ExifTool GUI - ver. 4 vs. ver. 3

[Phoenix]

Hi Bogdan,

Reason to abandon this option was a fact, that most image editors/tools don't preserve DateModified anyway. Atually that's why this info exist in first place: to be updated when file modification occur.

Yes true, but I appreciate every tool that let me the choice if I want it to update the file modification date or not.
I like my computer to be a tool that I use in a way that serve me like I want/need it and not to be a slave of my computer. 

To have the file modification date updated is very useful and greeted if a file is modified in the background by some program or system function but if I do an intentional modification to a file myself I'd like to have the control if the date of this file should also be modified.

Especially by my photos a glimpse at the file date should tell me when it was shot.
I'm also used to search often for specific pictures by the time range they had to be shot and that only works if the file modificatin date is the original one.

And if I do some minor EXIF changes like adding a comment, my name, a copyright notice, or something it would be really time saving if it wouldn't be always necessary to check and correct the file modification date too.

So really, what could be said against an optional "preserve DateModified of files" option?
You can set it to off by default but let your users the choice to use it, if they want. It is a feature!

I used it in the old ExifTool GUI version and after I switched to the v4.14 I was caught napping by wrong dates at some of my photos that I didn't expected. So I had to check several folders to search for wrong dated files and set them back to their original value. 

So please, I beg you, re implement that option again!
Just because other tools lack of this feature yours don't have to as well, right?

However, if helps, menu option Various>File:DateModified=Exif:DateTime... is still available.

Yeah, of course I know about this function and in fact it's probaly my most used file modification feature from the ExifTool GUI.   
But thank you anyway.

Bogdan,

The preserve date modified is useful and some programs, such as Lightroom, do not modify the original files.

It is especially useful to add metadata to RAW files (before importing them into Lightroom) without subsequently having to run File Modified=Date Created.  It saves a lot of time.

Thanks,
Chris

Thank you Chris for your assistance! 
And you're absolutely right.

Kind regards,
Tom

[BogdanH]

Hi Tom,

I probably didn't realize how important this might be for some users... anyway, this option will be back in next update.

Greetings,
Bogdan

[Phoenix]

Hi Tom,

I probably didn't realize how important this might be for some users... anyway, this option will be back in next update.

Greetings,
Bogdan

Hi Bogdan,

thank you, great to hear! 

Kind regards,
Tom

[coz]

Bogdan,

Thanks for the latest update with Preserve File Date!

Chris

[BogdanH]

You're welcome 

Bogdan