How to Use Notepad++ As a Daily Journal

[tedhettel]

When using Windows Notepad, I can open a new .txt file and enter .LOG as the first line. I save this file. Then the next time I open it, the current Date and Time are entered at the bottom of the file, and I can enter new text. Each time I open this file, it goes to the bottom and enters the Date and Time.

Is there a way to do this in Notepad++?

[PeterJones]

@tedhettel ,

With native Notepad++, you cannot get that exactly. But you can get close.

Notepad++ has a keystroke Ctrl+End to take you to the end of a document, and a menu action (Edit > Insert > Date Time … of three variants, one of which is customizable in settings). So you could record a macro (Macro > Start Recording, Ctrl+End, ENTER, Edit > Insert > Date Time …, ENTER, Macro > Stop Recording) and save it with a keystroke (Macro > Save Current Recorded Macro), which means when you open your logfile, you can do that one keystroke, and it would then take you to the end and put in the date for you. So it would be one extra keystroke when you open the file… but one keystroke isn’t bad.

[tedhettel]

@PeterJones

Thanks for your reply. I will give your solution a try as a Macro learning experience. Maybe I’ll find other uses for it.

But, I just came up with a different solution:

• I like Notepad++ so far, so I used the preferences to set Notepad++ as the default for a small number of file types I use occasionally.
• I renamed the extension of the file I use as my daily journal/log from .txt to my initials .th.
• I used the file properties to open that file with Windows Notepad.

It’s working well for me. I can use my journal/log with Windows Notepad, and everything else uses Notepad++.