---
title: "Insert Date/Time plugin"
description: "Insert the current date and/or time into TinyMCE."
canonical_url: "https://www.tiny.cloud/docs/tinymce/latest/insertdatetime/"
md_url: "https://www.tiny.cloud/docs/tinymce/5/insertdatetime/index.md"
version: "5"
last_updated: "2024-04-16T01:50:26Z"
tokens: 990
---
Important This page documents TinyMCE 5. For new projects, Tiny recommends using the latest, most up-to-date version. [See TinyMCE 8 documentation](../../latest/insertdatetime/).
# Insert Date/Time plugin

The `insertdatetime` plugin provides a toolbar control and menu item `Insert date/time` (under the `Insert` menu) that lets a user easily insert the current date and/or time into the editable area at the cursor insertion point.

## Basic setup

```js
tinymce.init({
  selector: 'textarea',  // change this value according to your HTML
  plugins: 'insertdatetime',
  menubar: 'insert',
  toolbar: 'insertdatetime'
});
```

## Options

These settings affect the execution of the `insertdatetime` plugin. Formats for both dates and times can be set in these configuration options.

### `insertdatetime_dateformat`

This option allows you to override the default formatting rule for date formats inserted by the `mceInsertDate` command. This defaults to `%Y-%m-%d` and where the different `%` variables get replaced with various [date format options](#reference_datetime_formats).

#### Example: Using `insertdatetime_dateformat`

```js
tinymce.init({
  selector: 'textarea',  // change this value according to your HTML
  plugins: 'insertdatetime',
  menubar: 'insert',
  toolbar: 'insertdatetime',
  insertdatetime_dateformat: '%Y-%m-%d'
});
```

### `insertdatetime_formats`

Allows you to specify a list of date/time formats to be used in the date menu or date select box. A complete list of formats is available under [date formats](#reference_datetime_formats) below.

#### Example: Using `insertdatetime_formats`

```js
tinymce.init({
  selector: 'textarea',  // change this value according to your HTML
  plugins: 'insertdatetime',
  menubar: 'insert',
  toolbar: 'insertdatetime',
  insertdatetime_formats: ['%H:%M:%S', '%Y-%m-%d', '%I:%M:%S %p', '%D']
});
```

### `insertdatetime_timeformat`

This option allows you to override the default formatting rule for times inserted by the `mceInsertTime` command. This defaults to `%H:%M:%S` and where the different `%` variables get replaced with various [date format options](#reference_datetime_formats)

#### Example: Using `insertdatetime_timeformat`

```js
tinymce.init({
  selector: 'textarea',  // change this value according to your HTML
  plugins: 'insertdatetime',
  menubar: 'insert',
  toolbar: 'insertdatetime',
  insertdatetime_timeformat: '%H:%M:%S'
});
```

### `insertdatetime_element`

When this option is enabled HTML5 time elements gets generated when you insert dates/times.

**Type:** `Boolean`

**Possible Values:** `true`, `false`

#### Example: Using `insertdatetime_element`

```js
tinymce.init({
  selector: 'textarea',  // change this value according to your HTML
  plugins: 'insertdatetime',
  menubar: 'insert',
  toolbar: 'insertdatetime',
  insertdatetime_element: true
});
```

## Reference Date/Time formats

| Name | Summary |
| --- | --- |
| %D | mm/dd/yy (same as %m/%d/%y) |
| %r | 12-hour clock time hh:mm:ss with AM or PM (same as %I:%M:%S %p) |
| %y | year as a decimal number without a century (range 00 to 99) |
| %Y | year as a decimal number including the century |
| %m | month as a decimal number (range 01 to 12) |
| %B | full localized month name (e.g. "January") |
| %b | abbreviated localized month name (e.g. "Jan") |
| %d | day of the month as a decimal number (range 01 to 31) |
| %A | full localized weekday name (e.g. "Monday") |
| %a | abbreviated localized weekday name (e.g. "Mon") |
| %H | hour as a decimal number using a 24-hour clock (range 00 to 23) |
| %I | hour as a decimal number using a 12-hour clock (range 01 to 12) |
| %M | minute as a decimal number (range 00-59) |
| %S | second as a decimal number (range 00-59) |
| %p | either "am" or "pm" according to the given time value |
| %% | a literal "%" character |