# Templates

This page is for the person who writes the notes. It explains how to copy a
template into a note, and the placeholders that a template fills in.

## What a template is

A template is an ordinary note in your template folder. You keep the text that
you write again and again in it, for example a grocery list for each month.
When you insert the template, the app copies its text into the open note and
fills in each placeholder.

The template folder is **Templates** by default. Every note in that folder is a
template, and so is every note in a subfolder of it.

## Insert a template

1. Open the note that gets the text, and put the cursor where the text must go.
2. Open the command palette with **Ctrl + P**, or **Cmd + P** on a Mac.
3. Select **Insert from template**. The palette shows your templates.
4. Type a part of the name to find a template, and press **Enter**.

The text goes in at the cursor. If you selected text, the template replaces
it. Press **Ctrl + Z** once to remove the inserted text again.

In the list of templates, press **Backspace** in the empty search field to go
back to the actions. Press **Escape** to close the palette.

If the folder has no notes, the palette offers **New template**. It makes a new
note in the template folder.

## Change the template folder

Open **Settings** and go to **Templates**. Type the name of the folder, for
example `Work/Templates`. The new folder applies when you leave the field or
press Enter. The line under the field shows how many templates the folder has.

The setting applies to the open workspace, and it follows your account to
every device. A change of the folder moves no note.

## Placeholders in a template

A placeholder is a name in double braces. The app fills it in once, when it
copies the template. The template note itself keeps its placeholders.

| Placeholder                 | Example for 1 October 2026 at 18:04     |
| --------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| `{{date}}`                  | `2026-10-01`                            |
| `{{date:MMMM YYYY}}`        | `October 2026`                          |
| `{{date:dddd, Do MMMM}}`    | `Thursday, 1st October`                 |
| `{{time}}`                  | `18:04`                                 |
| `{{time:h:mm A}}`           | `6:04 PM`                               |
| `{{dddd}}` or `{{YYYY-MM}}` | `Thursday` or `2026-10`                 |
| `{{title}}`                 | the name of the note that gets the text |

- When you insert a template, the date and the time come from the clock of
  your device. A new daily note takes the date of its day.
- After `date:` or `time:`, use the date tokens of
  [Daily notes](https://docs.tidynotebook.com/daily-notes.md#date-tokens) and these time tokens.
- A placeholder with no `date:` or `time:`, such as `{{dddd}}`, takes date
  tokens only.
- A placeholder that the app does not know stays as you wrote it.

### Time tokens

| Token | Example for 18:04:09 |
| ----- | -------------------- |
| `HH`  | `18`                 |
| `H`   | `18`                 |
| `hh`  | `06`                 |
| `h`   | `6`                  |
| `mm`  | `04`                 |
| `m`   | `4`                  |
| `ss`  | `09`                 |
| `s`   | `9`                  |
| `A`   | `PM`                 |
| `a`   | `pm`                 |

## With no connection

The template folder that your device read last stays in use. If the text of a
template is not on your device and there is no connection, the template is not
inserted. Connect to the internet and try again.