Exif Date/Time Info doesn't Update on File Save

[rfj10101]

This is not purely an Affinity problem, it is something to do with certain jpg files, but perhaps it can be resolved within Affinity

The original exif data in terms of date and time doesn't change when I save the files. They are all permanently fixed in 2008 - the year I took the photos.

Everything else, such as edit, save, rename, , etc. works OK.

All other jpg's are OK

Solving it is only important insofar as I have most of my file sort sequences in date descending date order for when it comes to opening a previous file

Is there anything I can do in Affinity to resolve it.

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

[R C-R]

21 minutes ago, rfj10101 said:

The original exif data in terms of date and time doesn't change when I save the files. They are all permanently fixed in 2008 - the year I took the photos.

That is the way it is supposed to work. exif data is part of the file itself; the save date/time metadata is part of the file system the file is stored in. So two different things....

[thomaso]

"Creation Date" and "Modification Date" are two pair of socks. (luckily).

To sort your files you could use the wanted parameter (e.g. in macOS -> Finder you can choose them as separate columns).

In Affinity (APub) I noticed that "Save As…" creates a document with a new creation date entry in the Fields panel. I haven't tried with APh if it will create an according EXIF entry, the Metadata panel in APub's Photo persona seems not to display either (but shows dates in the Fields panel).

[R C-R]

3 minutes ago, thomaso said:

"Creation Date" and "Modification Date" are two pair of socks. (luckily).

But both are file system metadata, not part of the file itself. EXIF tags like DateTimeOriginal (the date & time when original image was taken); CreateDate (the date & time when the photo was first digitized); & so on are stored within the file & are not intended to be changed by operations that are file system dependent.

There are apps that can change some of the EXIF tags without causing issues but it is a complicated process that should not be done without understanding how they relate to one another & the consequences that changing them might cause.

[loukash]

To have full control over metadata incl. Exif, on Mac I can recommend GraphicConverter. While IPTC/XMP/Exif usually affect only images, GraphicConverter can also modify file system metadata of any file type. I use it very frequently for that via GraphicConverter's browser mode.

But as already noted above, you actually should not want to change your Exif dates each time you modify a file. But of course you can if you desperately want to.  

[thomaso]

16 minutes ago, R C-R said:

But both are file system metadata, not part of the file itself. EXIF tags like

That was not the OP's question, right? For them, with the correct date criteria, it should work to sort as desired, regardless of the app or file system.

Apart from that, it appears even more complex, as this discussion shows https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?topic=12165.0 . The number of possible dates + places where they occur or are stored is larger than our mentioned 2–4 dates. While the first response says "all the time tags, as that would be excessive, since that would write about 90+ tags", these 12 are a small selection only:

EXIF:CreateDate
EXIF:DateTimeOriginal
EXIF:ModifyDate
IPTC:DigitalCreationDate+IPTC:DigitalCreationTime
PTC:DateCreated+IPTC:TimeCreated
XMP-exif:DateTimeDigitized
XMP-exif:DateTimeOriginal
XMP-photoshop:DateCreated
XMP-xmp:CreateDate
XMP-xmp:ModifyDate
GPS:GPSDateStamp+GPS:GPSTimeStamp (adjusted for local timezone)
System:FileModifyDate

[loukash]

39 minutes ago, thomaso said:

The number of possible dates + places where they occur or are stored is larger than our mentioned 2–4 dates.

