Change 'Date Created' of tv episode mp4 files with date aired of TV show.

Advanced Renamer forum
#1 : 03/01-23 16:40
L B
L B
Posts: 74
I want to replace the date created of TV shows I have downloaded with the date the episode was aired. I have no idea how to go about it.

There is TV episode tags available for year, month, and day of TV shows, but I have no idea how to incorporate them in the TimeStamp method.

The only way out it seems is to first add the info to the filename, and then change the created date using that pattern. But I do not want to mess with the filenames, making this a 3 step process :
1. Add the Date to filename
2. Apply the date to Created Date using TimeStamp method
3. Remove the Date from filename

I am hoping someone more experienced than me is able to give a more elegant solution.


03/01-23 16:40
#2 : 04/01-23 16:15
David Lee
David Lee
Posts: 1125
In principle you would expect to be able to do this using a script - ie write a date object to item.createdDate. Unfortunately this doesn't work - the New Created Date correctly appears in the List but the file metadata is not updated when you run the batch.

The workaround is to add the date string to the filename temporarily and then using the Timestamp method to update the metadata, as you suggest. Unfortunately 'Renamer will always use the ORIGINAL filename pattern so you will have to rename the files in a separate batch. You can remove the temporary string in the same batch as the Timestamp method so it's really only a two-step process. It's no big deal since you will have the option to add all your files back into the list when you run the batch.

Note that Windows Date Created is not robust since it refers to the date that this particular copy of the file was created and so is likely to change if the file is copied. Date modified is usually much better since it is only updated when the file is actually edited.


04/01-23 16:15
#3 : 08/01-23 02:38
L B
L B
Posts: 74
Reply to #2:

Thanks for the tip, mate. I was hoping to avoid changing and reverting actual file names and making this a 3-step process (I personally do not mix TIMESTAMP method with other methods because Windows can be very finicky with this method), but I guess I have no choice.


08/01-23 02:38