Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Keep 'created date' after conversion

Hi, I'm new to Compressor, planning to use it to convert many years of h264 files to HEVC. I've got it all working nicely, except that I can't find a way to keep the 'created' date to the original. The created date is important as that what's used for indexing the files (e.g. you can easily find movies from April 2015).

Is there any way or setting I can retain the created (and/or modified) date stamps of the original file in the converted output file?

Compressor, macOS Mojave (10.14.1)

Posted on Nov 1, 2018 12:03 AM

Similar questions

2 replies

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Nov 1, 2018 3:42 PM in response to jeroenfromamsterdam

Compressor creates a new file as the result of the conversion. The date of creation of the new file is the date Compressor did the work.

If you want to keep some reference to the original creation date, make that part of the file name.

For example: 20121004_TotallyAwsomeVideo.mov - This says the original file was from October 4, 2012. I always use the YearMonthDay format as the first element in the name as it it naturally sorts in chronological order.

There are probably hacks that allow you to change file creation dates, but I do not like these things as the muddy the waters a great deal.

Good luck,

Nov 2, 2018 1:35 AM in response to Studio X

Thanks, I was afraid that this was the case. The way I see it the most important date a file has is the 'content created date'. A conversion does not change the date the content of that file was created so it's a pity if a conversion strips the file of that very useful piece of info.

If Apple is reading this, my suggestion would be to provide the option to keep the file created date intact, and only update the modified date to the date Compressor processed the file.

Anyway, time to dust off the old scripting skills.

Keep 'created date' after conversion