I am using csv file to update my photos but I find that they aren't being updated even after running the command
exiftool -overwrite_original -csv="C:\Users\Isaac\Downloads\metadata.csv" "Y:\organizedlib\ALL_PHOTOS\date-unknown"
My csv file directs to Y:/organizedlib/ALL_PHOTOS/date-unknown/IMG_9103.PNG with original date set as 2025:01:08 12:58:18. It is attached below. Obviously the directory contains more than just this one image, but I wanted to test it out first.
When running the above command as -v2, it yields
======== Y:/organizedlib/ALL_PHOTOS/date-unknown/IMG_9103.PNG
Setting new values from CSV database
Writing MIE-Doc:DateTimeOriginal
Writing QuickTime:DateTimeOriginal if tag exists
Writing UserData:DateTimeOriginal
Writing CanonRaw:DateTimeOriginal if tag exists
Writing Kodak:DateTimeOriginal if tag exists
Writing Reconyx:DateTimeOriginal if tag exists
Writing Reconyx:DateTimeOriginal if tag exists
Writing Reconyx:DateTimeOriginal if tag exists
Writing XMP-exif:DateTimeOriginal if tag exists
Writing ExifIFD:DateTimeOriginal
Rewriting Y:/organizedlib/ALL_PHOTOS/date-unknown/IMG_9103.PNG...
Editing tags in: ExifIFD IFD0 MIE-Doc MakerNotes PNG QuickTime UserData XMP
Creating tags in: ExifIFD IFD0 MIE-Doc PNG UserData
FileType = PNG
FileTypeExtension = PNG
MIMEType = image/png
PNG IHDR (13 bytes):
PNG sRGB (1 bytes):
PNG eXIf (142 bytes):
+ [TIFF directory]
Rewriting IFD0
Rewriting ExifIFD
- ExifIFD:DateTimeOriginal = '2025:01:08 12:58:18'
+ ExifIFD:DateTimeOriginal = '2025:01:08 12:58:18'
PNG iTXt (495 bytes):
Rewriting XMP
PNG IDAT (30 chunks, total 480608 bytes)
PNG IEND (end of image)
Which does show that it is being updated. But if I check it with Windows Explorer, no dates show 2025:01:08 but show 2025:02:17 which is the download date.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
UPDATE :
turns out exiftool "-AllDates=2021-09-03 16:21:12.357246" "Y:\organizedlib\ALL_PHOTOS\date-unknown\IMG_9103.PNG" doesn't update the file either.
If you run exiftool on the file you will see that it did update the file. The problem is Windows.
Windows 10 doesn't show any metadata from a PNG file except PNG:CreationTime, which it displays as the "Date Taken" property.
The time stamps first displayed when you show a file's properties are always the file system time stamps.
See the Windows Metadata thread (https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?msg=32875).
I hear that Windows 11 will read more metadata from PNG files, and I may be able to test that soon, as a relative now has a Win 11 machine.
Is there any other way around this? Is it possible to change the system time stamps by any other means? Or have I come to a dead end :'( :'(
Exiftool can change the file system time stamps. You just have to use FileModifyDate and FileCreateDate. You could also use the PNG tag, and you would then have the "Date Taken" property filled as well.
On the command line it would
exiftool "-PNG:CreationTime=2021-09-03 16:21:12.357246" "-FileCreateDate=2021-09-03 16:21:12.357246" "-FileModifyDate=2021-09-03 16:21:12.357246" "Y:\organizedlib\ALL_PHOTOS\date-unknown\IMG_9103.PNG"
In the CSV file, you would copy/paste the DateTimeOriginal column three more times and change the headers. The result would look like this
SourceFile,DateTimeOriginal,PNG:CreationTime,FileModifyDate,FileCreateDate
Y:/organizedlib/ALL_PHOTOS/date-unknown/IMG_9103.PNG,2025:01:08 12:58:18,2025:01:08 12:58:18,2025:01:08 12:58:18,2025:01:08 12:58:18
If you had JPEGs as well, add another column for AllDates and that will fill the three major EXIF time stamps.