With GraphicConverter you can edit or strip whatever you want. Also batch process or automate via scripting.

~~~

But this is not necessarily within the scope of Affinity. Why should it? I, for one, wouldn't want to see Affinity suffer from the same Optionalenia Preferentitis™ disease à la GC (or e.g. VectorStyler for that matter, hehe…). Less is sometimes more, especially when there are other tools which will accomplish those niche tasks much better.

[rfj10101]

47 minutes ago, thomaso said:

That was not the OP's question, right? For them, with the correct date criteria, it should work to sort as desired, regardless of the app or file system.

Apart from that, it appears even more complex, as this discussion shows https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?topic=12165.0 . The number of possible dates + places where they occur or are stored is larger than our mentioned 2–4 dates. While the first response says "all the time tags, as that would be excessive, since that would write about 90+ tags", these 12 are a small selection only:

Thanks all for the suggestions and comments. It is very easy for me to get rid of the exif data on a pc - it is just a right click of the mouse button whilst in explorer. 

I was intrigued to know :

• if there was a way to do it in Affinity - answered
• perhaps, why it is just these images out of several thousand where the date/time stamp doesn't change when I file/save..

thomaso I think provided the answer insofar as there are over a dozen ways that date/time can be stored and I guess these jpg's store it differently from the others but the contents are displayed in the same column.

[R C-R]

5 hours ago, thomaso said:

That was not the OP's question, right? For them, with the correct date criteria, it should work to sort as desired, regardless of the app or file system.

But the Affinity apps do not provide any way to change the EXIF metadata, nor should they. The issue seems to be that some of the OP's JPEG(?) files do not update the file system metadata on saves for some reason ... which must be an issue with the OS & how it updates the file system metadata during saves, not anything to do with the Affinity apps.

5 hours ago, rfj10101 said:

thomaso I think provided the answer insofar as there are over a dozen ways that date/time can be stored... 

Each of the EXIF date/time tags has a particular purpose & meaning. They are not interchangeable, so the problem is with whatever is showing you the wrong one(s).

[Boldlinedesign]

@loukash your passive aggressive jealousy of Vectorstyler is amusing 

[loukash]

4 hours ago, Boldlinedesign said:

your passive aggressive jealousy of Vectorstyler is amusing 

Your religiously devoted defense whenever the keyword "VectorStyler" pops up even more.  
Although… you seem to have missed one.  

[Boldlinedesign]

@loukash I do defend Vectorstyler fervently on the forum. I do this because for some reason, there's seems to be a lot of undeserved negativity expressed toward vectorstyler on the affinity forum. The success of Vectorstyler does not negate any success affinity designer has. Both serve different purposes in the vector design field. Affinity takes a more simplistic approach and vectorstyler is more complex and offers more advanced features. 

I would have never heard of vectorstyler had it not been discussed on this forum as an alternative to affinity. At the time, affinity was in the midst of that years long slow update process and most functionality I needed for my work was not available. Vectorstyler bridged that gap and allowed me to avoid subscribing to the adobe creative cloud. Others deserve the opportunity to know Vectorstyler exists and can continue to bridge the gap between what affinity offers and what's still lacking.

Vectorstyler has only improved by leaps and bounds since that time. Thankfully, affinity has been improving as well. I'm not afraid to root for the success of both programs. 

 

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, Boldlinedesign said:

I do this because for some reason, there's seems to be a lot of undeserved negativity expressed toward vectorstyler on the affinity forum.

A lot of the negativity is about its very cluttered UI & use of tons of button icons whose functions are quite hard to figure out from their appearance. Whether this is undeserved or not is at least in part a matter of how important UI design & intuitive user friendliness is to each of us.

Of course, there are those of us (myself included) who feel the Affinity apps also have issues with UI design & ease of use, but that does not mean this criticism of either product is undeserved or unjustifiably negative.

[loukash]

Folks, please: this Vectorstyler debate has now no connection to @rfj10101's "Exif Date/Time" question whatsoever. Please take it elsewhere.

[R C-R]

14 minutes ago, loukash said:

Folks, please: this Vectorstyler debate has now no connection to @rfj10101's "Exif Date/Time" question whatsoever. Please take it elsewhere.

Since you were (I think?) the first mention that product here maybe a good start on that would be to edit that post to remove the VS reference, & to hide the later one that seems designed to provoke a response?

Do that & perhaps the rest of us can follow suit & hide or edit our replies as well....

[Boldlinedesign]

2 hours ago, R C-R said:

Since you were (I think?) the first mention that product here maybe a good start on that would be to edit that post to remove the VS reference, & to hide the later one that seems designed to provoke a response?

Do that & perhaps the rest of us can follow suit & hide or edit our replies as well....

Folks, please: this Vectorstyler debate has now no connection to @rfj10101's "Exif Date/Time" question whatsoever. Please take it elsewhere.

 

 

Ahhh selective whitewashing. Vectorstyler Derangement Syndrome. Any mention of the name causes some to freak out for no reason.  It amazes me that people take such offense to other applications being discussed, especially when there's no real competition between them and they can be used together to solve most every gap missing in the vector designer's tool belt. For some reason, many Affinity users like to bash Vectorstyler as if it were the anti-christ. If VS is too complex for you, use it for the select tool and features you can't find in Designer - simple as that. If you run into an issue where VS crashes, be a good person and report the crash to the VS forum and developer. Respect both programs. Why take offense when people mention good things about other programs besides Affinity? 

[R C-R]

3 minutes ago, Boldlinedesign said:

Folks, please: this Vectorstyler debate has now no connection to @rfj10101's "Exif Date/Time" question whatsoever. Please take it elsewhere.

So why don't you quit mentioning it in new posts to this topic?

[Return]

5 minutes ago, Boldlinedesign said:

bash Vectorstyler

Do you say the same on the vs forum,me thinks not.

[Boldlinedesign]

37 minutes ago, Return said:

Do you say the same on the vs forum,me thinks not.

I'm not sure I understand your comment. Most of the time, we are calmly comparing and contrasting features and methods. A few people ccasionally bash Affinity on the VS forum, but usually there's no reaction at all when it's mentioned. People are not threatened by it and do not feel the need to knock it. No one asked for references to Affinity on the VS forum to be deleted. If someone points out a cool feature or idea found in Affinity, they are not usually harassed.