BabalufromBath

Q: Can somebody please tell me the difference between 'date created' and 'date added'? Also, between 'arrange by' and 'sort by'? Thank you.

Hello. I am using Finder version 10.11.4 in OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G31)

 

Can somebody please tell me the difference between 'date created' and 'date added'?

Also, between 'arrange by' and 'sort by'?

 

I've tried searching online for this explanation already, but could not find anything. I'm hoping someone could give me a simple, straightforward explanation.

 

Thank you.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Aug 24, 2016 12:35 AM

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Q: Can somebody please tell me the difference between 'date created' and 'date added'? Also, between 'arrange by' and 'sort by'? Than ... more

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  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Aug 24, 2016 4:57 AM in response to BabalufromBath
    Level 8 (49,737 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 24, 2016 4:57 AM in response to BabalufromBath

    Date created was the date the file was created in the file system.

    Date Added is the date the file was added to a particular folder. A bit more esoteric, Date Added is metadata, not file system data. Date created is essentially part of the file. Date added is a bit of extra data attached to the file.

     

    Sorting orders Finder items by some criteria, like Date Created, Name, Size.

    Arranging groups Finder items by some criteria. When Arranged by Date, it groups the items by a date range such as Today, Yesterday, Past Week, Month, Year, etc.

    Within each arrangement, you can sort the items by some other criteria.

  • by BabalufromBath,

    BabalufromBath BabalufromBath Aug 24, 2016 7:44 AM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 24, 2016 7:44 AM in response to Barney-15E

    Thank you, Baney-15E.

    Just one more clarification if I may?

     

    Are metadata and file system data both generated automatically or is one of them manually input?

  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Aug 24, 2016 8:12 AM in response to BabalufromBath
    Level 4 (2,623 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Aug 24, 2016 8:12 AM in response to BabalufromBath

    I select the 'Date Added' column to use as the sort order for 'Downloads' folders. This means that the files are listed in the order they were downloaded. I find it very useful in this context (and no other...).

     

    C.

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Aug 24, 2016 12:28 PM in response to BabalufromBath
    Level 8 (49,737 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 24, 2016 12:28 PM in response to BabalufromBath

    File systen data is created and managed by the file system automatically.

    Metadata is created by the program that creates the file or by the Finder. It is done somewhat automatically, but it is not as robust as file system data creation.