Is there a way to indicate that value date/time fields is an estimate

[BrettMcCrumb]

Hi there, I'm new here and rudely open with a question:

Situation
Some of my pictures have no 'DateTimeOriginal' or 'CreateDate' fields but most of the time I can figure out the (aproximate) date by other pictures exif or the event on the picture.

Desired result
I'd like to set some kind of a date to these pictures so they can be organized automatically like the other pictures. I could set a date and time but that suggests accuracy that isn't there. So I'm looking for the convenience of the 'DateTimeOriginal' or 'CreateDate' fields, but also a way of indicating that the value isn't exact but an estimate.

My question
Is there a metafield to indicate that the value of the date/time fields is an estimate?

Does anyone have a suggestion? Thanks in advance

[StarGeek]

Is there a metafield to indicate that the value of the date/time fields is an estimate?

No, not really.

The EXIF date/time tags (DateTimeOriginal, ModifyDate, CreateDate) technically do allow for partial data, though it is extremely uncommon to find.  I have yet to find a program other than exiftool that will write a partial time stamp in EXIF.  And because of this, you may get unexpected results in any program that has to read data formatted this way.

The EXIF spec allows you to put spaces in any part of the time stamp that is unknown.  So if only the year was known, you would write 2022:  :   :  :  .  That's the year:(2spaces):(2spaces)(1space)(2spaces):(2spaces):(2spaces)

Note that there is a total of 5 spaces in the center, as there is a space separator between the Date and the Time.

By default, exiftool won't write the partial dates, instead asking for the full data. You have to include the -n (--printConv) option. Usually, the hashtag shortcut would be used so the -n option doesn't affect other tags in the command.  For example

Code Select Expand

-DateTimeOriginal#="2022:  :     :  :  "
-DateTimeOriginal#="2022:12:     :  :  "
-DateTimeOriginal#="2022:12:01   :  :  "
-DateTimeOriginal#="2022:12:01 12:  :  "
-DateTimeOriginal#="2022:12:01 12:00:  "
A more common practice is to set unknown values to the minumum.  So if only the year was known, then 2022:01:01 00:00:00 would most likely be used.  And odds are that any program that would read a partial date like given above would treat them like this anyway.

The XMP tags are much more flexible, allowing you to simply write what you know with no need for extra spaces.  So you could simply use
exiftool -XMP:DateTimeOriginal=2022:12 /path/to/files/

Personally, I usually use the minimum date/time and include a note in the description.  Something like "Circa December 2022".

[BrettMcCrumb]

Thank you for your swift and clear reply.

Personally, I usually use the minimum date/time and include a note in the description.  Something like "Circa December 2022".

As I'm looking for an unambiguous but widely supported solution, I think this is the solution for me.