Teach the clicked time's shortcut on empty grid clicks

docs/acceptance/shortcuts.md

@@ -347,6 +347,8 @@ Compass is the keyboard calendar: pointer clicks, right-clicks, and double-click
 
 - Clicking an event does not open it, but jump chips appear, the event is selected, and the hint identifies that event's exact token plus `Enter`; the shown sequence opens the event without an initial `H`.
 - Clicking either sidebar control does not toggle the sidebar; the hint says to press `]` and uses open/close language matching the current state.
+- Clicking an empty timed-grid slot does not open a draft; the hint shows the matching HHMM digits (`1200`, `1830`) and typing those digits creates an event at that time.
+- Clicking the all-day row teaches `Shift+C`.
 - Unannotated controls retain the generic keyboard-only fallback while contextual coverage is expanded.
 - Right-click does not open the context menu; `M` (or Shift+F10) on a focused event does.
 - Keyboard shortcuts and Enter/Space activation of buttons continue to work.

docs/frontend/contextual-pointer-guidance.md

@@ -12,11 +12,14 @@ of a generic legend. Acceptance coverage lives in
    `composedPath()` and stores that attempt on the pointer-block store.
 3. `PointerHint` renders copy for the attempt. Sidebar open/close teach `]`.
    Event open teaches the current jump token plus Enter, or `S` if no token is
-   available.
+   available. An empty timed-grid click teaches the matching HHMM digits
+   (`1200`, `1830`) so the same create can be typed. An empty all-day-row
+   click teaches `Shift+C`.
 4. A primary event click also dispatches `compass:pointer-event-jump` so the
    mounted grid's event-jump owner can assign tokens and activate leaderless
    sequences. Right-clicks stay on the generic fallback so `M` still opens
-   the context menu.
+   the context menu. An empty-grid click parks that HHMM as a short-lived
+   teaching target so typing the shown digits creates at the clicked instant.
 
 Unannotated controls keep the generic keyboard-only fallback.
 

docs/frontend/frontend-runtime-flow.md

@@ -97,7 +97,9 @@ Pointer suppression (always on, mounted from `RootShell`):
   and hover remain
 - keyboard-activation clicks (Enter/Space on a native button), keyboard
   contextmenu (Shift+F10), and synthetic `.click()` calls pass through
-- blocked clicks pulse `PointerHint`, a transient "keyboard only" pill
+- blocked clicks pulse `PointerHint`, a transient pill: known targets get
+  the matching shortcut (including HHMM digits for an empty timed-grid
+  click), and unannotated controls fall back to "keyboard only"
 
 See [Shortcuts](../acceptance/shortcuts.md) for acceptance coverage and
 [Feature File Map](../development/feature-file-map.md#keyboard-shortcuts) for

e2e/booking/booking-harness.ts

@@ -106,6 +106,34 @@ export function buildBookableSlot(durationMinutes = 30): {
   return { slotStart: start.toISOString(), slotEnd: end.toISOString() };
 }
 
+/** Distinct sibling on the same UTC date. Steps backward when +gap would cross midnight. */
+export function buildSameDaySiblingSlot(
+  slot: { slotStart: string; slotEnd: string },
+  gapMinutes = 30,
+  durationMinutes = 30,
+): { slotStart: string; slotEnd: string } {
+  const currentMs = Date.parse(slot.slotStart);
+  const day = slot.slotStart.slice(0, 10);
+  const dayStart = Date.parse(`${day}T00:00:00.000Z`);
+  const lastStart = Date.parse(`${day}T23:59:00.000Z`);
+  let siblingMs = currentMs + gapMinutes * 60 * 1000;
+  if (siblingMs > lastStart || siblingMs === currentMs) {
+    siblingMs = currentMs - gapMinutes * 60 * 1000;
+  }
+  if (siblingMs < dayStart) {
+    siblingMs = dayStart;
+  }
+  const siblingStart = new Date(siblingMs);
+  siblingStart.setUTCSeconds(0, 0);
+  siblingStart.setUTCMilliseconds(0);
+  return {
+    slotStart: siblingStart.toISOString(),
+    slotEnd: new Date(
+      siblingStart.getTime() + durationMinutes * 60 * 1000,
+    ).toISOString(),
+  };
+}
+
 export interface PublicBookingStubOptions {
   slug?: string;
   hostDisplayName?: string;

