Plugin to insert text at current cursor position

[MandyBrigwell]

Is it possible to simply insert text at the current cursor position?

I'd like to insert the current date and time and a few other bits and pieces, essentially using Sigil as a fancy journal system. I can handle formatting the inserted text myself, but if someone can clue me in as to how I can simply insert 'Hello World!' at the cursor position, I'd be very grateful.

I have tried with the documentation, but I'm struggling somewhat… the learning curve is a little steep, and although I've downloaded a number of example plug-ins for tips, I've come up short.

[DiapDealer]

The Sigil plugin framework doesn't currently provide any way to make the current cursor position available to third-party plugins.

[MandyBrigwell]

Well, that's that idea scuppered, then! Thank you for your help, though.

[KevinH]

Simply have the plugin copy whatever you want to insert at the cursor to your system clipboard and once there you can paste it at the cursor or anywhere else.

Should work.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by MandyBrigwell

I'd like to insert the current date and time and a few other bits and pieces, essentially using Sigil as a fancy journal system.

As KevinH has already suggested, having the plugin copy text to the clipboard would be the easiest solution and takes only 3 lines of code. Here's a proof of concept plugin:

#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import sys
from datetime import datetime
from PyQt5.Qt import QApplication

# main routine    
def run(bk):
    app = QApplication(sys.argv)
    date_time = str(datetime.now())
    app.clipboard().setText(date_time)
    print('{} copied to the clipboard.'.format(date_time))
    return 0

def main():
    print('I reached main when I should not have\n')
    return -1

if __name__ == "__main__":
    sys.exit(main())

[MandyBrigwell]

Oh, thank you—that's great. I'll have a play around.

Thanks!

[DiapDealer]

Sorry. I assumed the insertion would need to be done by the plugin.

Another possibility that occurs to me (that would allow a plugin to do the actual insertion) would be using a clip to insert something in the html that is (or includes) an extremely unique placeholder; which can then be replaced by a plugin with a simple text replacement.

[fxp33]

Could we have a plugin that paste the html from the clipboard at the cursor position ?

(really useful when pasting theater and poetry: keeping the li or br are a necessity. I really miss that option from the first versions of Sigil)

[Turtle91]

If it is already in the clipboard, then why doesn’t ctrl-v work??

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by fxp33

Could we have a plugin that paste the html from the clipboard at the cursor position ?

(really useful when pasting theater and poetry: keeping the li or br are a necessity. I really miss that option from the first versions of Sigil)

But that is the default for pasting in CodeView. I copy and paste snippets of html code all of the time.

Where are you trying to paste your html and how exactly as you trying to paste it (what menu or keyboard shortcut). Where did you copy your html from?

If you copy it from a different app, that app may not be properly copying the text to your clipboard as it may try to interpret the html as rich text.

[DiapDealer]

I think they're talking about the option you got to paste rich text or plain text when pasting into Book View from something like Word. Like you now do when pasting into PageEdit from Word.

[KevinH]

So instead of converting the Word doc to html using one of the existing plugins and importing it they instead want to copy the Word screen and somehow convert just it into html and paste that into Sigil?

As you said, they can paste it into PageEdit and get some semblance of html back, but using a Word import plugin or convert their doc into html and load that and use copy and paste.

[DiapDealer]

Oh, I agree. For quick snippets of rich text in the clipboard, there's PageEdit (which was intended to replace Book View functionality anyway), for full documents, there's conversion and/or plugins.

[Turtle91]

The only “paste” plug-in function I could see me needing, would be the ability to keep the last x number of items in the clipboard and then choose which one I wanted to paste.

I regularly have 2-3 different items that I wish I could switch between when copy/pasting as I’m going through a book.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

The only “paste” plug-in function I could see me needing, would be the ability to keep the last x number of items in the clipboard and then choose which one I wanted to paste.

I regularly have 2-3 different items that I wish I could switch between when copy/pasting as I’m going through a book.

That sounds an awful lot like the built-in clipboard history feature.