ExifTool Forum

[Originally posted by walton on 2006-09-08 15:38:19-07]

I am having problems changing the date embeded in a jpeg from an Olympus D-500L.

I can display all the dates as follows:

$ exiftool -a -G -S  xxx.jpg | grep -i date

[File] FileModifyDate: 2006:09:08 10:29:37

[APP12] DateTimeOriginal: 1997:01:07 07:43:26

I can display the embedded date by itself with no problem:

$ exiftool -a -G -S  -DateTimeOriginal xxx.jpg

[APP12] DateTimeOriginal: 1997:01:07 07:43:26

or

$ /usr/perl5/bin/exiftool -G -S  -APP12:DateTimeOriginal xxx.jpg

[APP12] DateTimeOriginal: 1997:01:07 07:43:26

I tried to update the date as follows:

$ exiftool "-DateTimeOriginal=2002:01:01 0:0:0" xxx.jpg

$ exiftool -a -G -S   xxx.jpg | grep -i date

[File] FileModifyDate: 2006:09:08 11:25:42       #-- UNIX mtime changed as expected

[EXIF] DateTimeOriginal: 2002:01:01 0:0:0        #-- new tag, not what I wanted

[APP12] DateTimeOriginal: 1997:01:07 07:43:26    #-- original tag left unchanged

I then tried the following syntax on the original file:

$ exiftool "-APP12:DateTimeOriginal=2002:01:01 0:0:0" xxx.jpg

This gives me a message "Tag 'APP12:DateTimeOriginal' does not exist Nothing to do."

[Originally posted by exiftool on 2006-09-09 00:14:49-07]

Sorry.  I realize I haven't very well documented the JPEG meta information abilities of
ExifTool.  I have a table which I have been meaning to put in the documentation
somewhere that explains the information that ExifTool is currently able to handle
in a JPEG image.  Here it is (r=read, w=write, c=create):


So the answer is that the APP12 information is currently not writable by ExifTool.
This is why you are having trouble modifying APP12:DateTimeOriginal.

- Phil

[Originally posted by walton on 2006-09-09 02:09:47-07]


Okay,

Thanks for the information on what can be modified and what can not.

I am resorting to the vi clone "elvis"... it allows edits of ascii data in binary files...

... a bit tedious but it works.

-chris