e2e/booking/public-booking.spec.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { expect, test } from "@playwright/test";
 import {
   buildBookableSlot,
+  buildSameDaySiblingSlot,
   formatSlotButtonLabel,
   preparePublicBookingConfirmedPage,
   preparePublicBookingPage,
@@ -302,13 +303,7 @@ test.describe("public booking page", () => {
     page,
   }) => {
     const first = buildBookableSlot();
-    const secondStart = new Date(
-      Date.parse(first.slotStart) + 30 * 60 * 1000,
-    ).toISOString();
-    const second = {
-      slotStart: secondStart,
-      slotEnd: new Date(Date.parse(secondStart) + 30 * 60 * 1000).toISOString(),
-    };
+    const second = buildSameDaySiblingSlot(first);
     const captured = await preparePublicBookingPage(page, {
       confirmStatus: 409,
       slots: [first, second],
@@ -418,15 +413,7 @@ test.describe("public booking page", () => {
     page,
   }) => {
     const today = buildBookableSlot();
-    const laterTodayStart = new Date(
-      Date.parse(today.slotStart) + 30 * 60 * 1000,
-    ).toISOString();
-    const laterToday = {
-      slotStart: laterTodayStart,
-      slotEnd: new Date(
-        Date.parse(laterTodayStart) + 30 * 60 * 1000,
-      ).toISOString(),
-    };
+    const laterToday = buildSameDaySiblingSlot(today);
     const otherDayStart = new Date(
       Date.parse(today.slotStart) + 25 * 60 * 60 * 1000,
     ).toISOString();

e2e/timed/mouse-inert.spec.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,20 @@ import {
 // Compass is the keyboard calendar: the mouse is permanently inert. These
 // tests are the behavioral contract for the always-on pointer suppression.
 
+test("empty timed-grid clicks teach the matching HHMM shortcut", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await prepareCalendarPage(page);
+
+  const { x, y } = await getMainGridPoint(page, { xRatio: 0.6, yRatio: 0.6 });
+  await page.mouse.click(x, y);
+
+  await expect(page.getByLabel("Title")).toHaveCount(0);
+  await expect(page.locator("[data-pointer-hint]")).toContainText(
+    /Type \d{4} to create an event at/,
+  );
+});
+
 test("mouse clicks are inert and show the keyboard-only hint", async ({
   page,
 }) => {

packages/web/src/booking/PublicBookingPage.test.tsx

@@ -49,6 +49,26 @@ function slotAround(start: Date) {
   };
 }
 
+/** Distinct sibling on the same UTC date, stepping backward when +gap would leave the day. */
+function slotOnSameUtcDay(
+  current: { slotStart: string; slotEnd: string },
+  gapMinutes: number,
+) {
+  const currentMs = Date.parse(current.slotStart);
+  const day = current.slotStart.slice(0, 10);
+  const dayStart = Date.parse(`${day}T00:00:00.000Z`);
+  const lastStart = Date.parse(`${day}T23:59:00.000Z`);
+  const after = currentMs + gapMinutes * 60 * 1000;
+  if (after <= lastStart && after !== currentMs) {
+    return slotAround(new Date(after));
+  }
+  const before = currentMs - gapMinutes * 60 * 1000;
+  if (before >= dayStart && before !== currentMs) {
+    return slotAround(new Date(before));
+  }
+  return slotAround(new Date(dayStart));
+}
+
 function utcTodayAt(now: Date, hours: number, minutes: number) {
   return new Date(
     Date.UTC(
@@ -153,16 +173,13 @@ async function selectGuestTimeZone(
 const currentSlot = bookableSlotInCurrentMonth();
 const laterCurrentSlot = (() => {
   const later = bookableSlotInCurrentMonth(30);
-  if (later.slotStart.slice(0, 10) === currentSlot.slotStart.slice(0, 10)) {
+  if (
+    later.slotStart !== currentSlot.slotStart &&
+    later.slotStart.slice(0, 10) === currentSlot.slotStart.slice(0, 10)
+  ) {
     return later;
   }
-  const currentMs = Date.parse(currentSlot.slotStart);
-  const endOfUtcDay = Date.parse(
-    `${currentSlot.slotStart.slice(0, 10)}T23:59:00.000Z`,
-  );
-  return slotAround(
-    new Date(Math.min(currentMs + 15 * 60 * 1000, endOfUtcDay)),
-  );
+  return slotOnSameUtcDay(currentSlot, 15);
 })();
 const nextMonthSlot = bookableSlotInNextMonth();
 const guestTimeZone = "UTC";
@@ -227,7 +244,30 @@ function reservationGetHandler(
   );
 }
 
