Please help: changing CreateDate & ModifyDate in a PDF

[LisaMalloy128]

Hello, I'm new to working in Terminal, so I'm a real newbie. I need to change the CreateDate and clear the ModifyDate in a PDF. Using ExifTool, I was able to locate the PDF in Terminal, but I don't know how to do the next step(s): give the command to change the CreateDate to an exact one I have in mind. (For this command, let's just say I want to change the date to February 4, 2024.). Additionally, I would like to have the "ModifyDate" be blank. Could someone please help with these commands? THANK YOU!!

[StarGeek]

The question is which "create date" and "modify date" are you trying to change, as there are multiple tags that fall under these names and different programs will read different ones. For example, if you are checking the dates from the desktop, then odds are you are seeing the file system time stamps, while viewing it with a PDF program, you are probably seeing the dates that are embedded in the file.

Run this command to view all the date/time tags in the file
exiftool -time:all -G -a -s file.pdf

Compare the output to what you are seeing elsewhere to figure out the name of the tag you want to edit.

Using your example date/time, your basic command would be something like, assuming you want to change the file system time stamps.
exiftool -FileCreateDate="2024:02:04 12:00:00" -FileModifyDate="2024:02:04 12:00:00" file.pdf

Note that most date/time tags require a time as well as a date.  Also, there are tags, like the above file system ones, that cannot be removed.

To try and remove a tag, you would take the tag name and set it to be blank.  For example, if you were trying to remove the embedded ModifyDate, you would use
exiftool -ModifyDate= file.pdf

One very important thing to understand is that any change made to a PDF by exiftool is reversible. Exiftool uses the incremental update property of PDFs which does not clear the previous data. To make the changes permanent, you have to use a program to re-liniarize.  The PDF Tags page gives an example using the command line program, QPDF.

[LisaMalloy128]

Hi, thanks so much for your reply.

I tried running the command after identifying my file (using the command:
exiftool -a -G1 -s d [path/my file name].pdf
and it gave me this:

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Warning: Error 256 running "/usr/bin/setfile" to set FileCreateDate - [path/my file name].pdf
It then said "one image file updated", but when I checked my doc (viewing the File->Properties) nothing had been changed.

Can you please advise?

[StarGeek]

From a previous post

Note that you need the "setfile" utility on MacOS to set FileCreateDate.  You can install this with "xcode-select --install".

[Phil Harvey]

The FileModifyDate should have been changed, but you'll need to install "setfile" to be able to change FileCreateDate.

- Phil

[LisaMalloy128]

Hi Phil!

I guess I'm too much of a newbie. I don't know how to install the Setfile utility (tried pasting your command into Terminal and nothing happened).

I've spent the better part of today trying to figure out how to change the dates on my PDF - I think I may give up before I get too frustrated.

Though I do appreciate your help.

[konsti]

Hello Phil thank you for your valuable tool and advice, I registered to report/request your input on a similar problem on macOS Sonoma 14.7.1 (Intel) after encountering a "setfile" error despite updating to the latest ExifTool v13.00 just now. Xcode command-line tools were installed fine, /usr/bin/setfile exists.

Instead of creating a new thread, I take the liberty to continue this one:

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% exiftool -G1 -a -s -time:all *mkv
======== My.mkv
[System]        FileModifyDate                  : 2024:10:24 09:27:07+03:00
[System]        FileAccessDate                  : 2024:10:24 09:27:07+03:00
[System]        FileInodeChangeDate             : 2024:11:01 15:45:33+02:00
[Matroska]      DateTimeOriginal                : 2024:10:24 06:27:07Z

% xcode-select --install

xcode-select: note: Command line tools are already installed. Use "Software Update" in System Settings or the softwareupdate command line interface to install updates

% whereis setfile

setfile: /usr/bin/setfile

% exiftool "-FileCreateDate<DateTimeOriginal" "-FileModifyDate<DateTimeOriginal" -ext mkv -ext MKV *mkv

Warning: Error 512 running "/usr/bin/setfile" to set FileCreateDate - My.mkv
    1 image files updated

Any idea what could be causing this error? I have not had issues with past versions (and macOS) to be honest, cannot remember when this started.

