File explorer and date created/modified change when copying files/folders.

Anonymous
2024-02-17T14:09:45+00:00

Dear Microsoft Wizards,

I come to you with a tale of woe, a saga of time-displaced files and folders that have lost their way in the temporal vortex of Windows File Explorer. In an age where we can chat with AI, drive electric chariots, and binge-watch shows about dragons and spaceships, I find myself anchored to a mundane reality. In reality, copying files and folders in Windows File Explorer betrays their original timestamps, casting them adrift in the present, forgetting their noble past.

Imagine a world where one could copy a file or folder without the cruel hands of the present altering their date and time stamps. A world where digital artifacts remain untouched by the ravages of time, preserving their history as meticulously as a museum curator with a penchant for organization and accuracy.

"Why not use robocopy or other command prompt utilities?" I hear you ask, your voices echoing through the hallowed halls of Redmond. Ah, but here lies the rub! While these tools are mighty in their own right, they demand a saint's patience and a wizard's expertise. Delving into the command prompt is akin to stepping into an ancient crypt inscribed with arcane commands and cryptic parameters. It is a thrilling adventure for the occasional file or two, perhaps, but Herculean labor when faced with the task of preserving the timestamps of hundreds, nay, thousands of files and folders.

So, I pray that you, the noble scribes and engineers of Microsoft, bestow upon us, the humble users, a magical feature within the Windows File Explorer itself. A feature that allows us to copy our digital treasures while keeping their temporal essence intact – no spells, no incantations, and indeed no command line rituals required.

In this quest for temporal fidelity, I stand ready to champion this cause, armed with nothing but my wit and a profound desire for user-friendly file management. Together, let us forge a new path through the annals of digital file preservation, ensuring that our files and folders may travel through the vast expanse of directories without losing sight of their origins.

Yours in time-traveling solidarity,

Luis Martinez

******@outlook.com

P.S. If this feature comes to pass, future generations will look back on this moment as a turning point in history – the day we let our files journey through time, unaltered and proud, their timestamps shining like beacons of their actual age.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-05-20T06:21:37+00:00

    "Microsoft will continue to make improvements to serve you better."

    Yeah, that doesn't instill confidence in those of us who wish that Microsoft would leave well enough alone. Whose bright idea was it to have the DATE/TIME of a file change when copying or moving them to another location...especially when trying to copy/move several of them at a time?

    Like magic, ALL of the files now have the DATE/TIME that the drag and drop was done and NOT the date that they have had since their inception.  That is extremely frustrating for people who REQUIRE precise DATES/TIMES that original files were created, like with security camera clips or other evidentiary files.

    Luis' post WAS eloquent, and the post expressed exactly what I have been feeling about this subject.  Am I wrong in feeling that your response is a flippant slap in the face?  That sounds a lot like "we are aware of the problem, you hurt my feelings, and we are never going to fix it".

    Personally, I want my Windows 7 back.  It is my belief that my computer was taken out during a Windows 7 'Update'.  I was thereby forced to purchase a new computer with Windows 8.  Each new iteration of Windows has been inferior to the previous one since then, and I cannot help but think that is intentional.  So just know that I have no respect for your response to Luis, nor for this product.

    IF you could tell me how to get the 'Date created' column in Windows File Explorer to actually show the date each file was created, I might have some respect.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-06-27T15:02:33+00:00

    I can also share that this started happening to me also very recently which I suspect started after the latest Windows 11 update. When I COPY a file from a network share (Windows Server shared folder) to my local hard drive folder the file "Modified Date" changed on my computer to the date the file was copied over. This is TERRIBLE! For many reasons, including backups, archiving and just normal file management I need the file "Date Modified" to remain the date the file was last modified NOT when the file was last moved or copied to another location. Please fix this Microsoft. I am removing the last few updates until this is fixed.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-06-21T11:52:00+00:00

    Yes, I just noticed this behavior this morning. The modified date for files copied from a network share update to the time of copying. Major screw-up by Microsoft.

    Workaround is to zip the files first, copy the zip and then unpack. Modified dates don't change then.

    Microsoft, fix this!

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-06-19T05:53:39+00:00

    All my file have change to the time when I copy.
    So that when I open file on Indesign, It report me update links
    We can not work with windows 11

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  5. Les Ferch 10,361 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-05-20T14:46:58+00:00

    IF you could tell me how to get the 'Date created' column in Windows File Explorer to actually show the date each file was created, I might have some respect.

    Please see my previous reply:

    "Date Created does not mean the Date you created the content. It means the date the file was first created on a given volume. People are always wanting it to mean the date the content was created, but that's not what that property is meant to represent. It's important that it continue to work as it always has for forensic and backward compatibility purposes. Of course, software, such as the aforementioned RoboCopy, can subvert its intended purpose by "preserving" the Date Created when copying files from one volume to another."

    Date created has always worked as described above. It was no different in Windows 7.

    For some file types, there are other properties that will reliably track when the content was created. For example, for photos (JPG files), there is a "Date taken" property that is stored as part of the file.

    What file types are you working with? Maybe there is a property that will work better than Date created. If not, then you will need to use a tool such as RoboCopy or FastCopy to keep the original Date created when copying to another volume.

    Update: If you install TeraCopy and configure it to replace Explorer's copy function, then any copied files will keep their original Date created. Here's a screenshot of the TeraCopy preferences:

    Image

    https://www.codesector.com/teracopy

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