+describe("slotOnSameUtcDay", () => {
+  it("steps forward when the gap still fits on the UTC day", () => {
+    const current = slotAround(new Date("2026-08-31T20:00:00.000Z"));
+    expect(slotOnSameUtcDay(current, 30).slotStart).toBe(
+      "2026-08-31T20:30:00.000Z",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("steps backward instead of collapsing onto 23:59 at month-end midnight", () => {
+    const current = slotAround(new Date("2026-08-31T23:59:00.000Z"));
+    const sibling = slotOnSameUtcDay(current, 15);
+    expect(sibling.slotStart).toBe("2026-08-31T23:44:00.000Z");
+    expect(sibling.slotStart).not.toBe(current.slotStart);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("PublicBookingPage", () => {
+  it("uses two distinct same-day slots in the current UTC month", () => {
+    expect(laterCurrentSlot.slotStart).not.toBe(currentSlot.slotStart);
+    expect(laterCurrentSlot.slotStart.slice(0, 10)).toBe(
+      currentSlot.slotStart.slice(0, 10),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("shows a generic not-found state for an unknown slug", async () => {
     renderBookingRoute("/book/unknown-host");
 

packages/web/src/components/PointerHint/PointerHint.test.tsx

@@ -222,7 +222,42 @@ describe("PointerHint", () => {
     });
 
     expect(screen.getByRole("status")).toHaveTextContent(
-      "Press 1130 to create at 11:30 AM.",
+      "Type 1130 to create an event at 11:30 AM.",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("names an evening quarter-hour in 24-hour digits", () => {
+    render(<PointerHint />);
+
+    act(() => {
+      pointerBlockActions.pulseBlockedClick({
+        actionId: "grid.timed",
+        gridDate: "2026-08-29",
+        gridTimeKey: "1830",
+        gridTimeLabel: "6:30 PM",
+      });
+    });
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole("status")).toHaveTextContent(
+      "Type 1830 to create an event at 6:30 PM.",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the timed-grid shortcut sentence after the session reminder threshold", () => {
+    sessionStorage.setItem(HINT_COUNT_KEY, "3");
+    render(<PointerHint />);
+
+    act(() => {
+      pointerBlockActions.pulseBlockedClick({
+        actionId: "grid.timed",
+        gridDate: "2026-08-29",
+        gridTimeKey: "1200",
+        gridTimeLabel: "12:00 PM",
+      });
+    });
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole("status")).toHaveTextContent(
+      "Type 1200 to create an event at 12:00 PM.",
     );
   });
 

packages/web/src/components/PointerHint/PointerHint.tsx

@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ const pointerHintMessage = ({
   if (attempt?.actionId === "grid.timed" && attempt.gridTimeKey) {
     return (
       <>
-        Press <Key>{attempt.gridTimeKey}</Key> to create at{" "}
+        Type <Key>{attempt.gridTimeKey}</Key> to create an event at{" "}
         {attempt.gridTimeLabel ?? attempt.gridTimeKey}.
       </>
     );