Restore Original Create Date

I'm not sure that I can help, but what the...

Soon after buying my iBook 6 months ago, I spent days scanning my old photos into iPhoto 5, naming them, correcting the dates etc.

Since then, I have chosen (for various reasons) to perform a clean install on several occasions - after saving photos etc, of course. Each time, iPhoto has altered the dates of the photos, although retaining all other data.

Digital images from a camera with an incorrect date and time setting gave the same problem.

Attempts to overcome the problem by changing the creation date (using ResEdit) also failed. It seems that iPhoto has a mind of its own when it comes to dates.

As far as your photo library growing, this may be due to photos being edited. iPhoto maintains an original copy after you edit a photo, thus allowing you to revert to the original.

Before adding camera images to a library, I copy them to my HD, name them, make any changes necessary with Photoshop Elements 3 (more versatile and reliable than iPhoto), and them import them to iPhoto. This way, I minimise the library size.

If you observe what happens in the iPhoto library folder when you import images, you will that they are stored according to year/month/day. For some reason, iPhoto likes to create empty folders, eg. a 2006>03>06 folder which contains nothing but an empty "Thumbs" folder. Although only 8KB in size (the minimum), they certainly help to clutter things up!

By the way, you can maintain any number of libraries. Simply hold down the option key whilst clicking the iPhoto icon in the dock - you will be given the option of creating a new library or selecting an existing one.

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

I think the solution is a different filing method. Once a file, any file, is edited, the date changes to the saved/modified date. This is not limited to iPhoto or even Mac OSX. In essence, you have created a new file, more so in iPhoto since it moves the original file to the Originals folder.

As for restoring the original dates, that's not going to happen. That's simply going to create new current dates. Theoretically, you could set the system date back, rename the file, save it, etc. That's time consuming and, well, a bit bizarre. The moment you edit the file again, the date becomes the current date.

Also keep in mind that you can sort by film rolls and key words, you can create smart albums and, the powerful and overlooked, batch change command. That's just within iPhoto. Finder and Spotlight add an extra dimension.

As I mentioned earlier, iPhoto saves the original image automatically. If you want it back you can always use the revert command. If you want to keep the edited image and see the original, use the duplicate command, then revert.

Ken,

I agree with everything you say, except possibly "As for restoring the original dates, that's not going to happen". I don't know what you mean by "not going to happen".

You will know, of course, that each file has 2 dates associated with it - "created" and "modified", as seen in the "Get Info" dialog. As soon as you edit a file in any way, the latter changes, but surely not the former.

When I view my family album, I prefer to have the photos in chronological order so that my daughter comes before my grand-daugther (or the other way round, depending on which way you look at it).

By editing the creation date of the photos (using ResEdit) before importing them into iPhoto, I hoped to achieve this, but no such luck. Any application capable of showing the creation date of a photo so modified shows the new date - except for iPhoto!!!

I must confess to not understanding what is happening inside iPhoto, but it seems the application is more dictatorial than needs be.

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

OK, I was being a bit too cliche with "not going to happen". It's a practical matter more than a technical matter. Yes, you can change a file date by rolling the system back in time, resaving the file then rolling it forward. It's tedious and probably very impractical. You'd have to be offline so the system does not resync the date. Think it through and you'll see what I mean.

Lets move to a more practical place. I do understand how you attempting to organize. It's important (and far less frustrating) to work within the capabilities of the program and OS rather than fight it. As I said earlier, originals are always saved and can be recovered instantly. That being said another given is that Mac's tend to be excellent at linking one thing to another. So we have two strengths at our fingertips. Another thing we have as a constant is that modifying a file essentially creates a new file with a new file date. That's not changeable. All OS's and apps do it. What we need is a workflow that organizes files as you'd like them.

One simple method would be smart albums and keywords. If you have not tried this, it's amazing. Highlight a few photos and assign them a keyword. Yes, you can assign a keyword to a batch of photos in one shot. You don't have to do this one by one. Hightlight, Command + I, keywords, (pick one). You can make special keywords in Preferences, by the way. Now, File, New Smart Album, Keyword is (whatever you chose).

Now remember, you can change the file titles en-masse by using Batch Change. One option is Date Time.

Given time I can probably think of a few other ways. Personally I sort by film rolls, smart albums and keywords. I don't give much thought to dates and exact file names. It's the content. If I need to, for clarity, I may prefix a file name (DSC0001.jpg becomes Max-DSC0001.jpg or 1-DSC001.jpg). It's not something I need to do often.

Bernard: Do I understand this right...I go to a lot of trouble to make my camera record the date I took the picture, then when I import it into iphoto, iphoto obliterates that information. I can't see what the programmers were thinking about if this is correct? Thanks. Jay

Jay,
I have had no trouble with dates in iPhoto unless I try to change them. I make sure my digital camera is set correctly (i.e. date and time) and do not change them after importing to iPhoto.
Could you be more specific about your problem?
Bernie

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)