Why a folder "Date Modified" doesn't reflect its latest modified files?

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lndesign Author

Level 1

0 points

Why a folder "Date Modified" doesn't reflect its latest modified files?

Hello,

I seem to not be the only one trying to find a solution to the following issue.

Let's say you have a folder A, with different files/sub-folders in.

When saving a file, the "date modified" of folder A doesn't update accordingly.

It becomes a real nightmare when you need to backup tons folders and files, as you never know what has truly been modified, unless you dig in and open every single folder each time to check.

For some reason, the folder A only updates its "date modified" when a file has been added or removed.

Or, sometimes for some reason, folder A updates with the last opened, when who cares of that.

I'm working on the latest Imac Intel puchased on dec 2012, with Mac OS X 10.8.4.

If anyone can help, that would be great!

Many many thanks!

Loan

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jun 15, 2013 5:17 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jun 15, 2013 7:56 AM in response to lndesign

Why folder "Date Modified" doesn't reflect files and subfolders?

It becomes a real nightmare when you need to backup tons folders and files, as you never know what has truly been modified, unless you dig in and open every single folder each time to check.

That shouldn't be a problem for automatic backup software, such as Time Machine.

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Answer 2

lndesign Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 15, 2013 8:01 AM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks for the answer,

but that still doesn't explain the issue...

How about for punctual manual backup needs, if the folder doesn't show the real latest modified file, that's very confusing.

Is there any way to solve it please?

Many thanks again!

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jun 15, 2013 8:08 AM in response to lndesign

Spotlight can find files by modification date.

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Answer 4

Jun 15, 2013 8:55 AM in response to lndesign

Folders are nothing more then files that contain the information about the files and folders it contains.

So if you add or remove a file from a folder then the entry is added or removed from the folder 'file' and then it shows as modified. But if you modify a file in the folder nothing is changed in the the folder 'file' and hence the folder is not considered modified.

While this doesn'e solve your situation I hope it helps explain what you are seeing.

regards

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Answer 5

lndesign Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 15, 2013 9:21 AM in response to Frank Caggiano

Thanks for the answer,

indeed, that I understand, I've read it on many forums.

But, for some reason I can't explain,

I never had that "date modified" issue until 3-4 days ago...

Before that, everytime I saved or resaved a file in a folder, the folder automatically updated the "date modified" accordingly. It makes sense and just seems normal, so just looking at the folders, you know right away if one has changed, without needing to go into each folder/subfolder.

So I don't know why it suddenly changed.

Have a nice evening.

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Answer 6

Jun 15, 2013 9:54 AM in response to lndesign

Well that's the way it has worked since day one.

Can't say what's changed on your system or what you were seeing before but again a folder isn't modified if a file in it is modified.

regards

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Answer 7

pmguyre

Level 1

17 points

Feb 2, 2014 6:49 AM in response to Frank Caggiano

Frank Caggiano's post of June 15, 2013 answered my question--10 pts--but I don't see where to give it that score. This is important to know when you are trying to find the most recently updated version of a presentation. My workaround will be to move something new into the folder I'd like to see as most recent. Is there an easier way?

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Answer 8

Feb 2, 2014 12:57 PM in response to pmguyre

Only the originator of a thread, the one who asks the question, can award points.

If I understand your situation you have a folder that contains sub-folders that contain files and you want to see which sub-folder has the most recent file in it? Or more likely just find the most recent file.

I would look at using a Finder smart folder to search and display the most recent file in a folder tree. Start the search at the top and just look for the most recent file.

You might also, if you are on Mavericks, use the new tagging feature in some way. Say make a tag 'newest' and apply it to the file you last modify, The drawback here is you would need to remove the tag from the last 'newest' file. Might not be to bad.

regards

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