketch:

#define IDM_EDIT_INSERT_DATETIME_SHORT 42046
#define IDM_EDIT_INSERT_DATETIME_LONG  42047

Step 2: Add menu items to the Edit menu

• File: macos/platform/menu_builder.mm
• Changes: In the Edit menu construction section, append two new items after the existing edit commands (e.g., after the Remove Empty Lines item):
• Code sketch:

AppendMenuW(hEditMenu, MF_SEPARATOR, 0, nullptr);
AppendMenuW(hEditMenu, MF_STRING, IDM_EDIT_INSERT_DATETIME_SHORT, L"Insert Date/Time (Short)\tCtrl+Shift+D");
AppendMenuW(hEditMenu, MF_STRING, IDM_EDIT_INSERT_DATETIME_LONG,  L"Insert Date/Time (Long)");

Step 3: Implement the insertion functions

• File: macos/platform/edit_commands.mm
• Changes: Add two new functions that format the current date/time and insert the resulting string at the cursor position via Scintilla messages.
• Code sketch:

void insertDateTimeShort()
{
	auto sci = ctx().activeScintillaView();
	if (!sci) return;

	NSDateFormatter *formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
	[formatter setDateFormat:@"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"];
	NSString *dateStr = [formatter stringFromDate:[NSDate date]];
	const char *utf8 = [dateStr UTF8String];

	ScintillaBridge_sendMessage(sci, SCI_BEGINUNDOACTION, 0, 0);
	ScintillaBridge_sendMessage(sci, SCI_REPLACESEL, 0, reinterpret_cast<sptr_t>(utf8));
	ScintillaBridge_sendMessage(sci, SCI_ENDUNDOACTION, 0, 0);
}

void insertDateTimeLong()
{
	auto sci = ctx().activeScintillaView();
	if (!sci) return;

	NSDateFormatter *formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
	[formatter setDateFormat:@"EEEE, MMMM d, yyyy h:mm:ss a"];
	NSString *dateStr = [formatter stringFromDate:[NSDate date]];
	const char *utf8 = [dateStr UTF8String];

	ScintillaBridge_sendMessage(sci, SCI_BEGINUNDOACTION, 0, 0);
	ScintillaBridge_sendMessage(sci, SCI_REPLACESEL, 0, reinterpret_cast<sptr_t>(utf8));
	ScintillaBridge_sendMessage(sci, SCI_ENDUNDOACTION, 0, 0);
}

Step 4: Wire up WM_COMMAND dispatch

• File: macos/platform/wndproc.mm
• Changes: Add two cases to the MainWndProc switch statement:
• Code sketch:

case IDM_EDIT_INSERT_DATETIME_SHORT:
	insertDateTimeShort();
	break;

case IDM_EDIT_INSERT_DATETIME_LONG:
	insertDateTimeLong();
	break;

Design Decisions

Decision	Choice	Rationale
Date formatting API	NSDateFormatter	Native Cocoa API, locale-aware, no extra dependencies
Short format string	yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss	ISO 8601-inspired, unambiguous, sorts lexicographically
Long format string	EEEE, MMMM d, yyyy h:mm:ss a	Readable, localized day/month names
Insertion method	SCI_REPLACESEL	Inserts at cursor when no selection; replaces selection if one exists
Undo grouping	BEGIN/ENDUNDOACTION	Ensures entire insertion is a single undo step
Command IDs	42046, 42047	Sequentially after last edit command ID (42045)
Keyboard shortcut	Ctrl+Shift+D for short only	Short format is common case; long has no shortcut to avoid clutter

Edge Cases

Scenario	Expected Behavior
No active Scintilla view	Early return, no crash
Text is selected	Selection replaced with date/time string
Read-only document	Scintilla silently ignores SCI_REPLACESEL
Undo after insert	Single Cmd+Z removes entire inserted string
Multiple carets (future)	SCI_REPLACESEL operates on main selection

Testing Plan

• Insert short date/time with cursor in middle of text — verify format and cursor position
• Insert long date/time — verify format with correct day-of-week and AM/PM
• Select text, then insert — verify selection is replaced
• Undo after insert — verify entire string removed in one step
• Redo after undo — verify string reappears
• Verify Ctrl+Shift+D shortcut triggers short date/time
• Verify both menu items appear in Edit menu
• Test with no document open — verify no crash

File Change Summary

File	Action
macos/platform/npp_constants.h	MODIFY — add 2 IDM constants
macos/platform/menu_builder.mm	MODIFY — add 2 menu items + separator
macos/platform/edit_commands.mm	MODIFY — add insertDateTimeShort() and insertDateTimeLong()
macos/platform/wndproc.mm	MODIFY — add 2 WM_COMMAND cases

Estimated Size

Small — ~40 lines of new code across 4 files. Straightforward feature with no architectural impact.

[hybridmachine]

Nice, self-contained plan. A few tweaks:

• For the long format, prefer setLocalizedDateFormatFromTemplate: (or date/time styles) instead of a fixed "EEEE, MMMM d, yyyy ..." pattern, so it is truly locale-driven.
• Please include declarations in edit_commands.h and wire both IDs in wndproc.mm with active-view guards.
• Shortcut note: keep this clear of Cmd+D conflicts (Duplicate Line exists today, and P1-06: Multiple selection / multi-cursor (Cmd+click) #46 also proposes Cmd+D). Cmd+Shift+D is safer.
• Optional: align IDs with upstream Notepad++ datetime IDs to reduce long-term divergence.

[hybridmachine]

Amended Implementation Plan

Thanks for the review feedback. Here are the amendments:

1. Long format: locale-driven formatting

Agreed — the hardcoded "EEEE, MMMM d, yyyy h:mm:ss a" pattern is English-only. Will replace with:

NSDateFormatter *formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[formatter setDateStyle:NSDateFormatterFullStyle];
[formatter setTimeStyle:NSDateFormatterMediumStyle];

This produces locale-appropriate output (e.g. "Friday, March 15, 2024 at 2:30:45 PM" in English) and automatically adapts to the user's system locale. The short format will continue to use NSDateFormatterShortStyle for both date and time.

2. Declarations in edit_commands.h

Will add both method declarations to edit_commands.h:

void insertDateTimeShort();
void insertDateTimeLong();

3. Shortcut: Cmd+Shift+D confirmed

The original plan already specifies Cmd+Shift+D for short datetime insertion (long format has no shortcut). This avoids any conflict with Duplicate Line (Cmd+D) and the proposal in #46.

4. Active-view guard

The original plan uses ctx().activeScintillaView() with a null check before inserting text. Confirmed this is the correct guard — it ensures we only attempt insertion when an editor view is active.

5. Upstream ID alignment

Notepad++ uses IDM_EDIT_INSERT_DATETIME_SHORT / IDM_EDIT_INSERT_DATETIME_LONG in the 42xxx range. Our chosen IDs of 42046 / 42047 sit within that convention and are fine for now. If upstream assigns specific values in a future release, we can re-align at that point to reduce divergence.

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No other changes to the original plan. Implementation will follow this amended version.