Many thanks in advance.

[Phil Harvey]

What is the result if you run this command?  Does it update the FileCreateDate?

/usr/bin/setfile -d '01/02/2000 03:04:05' My.mkv

- Phil

[konsti]

Hello Phil (pleasure to make your acquaintance) yes it looks like it:

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% ls -lAG *pdf
-rw-r--r--   1 konsti  staff  -    103647 Oct 31 10:11 report.pdf

% /usr/bin/setfile -d '01/02/2000 03:04:05' report.pdf
% /usr/bin/setfile -m '01/02/2000 03:04:05' report.pdf

% ls -lAG *pdf
-rw-r--r--  1 konsti  staff  - 103647 Jan  2  2000 report.pdf

% % stat -f "Access (atime): %Sa%nModify (mtime): %Sm%nChange (ctime): %Sc%nBirth  (btime): %SB" report.pdf
Access (atime): Nov  1 16:11:11 2024
Modify (mtime): Jan  2 03:04:05 2000
Change (ctime): Nov  1 16:10:55 2024
Birth  (btime): Jan  2 03:04:05 2000

% SetFile -h
Usage: SetFile [option...] file...
    -a attributes     # attributes (lowercase = 0, uppercase = 1)*
    -c creator        # file creator
    -d date           # creation date (mm/dd/[yy]yy [hh:mm[:ss] [AM | PM]])*
    -m date           # modification date (mm/dd/[yy]yy [hh:mm[:ss] [AM | PM]])*
    -P                # perform action on symlink instead of following it
    -t type           # file type
[...]

I checked in Finder and both Creation and Modification dates are at the date you provided.

File permissions is not an issue, by the way (I have write access obviously).

And "SetFile" (yes with caps...) seems to be OK in the date formatting you requested me to test (as I am in Europe, thought of checking too...)

P.S. Not sure this error "512" if it's a macOS error, or ExifTool error or SetFile error to look for its meaning...

[Phil Harvey]

Hmmm.  OK.  So setfile seems to work.

The next step would be to try running it from perl:

perl -e "system(q(/usr/bin/setfile -d '06/07/2005 08:09:10' My.mkv))"

- Phil

[konsti]

Works, too, Phil...

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% perl -e "system(q(/usr/bin/setfile -d '06/07/2005 08:09:10' My.mkv))"                                 
% perl -e "system(q(/usr/bin/setfile -m '06/07/2005 08:09:10' My.mkv))"
% stat -f "Access (atime): %Sa%nModify (mtime): %Sm%nChange (ctime): %Sc%nBirth (btime):  %SB" My.mkv   
Access (atime): Nov  1 17:14:36 2024
Modify (mtime): Jun  7 08:09:10 2005
Change (ctime): Nov  1 17:15:09 2024
Birth (btime):  Jun  7 08:09:10 2005
Works equally on "report.pdf" (could not make it run in some more "verbose" mode, not sure it exists for such Perl use? No error in Terminal).

Remember I am running Sonoma 14.7.1, perhaps some security issue? Accessing something that's now forbidden?

[Phil Harvey]

OK.  There are 3 possible things left that could be the problem.

1. Some security thing.  I don't really understand quarantines, but use this command to see if exiftool is quarantined:

exiftool -xattrquarantine /path/to/exiftool

If this is the case, try deleting the quarantine:

exiftool -xattrquarantine= /path/to/exiftool

2. ExifTool is somehow passing the incorrect date/time format to setfile.  I think this is unlikely because we would see this on other systems not just Sonoma.

