Writer date and time shortcuts: assign the field command, then choose its format

By ON Lab · Sources checked November 8, 2026

Use Tools → Customize → Keyboard to assign a Writer date or time command to a key combination available on your system. Choose the intended command and application scope, assign the key, then verify it in a disposable document. Date/time field formatting is a separate choice; assigning a shortcut does not by itself define a custom display format.

A reader asked on November 6, 2026 for date and time shortcuts and customizable formatting, and also said a function-key shortcut did not work. We checked LibreOffice's current Keyboard, Date and Time help, and inspected a public reply screenshot showing the Time (fixed) command in Writer scope. This is official-source guidance, not a native Writer execution test.

Choose the field behavior before choosing a key

The documented Insert → Field → Date (Fixed) command inserts the current date using the default format and does not automatically update it. The corresponding Time (Fixed) command uses the operating system's time and is not updated by F9. These are fields with fixed values, not a guarantee of a continuously running clock.

For another format or an updating date, the Date help directs users to Insert → Field → More Fields. The Time help also directs users there for its format and time-data settings. Existing field formatting can be changed through Edit → Fields. Decide whether the document needs a fixed record or an updating field before binding the command.

Assign the command in Writer scope

Open a disposable Writer document and Tools → Customize → Keyboard.
Choose Writer scope if the shortcut is intended for Writer alone.
Find the intended date or time function in the function lists. Read the full name, including Fixed or other qualifiers shown by your version.
Select the proposed key combination in the shortcut list and inspect any command already assigned to it.
Select Assign, confirm the dialog, then reopen it to read back the command/key association.

The official help distinguishes application-specific bindings from bindings common to all LibreOffice applications. A particular application's setting overrides the shared one. Choose that scope deliberately so a Writer convenience does not accidentally become an unexplained suite-wide change.

The public thread's Time (fixed) screenshot is evidence that the responder's command list contains that action. We did not apply its illustrated key combination, and do not claim the same key is free on your system. Search the list and inspect the existing binding instead of copying a key blindly.

Test the result separately from the binding

In the disposable document, place the cursor where the field should be inserted, press the chosen key once and inspect the inserted result. Confirm that it is the intended date or time command and has the desired fixed or updating behavior. Reopen the field properties to inspect its format, and reopen Keyboard to inspect the binding.

A key appearing in the configuration is not proof that your desktop delivers it to Writer. Operating-system shortcuts, keyboard layout and function-key modes can intercept a combination. The help specifically advises avoiding keys used by the operating system. If the original function key fails, use the menu path to separate command availability from key delivery before changing unrelated settings.

We did not determine why the reader's Ctrl-F2 failed. A laptop function-key mode was suggested in the thread, but that is not a verified diagnosis of every machine with this symptom.

Do not confuse Writer with Calc or a formatting macro

The thread mentions Calc's date/time shortcuts as possible choices to adopt. A shortcut available in Calc does not establish a Writer default. Inspect Writer's current bindings and supported command names for your version.

A basic field shortcut also does not promise to insert a combined custom-formatted plain-text timestamp. If the desired output is a particular date-plus-time text string in one operation, verify that exact workflow separately. This guide does not install or run a macro from the discussion, and does not claim the ordinary field command implements every proposed automation.

Completion checks

The selected command is the intended date or time field variant.
The shortcut is assigned in the intended Writer or suite-wide scope.
The actual key inserts the expected field in a test document.
The field's format and update behavior match the document's purpose.
Reopening the settings confirms the stored binding without replacing an unrelated command.

Checked November 8, 2026 against LibreOffice 26.8 help and the dated public reader thread. Native Writer bindings, the reader's keyboard, custom macros and a one-key combined timestamp workflow were not tested.