Inconsistent 'Date Modified' values on folders in Finder

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Level 1

4 points

Inconsistent 'Date Modified' values on folders in Finder

Even though various people have already asked questions about supposed ‘Date Modified' bugs, I have not yet found a reasonable explanation for the following behavior.

When I add a file to a folder the ‘Date Modified’ value changes to the current time as expected.

When I now search for this folder the ‘Date Modified’ value shows a different time.

I already observed this behavior years ago and thought something was messed up in my system configuration. Now I tested this case on a brand new and clean MacBook without any data import and it behaves exactly the same way.

Questions:

Why does MacOS store two separate ‘Date Modified’ values which are often but not always different?
Which activities trigger a change of the ‘Date Modified’ value in the search mode?

MacBook Pro Apple Silicon 2023

Posted on Feb 5, 2023 3:05 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Fennex Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 5, 2023 11:46 AM in response to Barney-15E

It generally only reflects items added to or removed,

Yes, that's clear to me. I'm only talking about add and remove actions.

The metadata might not have been updated.

This is probably the case here.

the search appears to be using metadata instead of file system data

Thanks for the explanation.

That might require re-indexing that folder for Spotlight.

I followed the instructions on the support page and the correct values are shown now.

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

Nevertheless, these steps are not intended for a regular use.

If it happens all of the time, it may not be set up to update the metadata when files are added.

How can I set this up?

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,144 points

Feb 5, 2023 9:15 AM in response to Fennex

When I add a file to a folder the ‘Date Modified’ value changes to the current time as expected.

Depends on your definition of "expected." Sure, one might expect that is what should happen. But, if you've used macOS for a while, changes to the modified date of a folder when contents are changed are not to be expected.

It generally only reflects items added to or removed, not changes to the content of items in the folder. But, in this case, the modification date should change.

When I now search for this folder the ‘Date Modified’ value shows a different time.

It could be showing the metadata for date modified instead of the file system modification date/time. The metadata might not have been updated.

Why does MacOS store two separate ‘Date Modified’ values which are often but not always different?

Almost everything, including hard-stored data like file system data, is also stored in metadata so Spotlight can quickly index and show results. As I mentioned above, the search appears to be using metadata instead of file system data. The standard Finder window should be showing file system data for those values.

2. Which activities trigger a change of the ‘Date Modified’ value in the search mode?

That might require re-indexing that folder for Spotlight. If it happens all of the time, it may not be set up to update the metadata when files are added.

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Answer 3

Fennex Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 19, 2023 8:09 AM in response to Fennex

I just noticed that the find command in Terminal gives me the correct results. As a workaround, I could write a Quick Action that updates the metadata via touch command with the values from find.

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,144 points

Feb 5, 2023 3:43 PM in response to Fennex

How can I set this up?

You can't. Apple would have to do that.

Send them feedback: Feedback - macOS - Apple

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Answer 5

Fennex Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 7, 2023 11:46 AM in response to Barney-15E

I was afraid to get this answer but maybe someone has a creative idea how I can achieve my actual goal in a different way.

In addition to the Recents shortcut in the Finder sidebar I would like to have second one for Recent Places that gives me the same results like the Safari 'Save As' dialog.

If it's not possible to use the 'Date Modified' value, can this be done with another search query e.g. the Raw Query?

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