Arranging a list of files' modify dates in a custom order?

[gabagooeyboy]

In a perfect world, you could have a file list and each item would be able to be pulled up or down on said list, like a YouTube playlist. Then you'd export that order as modify date.

Is there a way to get similar, quick functionality like this using exiftool? I have a bunch of files I want to change the modify dates for, and not in a linear manner, but going through them one by one would be very time consuming.

Could adding "_1" and so on to the end of the files and then incrementing the dates based on that work? If so, please let me know how. Thank you for any help!

[StarGeek]

One way would be to save the list as a text file in the proper order and then use the -@ (Argfile) option.

For example, this text file lists "Test4", then "Test3", and then "Test5". The output is in that order

Code Select Expand

C:\>type temp.txt
y:\!temp\Test4.jpg
y:\!temp\Test3.jpg
y:\!temp\Test5.jpg
C:\>exiftool -G1 -a -s -filename  -@ temp.txt
======== y:/!temp/Test4.jpg
[System]        FileName                        : Test4.jpg
======== y:/!temp/Test3.jpg
[System]        FileName                        : Test3.jpg
======== y:/!temp/Test5.jpg
[System]        FileName                        : Test5.jpg
    3 image files read
But that only works if you want to change the FileModifyDate in a linear order.

Another option would be the -csv option (see also FAQ #26, "How do I import information from a database?").

You could create a spreadsheet with the filenames and dates, export that as a CSV file, and then exiftool could read it.

The CSV file should look something like this

Code Select Expand

Sourcefile,FileModifyDate
y:\!temp\Test4.jpg,2025:01:01 12:00:00
y:\!temp\Test3.jpg,1999:12:31 23:59:59
y:\!temp\Test5.jpg,2010:05:05 05:00:00