CodedColor PhotoStudio Manual - digital photo software, picture viewer, image editor, page layouter and flash / pdf album exporter (similar ACDSee, IrfanView)

What's the difference between file date and photo date?

The following topic tries to throw some light on the general confusion of date values (The EXIF strategists added to the chaos by creating even more confusing names).

The following date values are used in Windows (1-2), CodedColor (1-7) and in the EXIF standard (5-7):

Location	Name	Synonyms	Description	Notes
Explorer: File Properties	Created	CreationDate	Storage of image file on disk	= date in Windows Explorer
Explorer: File Properties	Modified	ModificationDate, FileDate	Last change of image file in image editor	= date in Windows Explorer
Explorer: Database Panel	*CreationDate*	OrgDate (database)	File storage or time of photo	= *DateTimePhoto*
Explorer: Info Panel	Filedate	ModificationDate	Last change of image file in image editor	= Modified
Explorer: EXIF Panel	DateTimeFile	$132, DateTime	Storage of image file on camera chip	editable in annotation EXIF editor
Explorer: EXIF Panel	*DateTimePhoto*	$9003, DateTimeOriginal	The time, the picture was taken with the camera	editable if empty, *CreationDate* is copied
Explorer: EXIF Panel	DateTimeDigitized	$9004	Digital conversion of the photo by the camera	editable in annotation EXIF editor

CodedColor improvement

Since the CreationDate in Windows is actually the birthdate of the file on the disk, and not the time when the picture was taken, CodedColor replaces it with the EXIF DateTimePhoto. This is done when the user first edits the image annotations.

So from that moment on, you see the actual shooting time of the picture, and not the time the file was created on the disk, i.e. moved from your camera storage to your PC.

This fix can be done for all records at once by calling Cleanup Database.

More Infos

Usually, all 3 EXIF date fields are identical, and the difference only applies to older cameras.

During Image Annotation and Database Cleanup, CreationDate and DateTimePhoto are set to equal, if one of the values is empty. Usually, you cannot edit this field manually in EXIF editors. CodedColor makes an exception, in order to allow you to correct false camera settings. Even in the EXIF Batch Conversion you can therefore edit all three EXIF date fields.

In Windows it is possible, that the ModificationDate of a file is jounger than the CreationDate. This can happen, if you move a file to another disk. For Windows, this file is "newly created" on the disk.

The top menuitem Tools > Restore Creation Filedates in the Explorer allows you to reset the filedates of all edited images in the current folder to DateTimeOriginal. That way, you can sort your images in the orignal creation order in applications like the Windows Explorer. You could also turn on Preserve original filedates when saving image changes in the Options > Image Editor dialog. That way, the filedate (modification time of the file) does not change when you edit and save the image in the Image Editor.

CodedColor PhotoStudio by 1STEIN is a Windows photo viewer and editor to organize, edit, resize, reformat, correct, compare, sort, watermark, annotate and print digital images, and to edit EXIF and IPTC data in digital photos. You can rename multiple images, remove scratches, create panorama pictures (stitch), convert RAW photos (from Canon, Nikon, Olympus, etc. cameras), send images via Skype, send photo SMS, burn digital watermarks, correct colors, run a screenshow, convert and correct JPEG images in a batch process, rename fields, open pictures and image folders from the Explorer, generate a webalbum in HTML and compress JPG images. The CodedColor full version is not free, but during registration you can choose the Freeware edition, in which some functions are deactivated. After the download you can try the PhotoStudio shareware for 30 days without any restrictions. The CodedColor software interface looks very similar to ACDSee, is easier to use than Photoshop and more versatile than Picasa and Irfanview, but still contains editing and correction features as effective as Paintshop. Have a look at our Before / After tutorials, in order to get an idea of the powerful editor capabilities. The software comes with a detailed handbook and a fast database to store EXIF / IPTC data and color informationen. CodedColor PhotoStudio is a powerful and versatile photo organizer and image editing software for digital camera users. The user friendly interface includes features like photo editing & printing, web & flash album galleries, slide shows, photo management & cataloging, custom sorting, IPTC & EXIF editor and display, GPS tagging, perspective correction, barrel distortion, effects, thumbnail generation, resize & resample images, jp2000, batch conversion, database keyword searching, red eye removal, color / sharpness / brightness & contrast correction, artefacts removal, clone brush, scanner & TWAIN import, screen capture, lossless JPEG rotation, transparency (alpha channel), gamma correction, print ordering and screenshows with many transition effects, watermark text, image annotations, panorama stitch & animation, video capture, PDF album export, photo layouts, collages, frames, shadows, histograms, automatic white balance, skype photo sharing, etc. Opens and converts all common image formats: BMP, WMF, GIF, JPEG, JPEG2000, TIFF, PCX, PNG, PSP, PSD, PCD, and all current RAW formats. Visit the CodedColor FotoStudio homepage to learn more and download a free copy! Includes BYNGO MMS messenger and CodedColor Publisher, a versatile photo layout and DTP tool, from which you can order individual photobooks through KODAK.