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    New to Notepad++ and trying to convert 12 hour time to 24

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    • Matt LongM Offline
      Matt Long
      last edited by

      Good Afternoon

      I am new to Notepad++ and I am trying to write a script to convert 12 hour time into 24 hour time format. Below is the data string that I have to convert:

      01-May-26 12:15:00 AM,689.1,WESTHAMPTON_HALL_Elec

      This is just one string out of 600+ but I ultimately need them all to read like:

      5/1/2026 00:15,689.1,WESTHAMPTON_HALL_Elec

      Any assistance is much appreciated!

      CoisesC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • CoisesC Offline
        Coises @Matt Long
        last edited by Coises

        @Matt-Long said:
        I am new to Notepad++ and I am trying to write a script to convert 12 hour time into 24 hour time format. Below is the data string that I have to convert:

        01-May-26 12:15:00 AM,689.1,WESTHAMPTON_HALL_Elec

        This is just one string out of 600+ but I ultimately need them all to read like:

        5/1/2026 00:15,689.1,WESTHAMPTON_HALL_Elec

        The Timestamps… command in the Columns++ plugin can help with this.

        For conversion you want, you would select day-month-year in the From date and time section, then select Custom in the To date and time section, enter M/d/yyyy HH:mm as the custom picture, check Overwrite selection, then click To Date/Time to perform the conversion.

        To use this, you need to have all the timestamps lined up in a column and make a column selection. If your document has a series of lines like the example you gave with all three-character months, you can select it as is.

        If you have months spelled out, so that the right edge of the column doesn’t line up, you can use a regular expression to change the first comma to a tab, enable Elastic tabstops on the Columns++ menu, and then you can select the column, perform the conversion, and use another regular expression to convert the tabs back to commas. (Alternatively, if this is a CSV file, you can use the Conversion functions in Columns++ to convert from comma separated values to tabs and back again instead of using regular expressions.)

        If the timestamps don’t occur in contiguous column at all, we might have to devise a more inventive method of getting them into a column selection if you want to use Columns++ to do the conversion.

        For an explanation of how to make a column selection, see:
        https://npp-user-manual.org/docs/editing/#entering-column-mode

        For an explanation of how to install a plugin from the plugins list (Columns++ is in the list), see:
        https://npp-user-manual.org/docs/plugins/#install-using-plugins-admin

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
        • guy038G Offline
          guy038
          last edited by guy038

          Hi, @matt-long, @coises and All,

          Of course, the @coises’s plugin would be the best solution, being both flexible and powerful

          However, @matt-long, if you don’t want to install any new plugin, here is a solution with native N++ only !

          Of course, I’ll use the part of file which ONLY needs changes. But, in your personal file, the trailing part of each line will stay unchanged !

          So, let’s suppose an INPUT text, like below, pasted in a new tab :

          09-Jan-26 00:00:00 AM,
13-Sep-21 02:00:59 AM,
13-Jul-24 04:57:29 AM,
19-Apr-20 07:42:50 AM,
01-Mar-26 09:12:43 AM,
29-Feb-24 11:08:51 AM,
25-Jul-23 11:59:59 AM,
09-Jan-19 12:00:00 AM,
01-May-26 00:00:00 PM,
08-Oct-25 02:54:31 PM,
17-Feb-22 03:29:35 PM,
23-Sep-18 06:37:06 PM,
03-Nov-20 08:55:44 PM,
31-Aug-26 10:38:00 PM,
31-Dec-20 11:59:59 PM,
01-May-26 12:00:00 PM,

          • Open the Replace dialog

          • Uncheck all box options

          • FIND (?-si)^(0(\d)|\d\d)-(.+?)-(\d\d) (\d\d):(\d\d):\d\d (AM|PM)(?=,)

          • REPLACE (?2\2:\1)/\3/(?{4}20\4) \5\7:\6

          • Check the Wrap around option

          • Select the Regular expression search mode

          • Click on the Replace All button

          => You should obtain the temporary OUTPUT text below :

          9/Jan/2026 00AM:00,
13/Sep/2021 02AM:00,
13/Jul/2024 04AM:57,
19/Apr/2020 07AM:42,
1/Mar/2026 09AM:12,
29/Feb/2024 11AM:08,
25/Jul/2023 11AM:59,
9/Jan/2019 12AM:00,
1/May/2026 00PM:00,
8/Oct/2025 02PM:54,
17/Feb/2022 03PM:29,
23/Sep/2018 06PM:37,
3/Nov/2020 08PM:55,
31/Aug/2026 10PM:38,
31/Dec/2020 11PM:59,
1/May/2026 12PM:00,

          Now, APPEND at the very end of your file, all the lines below :

          #Jan 1
#Feb 2
#Mar 3
#Apr 4
#May 5
#Jun 6
#Jul 7
#Aug 8
#Sep 9
#Sept 9
#Oct 10
#Nov 11
#Dec 12
#00AM 00
#01AM 01
#02AM 02
#03AM 03
#04AM 04
#05AM 05
#06AM 06
#07AM 07
#08AM 08
#09AM 09
#10AM 10
#11AM 11
#12AM 12
#00PM 12
#01PM 13
#02PM 14
#03PM 15
#04PM 16
#05PM 17
#06PM 18
#07PM 19
#08PM 20
#09PM 21
#10PM 22
#11PM 23
#12PM 00

          Thus, your INPUT text is now as below :

          9/Jan/2026 00AM:00,
13/Sep/2021 02AM:00,
13/Jul/2024 04AM:57,
19/Apr/2020 07AM:42,
1/Mar/2026 09AM:12,
29/Feb/2024 11AM:08,
25/Jul/2023 11AM:59,
9/Jan/2019 12AM:00,
1/May/2026 00PM:00,
8/Oct/2025 02PM:54,
17/Feb/2022 03PM:29,
23/Sep/2018 06PM:37,
3/Nov/2020 08PM:55,
31/Aug/2026 10PM:38,
31/Dec/2020 11PM:59,
1/May/2026 12PM:00,
#Jan 1
#Feb 2
#Mar 3
#Apr 4
#May 5
#Jun 6
#Jul 7
#Aug 8
#Sep 9
#Sept 9
#Oct 10
#Nov 11
#Dec 12
#00AM 00
#01AM 01
#02AM 02
#03AM 03
#04AM 04
#05AM 05
#06AM 06
#07AM 07
#08AM 08
#09AM 09
#10AM 10
#11AM 11
#12AM 12
#00PM 12
#01PM 13
#02PM 14
#03PM 15
#04PM 16
#05PM 17
#06PM 18
#07PM 19
#08PM 20
#09PM 21
#10PM 22
#11PM 23
#12PM 00

          • Open again the Replace dialog

          • Uncheck all box options

          • FIND (?-si)(?|(\u\l\l|Sept)|(\d\d(?:AM|PM)))(?=(?s).+^#\1 (\d+))|(?s)^#.+

          • REPLACE \2

          • Check the Wrap around option

          • Select the Regular expression search mode

          • Click on the Replace All button

          => You should get your expected OUTPUT text :

          9/1/2026 00:00,
13/9/2021 02:00,
13/7/2024 04:57,
19/4/2020 07:42,
1/3/2026 09:12,
29/2/2024 11:08,
25/7/2023 11:59,
9/1/2019 12:00,
1/5/2026 12:00,
8/10/2025 14:54,
17/2/2022 15:29,
23/9/2018 18:37,
3/11/2020 20:55,
31/8/2026 22:38,
31/12/2020 23:59,
1/5/2026 00:00,

          Voila !

          Best Regards,

          guy038

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