Date Created - Batch Encode

[conandrum]

Hi people,

When batch encoding, transcoding, modifying etc, our file attributes are lost and a new 'date created', 'date modified' etc is generated. Metadata if any are lost, EXIF data are lost (only in case of photos I think).

I have not been able to find such a thing except for a utility called 'FileTouch 2.0', which is very old and no longer in circulation to even test it (a new file touch utility exists by a different company which does not provide the same functionality).

Is there a tried and tested way to batch copy/paste this data into the newly created files?
e.g. FolderX contains the originals, FolderY contains the modified files.
I choose FolderX, copy file properties, choose FolderY paste file properties. Any files with the same name (excluding the extension), inherit the file attributes of the originals.

Only tried and tested solutions please - even scripts or batch files would be nice.

Thanks

[PEJ]

I have exactly the same problem - did you eventually find a solution?
Cheers

[Budman1]

I'm wondering if there is a big need for this? It should be fairly easy to write a simple GUI that with : File.SetLastAccessTime, File.SetCreationTime and File.SetLastWriteTime . I made a simple one for one file in about 15 minutes:

but to create the rest to do a recurring search on a directory and ensuing changes to the other directory complete with menus, error checking, etc like the Renamer/Fixer/Player/MediaInfo below might take a couple days.

If a lot of people need, I'll take a shot at it.

[PEJ]

Thanks Budman1 - really appreciate you having a go at a solution as this problem is a real pain in the butt for me.
My issue is much simpler than conandrum's in that all I need is to copy the file creation dates from a list of MXF movie files to a second list of MOV movie files with the same names as in the first list.
When re-wrapping the MXF files to the MOV format, the conversion program I have doesn't transfer the creation date so I can tell when the video was shot. The creation date is changed to the date/time of the conversion. I use Lightroom for managing my photo/movie (MOV) collection and it can use the Date Created from the movie files to correctly sort photos and video by when they were taken.
If you can assist I would be eternally grateful.
Thanks
Peter

[Budman1]

Okay I'll try to create it so it runs thru a list of files in a directory you select and copies the dates to the corresponding named files in a second directory you select. Are you going to be using windows renamed format such as video.mpg and video(2).mpg? Do you use windows 7?

This will be a first draft so the error correction will only be for what I can imagine and you will probably want to have the files all moved to a third and fourth directory so they others are safe or I can just copy the files with a new name and same times to the second directory such as video.mpg ->videoNEW.mpg an.

Shouldn't take too long but let me see what I can do...

[PEJ]

Thank you sooooo much!!!
In fact I am using a Mac but it can also run Win7 using a program called Parallels.
The MXF files come from a Canon XF100 videocamera and are named/numbered sequentially like:

AA176501.mxf
AA176601.mxf
AA176701.mxf

and the rewrapped files have the same names with the MOV extension:

AA176501.mov
AA176601.mov
AA177601.mov

What I need is the "Date(&time) Created" from file AA176501.mxf copied to file AA176501.mov etc.
Sounds simple but I'm sure there is some clever coding required.

I can do whatever is required regarding folders to hold the files - all in the one folder, mxf in one folder & mov in another, etc.

Regards
Peter

[Budman1]

So far so good... I have it so it creates a backup file with the word NEW in it BECAUSE if you make a mistake like swap folders around, your original files just get overlaid with the converted date/time. You wouldn't want that! Then it moves all the date/time info from the original folder files, in your case it would be one holding the MXF files, to the NEW files (mov). It ignores the extension in each file and compares only the base name, such as AA176501. If you already have a name with NEW , like you already did it, it pops a message asking if it is alright to overlay.

Seems to work okay but It is not sizeable at the moment, got only batch function, and not much else for error except messages.
This is the folder 1 contents of my test:


This is the result of the Convert button:


And this is the dates/times of original, converted, and NEW in order


And this is the ugly program with extra buttons and boxes, LOL . I lay out terrible so if anyone has a suggestion, feel free

[PEJ]

Looks BEAUTIFUL to me !!
Is it possible for me to get hold of a copy to try?
Peter

[Budman1]

Okay final version... This should work okay.

[PEJ]

Thanks Budman1 - This little utility works really well. It is just what I was needing to quickly and easily transfer the dates from one set of files to another.
It will save me a lot of time.
Very best wishes
Peter

[Budman1]

Okay, final draft, limited time only. LOL
I updated the program to allow clicking the files and show the times instantly. There was also a problem(Microsofts Visual Studio) that when you resize (which it does now) would get hosed up if you minimized and then restored. Think I fixed that also.

New link https://files.secureserver.net/0sSyu5pMtMhOY0


I don't know if anyone else needs but it's a little handier now to check that the transfer times are correct.

Thanks
Budman1

[PEJ]

The date boxes are a really handy addition to make sure the changes have been made as expected.
Have tried 'resizing, minimising, restoring' several times and it seems to behave ok.
Really appreciate the extra 'refinements'.
Regards
Peter

[almeidap]

Hello Budman1! I was exactly looking for some software like your utility and could not find anything... crazy!

Please, could you re-upload your utility as the provided download link is no more valid?


Thanks a lot and nice work!

[Budman1]

Okay the link is corrected in the above and it should be my last updated version . https://files.secureserver.net/0sSyu5pMtMhOY0 . Bear in mind this was written for someone specific who wanted to have 2 folders with original and updated files separate and just move the dates across. Also please note that it will copy the files so it is not fast if you have large files (Videos, etc.) I did this specifically because it took like 1 day to write and a couple hours to debug. There is no File, Menu, options, etc. but they are there in case I need to update someday.

Basically you have your original folder with name1.xxx, name2.xxx, and name3.xxx and another folder with name1.yyy, name2.xyz and name3.abc. The program looks for any name in folder 1 LIST that is in folder 2 LIST, MINUS THE EXTENSION and moves the date to a new file (name1NEW.yyy, name2NEW.xyz, and name3NEW.abc). The copied file are so I do not mess up your originals by mistake (You got the couple hours to debug, right? LOL)

NOTE: If you convert, be sure to reselect your folders since the list is used to convert and will not update automatically.

This is changeable for additions, etc. but was written for someone that only needed this function. If you need something else I can make changes (if I can figure out how I did it ...) just let me know.

Let me know how it works.
Thanks
Budman1

[almeidap]

Thank you very much for the download link! Your utility works perfectly and does exactly what I was looking for.

I have been searching for a while and I really can't believe that there is no software under Windows to do such basic operations.


Did you plan to continue working on this utility? If not, I would love to see and clone the source code (under GitHub for example) so that I can add some useful features.


Let me know and thanks a lot again!

[Budman1]

Thanks and I am glad it works for you. I don't really use it myself except as a reference for Date/Time programming with Visual Studio (VB) 2010. I can always send the source code but, first you'd have to promise not to laugh, since I am not a programmer by nature. I only created the program because PEJ needed it and it was a good project to learn on.

My current project is a composite that fixes many FLV videos with playback problems due to meta data and timecode issues as well as creating a visual line graph of the audio portion of a Video and Frame Number, time and SMPTE Time to better sync a files sound. Now that has taken more than a couple days. <LOL:


If you can use the source files or would just like a change of some kind, let me know and I'll upload to my storage site. The files are from a Visual Basic (not C, C++ ).