3. Something related to the case of "SetFile" vs "setfile".  Are you using a case-sensitive filesystem?

- Phil

[konsti]

1. No extended attributes nor quarantine at all:

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% exiftool -xattrquarantine /usr/local/bin/exiftool
% xattr -r /usr/local/bin

No results i.e. clean; checking permissions and ownership, just in case:

% ls -lAG /usr/local/bin

total 158664
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  -  334016 Oct 24 18:03 exiftool
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  - 78862176 Dec 31  2023 ffmpeg
drwxr-xr-x  4 root  wheel  -      128 Feb  2  2018 lib
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  -  1592144 Apr 19  2022 pdfinfo
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  -       28 Oct 25  2023 pdftk -> /opt/pdflabs/pdftk/bin/pdftk
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  -   440168 Feb 26  2024 unrar
3. I've never ever used Case-Sensitive FS during my years on MacOSX and macOS:

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% diskutil info /Volumes/Samsung | grep 'User Visible'
Name (User Visible):       APFS
2. Mind you, the mkv files DO GET their timestamp changed; it's just the error that's in the output of the process. Perhaps you missed that in my original message? I saw the MKV and PDF tested that they had the Modification/Creation time changed, just that the error "512" was also appearing before "X image files updated".

Moreover, as I mentioned earlier, I did run the SetFile (or setfile) with the -h parameter to see the date formatting, so no change there either being in EU (i.e. mm/dd/[yy]yy [hh:mm[:ss] [AM | PM]] ) which I assume ExifTool does comply to (as it's been working for my HEIC and JPEG's) already (and without any error).


Oh, well. We can live with the error I guess...

[Phil Harvey]

OK.  I missed that ExifTool actually was setting the FileCreateDate properly.

I wonder if setfile is somehow just returning an erroneous error code.

What happens if you do this:

/usr/bin/setfile -d '01/02/2000 03:04:05' My.mkv

followed immediately by

echo $?

This will show the return code from setfile.

- Phil

[konsti]

No error Phil, returns zero (clean exit).

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% /usr/bin/setfile -d '01/02/2000 03:04:05' My.mkv; echo $?
0

% /usr/bin/setfile -d '01/02/2000 03:04:05' My.mkv         
% echo $?                                         
0
The date format is correct, right? (intentional I guess).

Perhaps something inside ExifTool when it calls SetFile? I am a power user but can't decipher your code, unfortunately.

I have created some time ago a few aliases in my .zprofile for easier file management, e.g.

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alias   exifmov="exiftool -v -m '-FileCreateDate<("$"CreationDate+"$"(date+'%z'))' '-FileModifyDate<("$"CreationDate+"$"(date+'%z'))' -ext mov -ext MOV ."
alias  exifdate="exiftool -v -m '-FileCreateDate<DateTimeOriginal' '-FileModifyDate<DateTimeOriginal' -ext jpg -ext JPG -ext HEIC ."
alias  exiftiff="exiftool -v -m '-FileCreateDate<CreateDate'       '-FileModifyDate<ModifyDate'       -ext tif -ext TIF ."
alias   exifjp2="exiftool -v -m '-FileCreateDate<CreateDate'       '-FileModifyDate<ModifyDate'       -ext jpf -ext jp2 ."
alias   exifpng="exiftool -v -m '-FileCreateDate<CreateDate'       '-FileModifyDate<CreateDate'       -ext png -ext PNG ."
alias   exifmkv="exiftool -v -m '-FileCreateDate<DateTimeOriginal' '-FileModifyDate<DateTimeOriginal' -ext mkv -ext MKV ."
alias   exifmp4="exiftool -v -m '-FileCreateDate<MediaCreateDate'  '-FileModifyDate<MediaCreateDate'  -ext mp4 -ext MP4 ."
alias  exifname="exiftool -v -m '-FileName<DateTimeOriginal'        -d '%Y-%m-%d %H.%M.%S%%-c.%%e'    -ext jpg -ext JPG ."
...but it only happens for MKV's, I tried again JPG, HEIC and iOS MOV file just to see if Sonoma 14.7.1 or ExifTool 13.00 also show this error.

(the error happens with either alias or the real command, I tried the actual command line before posting)

UPDATE: Error "512" happens for PNG's too...

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% exiftool -v -m '-FileCreateDate<CreateDate' '-FileModifyDate<CreateDate' -ext png -ext PNG .

======== ./Asus OpenVPN Settings.png
Setting new values from ./Asus Boulogne OpenVPN Settings.png
Warning = Error 512 running "/usr/bin/setfile" to set FileCreateDate
Warning: Error 512 running "/usr/bin/setfile" to set FileCreateDate - ./Asus OpenVPN Settings.png
    1 directories scanned
    1 image files updated