• Adds periods to “am” and “pm” so they become “a.m.” and “p.m.”
• Removes extraneous zeros when the time is at the top of the hour. “1:00 p.m.” becomes “1 p.m.”
• Changes “12:00 a.m.” to “midnight” and “12:00 p.m.” to “noon.”
• Correctly abbreviates months in the date to match AP Style rules. Those are: “Jan.” “Feb.” “March” “April” “May” “June” “July” “Aug.” “Sept.” “Oct.” “Nov.” “Dec.”

Use ‘today’ when the post date is the current date

Though technically not an AP Style rule, many publications use the word “today” when it’s the current date.

If you’re using ‘today’, would you like it capitalized?

Depending on where you place the date in your template, you may want the word capitalized.

/> Capitalize the word “today” (i.e.: Today).
/> Do not capitalize the word “today” (i.e.: today)

Display the year in the date if it matches the current year?

According to AP Style, when using a date that is within the current year, the actual year is not needed in the date. However, you may want to include it in the interest of clarity.

/> Print the year when the date is within the current year.
/> Do not print the year if the date is within the current year.

Capitalize ‘noon’ and ‘midnight’ when printing the time?

Depending on where you place the time in you template, you may want the words capitalized.

/> Yes, capitalize ‘noon’ and ‘midnight’ (i.e.: Noon and Midnight).
/> Do not capitalize the words ‘noon’ and ‘midnight’ (i.e.: noon and midnight).

To use this plugin, you have to edit your template files, replacing WordPress’ default date and time tags with the new ones listed below. You can use it on dates and times for posts, comments and post modified information.

For post dates and times

<?php ap_time(); ?> will print the post’s time in AP Style.

Find the <?php the_time(); ?> tag in your template files (single.php, index.php, search.php, archives.php, page.php, etc.) and replace it with:

<?php if (function_exists('ap_time')) { ap_time(); } else { the_time(); } ?>

Using the if statement will make sure the date is still printed if the plugin is deactivated.

Likewise, <?php ap_date(); ?> will print the post’s date in AP Style.

Find the <?php the_date(); ?> tag in your template files and replace it with:

<?php if (function_exists('ap_date')) { ap_date(); } else { the_date(); } ?>

Here’s how I use it:

I put the time before the date, so my code looks like this:

<?php if (function_exists('ap_time')) { ap_time(); } else { the_time(); } ?> <?php if (function_exists('ap_date')) { ap_date(); } else { the_date(); } ?>

That prints something like 1:15 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008 or noon Sept. 23, depending on the option settings.

For comment dates and times

<?php ap_comment_time(); ?> will print the comment times in AP Style.

Find the <?php comment_time(); ?> tag in your comments template file (comments.php) and replace it with:

<?php if (function_exists('ap_comment_time')) { ap_comment_time(); } else { comment_time(); } ?>

<?php ap_comment_date(); ?> will print the comment dates in AP Style.

Find the <?php comment_date(); ?> tag in your comments template file and replace it with:

<?php if (function_exists('ap_comment_date')) { ap_comment_date(); } else { comment_date(); } ?>

For modified dates and times

<?php ap_modified_time(); ?> will print the post’s modified time in AP Style.

Find the <?php the_modified_time(); ?> tag in your template files (single.php, index.php, search.php, archives.php, page.php, etc.) and replace it with:

<?php if (function_exists('ap_modified_time')) { ap_modified_time(); } else { the_modified_time(); } ?>

<?php ap_modified_date(); ?> will print the post’s modified date in AP Style.

Find the <?php the_modified_date(); ?> tag in your template files and replace it with:

<?php if (function_exists('ap_modified_date')) { ap_modified_date(); } else { the_modified_date(); } ?>