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Forum Discussion
Why does DropBox rename photos based on modification date rather than creation date?
Previously, DropBox renamed camera uploads based on the photos creation date (EXIF: Date/Time Original). This makes sense because you want the photos to be name-sorted based on when they were taken.
Now DropBox renames camera uploads based on the modification date (EXIT: File/Modification Date/Time). This makes no sense because the files are now out of chronological order when sorted by name.
- Jay
Dropbox Staff
Hi Michael N.28, thanks for contacting us!
Are you modifying the images in your camera roll at a later date, or adding filters to them?
Are these normal photos, or Live Photos?
Any other info or screenshots would be helpful!The images are modified on the camera roll.
These are normal photos.
I often edit photos before uploading via DropBox. (I do the upload manually since giving DropBox access to location services all the time ended up being a huge battery hog.)
To the best of my recollection, DropBox used to rename the photos based on creation date. But recently I began to notice that photos edited on the phone were out of creation date order in the Camera Uploads directory. The assigned name was the modification date.
Here's an example. This photo was edited on the camera.
EXIF: Create Date: 2021:10:05 09:00:04
EXIF: File Modification Date/Time: 2021:10:05 18:05:22+07:00
Name Assigned by DropBox Camera Uploads: 2021-10-05 18.05.22.heic
As you can see, the assigned name is nine hours later than the creation date.
What I've done now to "fix" this is write a shell script that includes the following exiftool statement which renames the files based on create date:
exiftool -d '%Y-%m-%d-%H%M%S%%-03.c.%%e' '-filename<CreateDate' ~/Dropbox/Camera\ Uploads
I shouldn't have to do that.
- JayJust to clarify, is the original photo uploaded automatically to Dropbox, and then a second copy is uploaded, or is the original image overwritten, or never uploaded in the first place?
I, for one (and I'm darn sure there are thousands of us), have had this problem for awhile and gave up getting support or an accurate explanation from DB. I would love more detail about how to make the global change with the exif file info!
What truly bothers me about problems like this is when a company says "nobody else is complaining" and therefore there must not be a problem. The fact is that most people don't complain, or they give up fast, and thus it appears "there is no problem." There ain't enough energy in the universe, dark or evident, to fight most of this stuff. So we don't.
(Don't get me started on approaching school administrators with issues! I've heard the lie "You're the only one who brought that up" so many times I could scream. But I didn't. Because nobody likes a screamer, lol. I fixed things myself instead, often amplified by companions I assemble because I COMMUNICATE and so I KNOW I'm not alone! I've ignored ridiculous (not controversial, just ridiculous) homework assignments, explaining to my kids and their teachers why, thus gaining family time, reducing stress, and focusing on what matters -- and amazingly, the teachers often agreed and didn't demerit the kids! Or returned unsigned financial "contracts" to schools with notes explaining why my minor kids aren't legally authorized to sign. Or gathered parents to get a teacher to admit she is failing literally 2/3 of the class because SHE needs help, not the kids. And I was so NOT a harpy parent! Just a normal, mostly hands-off, let the kids learn on their own parent! Mostly, I was an avid supporter and cheerleader for teachers, so the times I went to bat were for serious matters. All three of my kids are extremely happy and successful adults despite the buffering I did. So I'm used to "do it all myself" kinds of fixes. But I digress.)
Anyway, that may not be the case here, but "there is no problem" happens so darn often to me that I just don't go down the rabbit hole of asking a company for changes directly or posting on forums. I just slog through to my own fixes often
with help from forums like this.
So I kept going down this rabbit hole and found some useful info at DropBox. It doesn't address the actual renaming of photos, but it does address the modification date changes. Here's a sample of what DB addresses:
BEGIN:
Will Dropbox preserve the modified date of a file or folder if I upload or download it to my account?
To preserve the modified date of a file, upload or download the file using the Dropbox desktop app.
Note: A file’s modified date will not be preserved if the file is uploaded or downloaded using dropbox.com or a mobile device.
