Q: Putting dates in filenames is a brilliant way to organize things! How might I create a YYYY-MM-DD timestamp with a keyboard shortcut?

A: On a Windows PC, I

1. installed the free macro tool AutoHotKey and
2. created this script.

If memory serves, you don’t even need admin control of your PC to do this, but YMMV.

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On a Mac, [update] I recommend using Keyboard Maestro. It’s quicker and easier than the original solution I described below.

Here’s how KM does Dates and Times–I’ll write up a step-by-step how-to in my copious free time.[/update]

I created an “Insert Current Date as ISO” shortcut from this post.

(I followed the instructions in the section titled “Alternatively, Use Automator Yourself” because I’m a sucker for learning by doing things the laborious manual way. Errors are the portals of discovery and all that!)