Universal Date Format Normalizer

WHAT IT DOES

Universal Date Format Normalizer scans webpages for date strings in various formats—MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, Month DD, YYYY, and more—and normalizes them to a consistent format based on your preference. For each date found, the script injects a small badge showing the converted format alongside a tooltip with the original format and detection details. Dates that are ambiguous (e.g., 01/02/2023 which could be January 2 or February 1) are highlighted with a warning indicator to alert you to potential confusion. The script also supports relative time display, showing dates as "2 days ago," "in 3 weeks," or "just now" for a more intuitive reading experience. A floating control panel lets you select your preferred format, toggle normalization on or off, and adjust display options.

WHERE IT RUNS

This script operates as a userscript within the BotGentz extension on any webpage that contains dates, including news articles, event listings, e-commerce sites, forums, documentation, and social media. It functions on any modern browser that supports the BotGentz extension, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Opera. The script runs entirely client-side, processing dates locally without sending any data to external servers.

HOW TO USE

After installation, the script automatically scans the page for dates and normalizes them to your preferred format. Hover over any normalized date to see a tooltip showing the original format and any ambiguity warnings. The floating control panel appears in the bottom-left corner, showing your current format setting. To change your preferred format, open the main panel and select from options including MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, Month DD, YYYY, or relative time. Toggle conversion badges on or off, enable or disable ambiguous date highlighting, or switch between absolute and relative time display. Use the date order preference to control how ambiguous dates like "01/02" are interpreted (MDY or DMY).

THE MECHANISM THAT MAKES IT WORK

The script uses a multi-stage date parsing pipeline that tests text against multiple date format patterns in sequence. First, it attempts to match slashed formats (MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY) with configurable date order, then ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD), then word-based formats (Month DD, YYYY), then dot-separated formats, and finally Unix timestamps. For each detected date, the script creates a JavaScript Date object and validates it to ensure it represents a real date. Ambiguity detection checks whether both the month and day values are valid in both MDY and DMY interpretations. The normalization engine uses the user's preferred format setting to format the date using String padding and month name arrays. Relative time calculation compares the date to the current system time and returns human-readable strings using a tiered system (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years) with appropriate suffixes for past and future dates.

THE PANEL

The script panel is built using BotGentz's BGPanel framework and provides comprehensive control over the date normalizer's behavior. The panel opens as a floating overlay that can be dragged anywhere on your screen, with a clean dark theme matching the tool's aesthetic. It includes dropdown menus for preferred date format selection (7 format options), date order preference (MDY or DMY), and badge position (left or right of date). Toggle switches enable or disable the normalizer, conversion badges, ambiguous date highlighting, and relative time display. Action buttons allow you to save settings or reset all settings to defaults. The panel collapses to a small icon when not in use and expands when clicked, remaining accessible but unobtrusive. Press the Escape key at any time to close the panel.

PLEASE NOTE

This script requires the free BotGentz extension to be installed and activated in your browser. The extension is available from the official BotGentz website. The script attempts to detect dates in multiple formats but may not catch all date variations, especially non-standard or localized formats. Ambiguous dates are flagged based on the configured date order preference—the script warns when both MDY and DMY interpretations are valid. Relative time calculations use your system clock and may differ from the page's original timezone. The script modifies the page DOM by replacing text nodes with styled spans; disabling the script restores the original content. No data is collected, stored, or transmitted by this script; all processing is performed locally in your browser.