#END#
I also learned from another forum that if you move (not copy, move) a file or folder from one system to another, such as from your computer to online DropBox, the files are basically first copied over and then the original deleted by that action, which is officially a "modification." Sometimes even a new "creation." If you move it within the system, such as from one folder to another on your hard drive, it preserves the creation/modification dates. Anyway, I hope this helps us rabbits get closer this finish line.
https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/sort-preview/modified-date
It's months later, but this is very good information! Thanks! It does explain a few things I didn't catch onto. If have it straight, I have to COPY or MOVE or UPLOAD photos onto my DESKTOP/LAPTOP hard drive FIRST (and no other kind of device), which my computer considers a move, not a modification, (but DB would consider a modification if I didn't make this pit stop first and went straight from Photos to DB), then I can MOVE them from the hard drive to the DropBox local folder or to the Dropbox folder on the web via my computer browser, preserving the creation date.
Problem had been: If I MOVE / COPY / UPLOAD photos directly from my iPhone or iPad directly into a Dropbox local folder or onto a Dropbox online/web folder anywhere (desktop or laptop via local DB folder or browser to DB online, iPhone/iPad DB folder via the app, iPhone/iPad DB folder via a browser), the date is not preserved because DB sees all these as "copies" and thus as modified. To reiterate: BUT when I COPY or UPLOAD or MOVE photos from my iPHONE/iPAD to my DESKTOP/LAPTOP hard drive file folder FIRST, the creation date is preserved; then when I MOVE them from there to the local Dropbox folder located on my hard drive (and then synced with the DB cloud server), the creation date is preserved.
Remaining question I don't dare test: If I MOVE photos (not copy) from a computer hard drive desktop folder to a DB file opened on the WEB via a BROWSER on my computer, does DB once again consider them to be COPIED, not MOVED, and thus MODIFIED with the upload date? One day I'll test that.
Meantime, thanks for the explanation.
This is a continuation of this thread, but not of the last comment...
What exactly is the information element that is used to create the dropbox filename? It doesn't appear to be consistent with anything listed in the exif information stored in DropBox. For instance I have this file with the following exif fields:
2022-12-10 10.03.37-2.jpg
File Modification Date/Time : 2022:12:10 10:03:36+01:00
File Inode Change Date/Time : 2022:12:10 10:03:36+01:00Date/Time Original : 2022:12:10 10:03:37
Create Date : 2022:12:10 10:03:37and this file with its associated exif fields:
2022-12-10 10.03.38.jpg
File Modification Date/Time : 2022:12:10 10:03:38+01:00
File Inode Change Date/Time : 2022:12:10 10:03:38+01:00
Date/Time Original : 2022:12:10 10:03:39
Create Date : 2022:12:10 10:03:39In one case it seems to follow the File modification time, in the other it seems to follow the Creation date field.
(only difference is the seconds)
This is important to me because I am exporting the files via another app and trying to check that everything is properly backed up, but that is difficult to do because the filenames differ (slightly)
Files are being backed up automatically from an iphone 11 using the dropbox app on the iphone.
What data field does the dropbox app actually use, because it doesn't seem to be consistent with what is in the metadata associated with the file.
On my iphone, I upload photos from my photo library and usually I would get the name of (photo) followed by the date the photo was taken. The problem is that now I do it and some of the photos change the date and put the name (photo) followed by the date they were uploaded to dropbox instead of the date they were taken. A problem to archive them. I have tried logging out, restarting iphone, etc. Would anyone know what to do? Thanks
- Megan
Hi Hyoga79, I hope you're doing well!
When you say you upload content using your photo library, do you mean that you access your camera roll, select the content you want to upload, and then share with Dropbox?
Have you been using camera uploads, or manual uploads, by any chance? Feel free to clarify, so I can have the precise idea of the steps you're following.
Also, send me a couple of screenshots of the behavior you mentioned, in order for me to have a closer look into this.
Thanks a bunch!
- hello. I directly enter the dropbox app and click on the "upload photos" option (manual uploads), select 50-60 files and upload them to dropbox with the name of the date the photo was taken. then from my pc I download the photos to a hard drive. that's the mechanism I usually use.
I'm sorry but I don't know how to upload screenshots to this post.
