i have dates in create field that are correct i need to copy them to other fields so they are all correct what string would be used to accomplish this any help would be apprciated
The basic tag copy operation is
exiftool "-DestinationTag<SourceTag" FileOrDir
You just need to figure out what is the name of the DestinationTag and SourceTag. You can use exiftool -G1 -s -a File to try and figure that out.
It's hard to give you an exact command because there are multiple tags that could fall under create date category. I'd guess that the Exif:CreateDate tag is most likely what you want, as that would be the most common if the images are camera photos.
so what does each vale stand for say i want to copy create date to all other date fields what would i type for the string
First off, I'd suggest testing things first. Blanket copying could overwrite tags you may not want overwritten.
exiftool "-AllDates<Exif:CreateDate" FileOrDir
would be my first suggestion. That will copy CreateDate to the two other most common date/time tags.
exiftool "-Time:all<Exif:CreateDate" FileOrDir
is more complete but also more likely to mess things up if you're not careful. For example, this command would mess up GPS timestamp if you have that in your file.
The best thing to do would be to check your file with exiftool -g1 -a -s File and see what tags are there and then try to see which ones you actually want altered.
i am a newbie what i want to do is copy the date from on part of the fille to another part of the same file so what i wanted to know is say i wanted to copy media create date to all date fieilds what would that string be i am confused on file how exactly to enter it into the string command sometimes i might want to copy all dates sometimes i might want to copy just one date to another date on the same file could you give me a string for that thanks
i also do not know how to input the file path as i said i am a newbie please be patient with me i have never done line commands so if you could give a exact string i need to enter into exiftool thanks
Assuming you have already installed exiftool following the instructions, running it is quite easy. Just open a Terminal (macOS/Linux) or Command Prompt (Windows) window type the exiftool command you want to run e.g. exiftool -g1 -a -s type a space, then drag and drop files from Finder (macOS) or Explorer (Windows) onto the command-line window. Then press enter. Note: of course you can also type in the names of the files themselves, but drag & drop is easier to start with.
Follow StarGeeks advice and tips and you should already get quite far. But if you have further questions, please let us know!
(for reference, what system are you on? Mac, Windows, or Linux?)
Take a look at the getting started thread (https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php/topic,4888.0.html).
Also, you mentioned "media create date". Does this mean that you're working with a video? This changes things as my previous commands were for a image. Exiftool has limited support for video.