TC not preserving folder date/time when copying/moving

[avada]

Hi!
I just noticed this issue when I copied a lot of files. All the folder dates were changed to date of the copying, but for the files the dates were preserved. Is this a bug? If not how can I change this behavior?

[MVV]

It is operating system changes folder modify dates. Anyway folder dates are non-stable and shouldn't be used.

[avada]

It is operating system changes folder modify dates. Anyway folder dates are non-stable and shouldn't be used.

What? That can't be right. I mean when a folder/file is created when copying I guess its created with the current date, but then TC sets its attributes to that of the originals at least for files, so I guess it could do it to folders too.

And what do you mean by I shouldn't use it. The dates are there its not something I can disable.

[MVV]

If you open folder properties you will see that Windows even doesn't display folder last modify date - MS doesn't think it is important attribute This date may be updated by Windows automatically when you change folder contents.

[karlchen]

Go to Configuration => Copy/Delete => General Copy + delete options and tick the option [x] Copy date/time of directories.

Side note:
MVV is right. In particular on NTFS filesystems a folder date is not a stable fact, but it will be changed by certain file operations (e.g. by adding files/subfolders, removing files/subfolders)


Karl

[avada]

Go to Configuration => Copy/delete => General Copy + delete options and tick the option [x] Copy date/time of directories.

Thanks!

[MVV]

Keep in mind that when you change folder contents Windows will change its modify date anyway.

[avada]

Keep in mind that when you change folder contents Windows will change its modify date anyway.

That's what makes it useful in my opinion. I usually sort them by date so I know which ones I changed the last time, or which are newly created.

[petermad]

Keep in mind that when you change folder contents Windows will change its modify date anyway

Only for NTFS partitions, not for FAT partitions, which is most often used on for example USB sticks and memory cards.

[nicolai78]

Hi

The suggested solution is fine, but it seems this feature is broken, using TC v10.52.

I have tried this on both Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019. Same issue. The date/time for directories are not copied.

My expectation is the date/time from the source directory is synchronized to the target directory - including all subdirectories.

Can some either confirm this, or explain why is it working, just not like I expect?

[beb]

...it seems this feature is broken, using TC v10.52.
I have tried this on both Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019. Same issue. The date/time for directories are not copied.

It does work on Windows 10.

[Dalai]

2nicolai78
Did you take everything into account that was posted in this thread, like enabling "Copy date/time of directories" in Options > Copy/Delete, all while keeping in mind that changes to existing directories - creating new files or deleting files from them - will change their timestamps?

Does copying a directory structure into an empty directory preserve timestamps for you?

Regards
Dalai