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New Participant
January 22, 2021
Question

When a PDF file is created does it automatically have a the same modified date as the created date?

  • January 22, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 7060 views

I was sent a PDF with a forged signature a year ago. I can see that the file was created four months before it was sent and that it was modified just minutes before they sent me the file last year. One year later, I requested the same file as a test and the content seems the same, and bears the forged signature, yet in the new file the created date and time are the same as last years file, however, the modified date and time are exacty the same as the created time stamp. I understand how it is possible to change modified and created time stamps. My question is when a PDF file is created does Acrobat automatically assign the same modified data as the created date? Is it possible for a document to be created and modified at the same exact time? Thank you! 

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3 replies

New Participant
January 29, 2021

thanks for your answers. i realize now that i perhaps i did not word my question correctly. i am aware that modified and created dates can be changed easily. my question is why do some PDF files have a modified date that matches the created date and some have no modified date? is it a default setting in the software or hardware used to create the PDF that assigns a modified date when the PDFis created? 

try67
Community Expert
January 29, 2021

It depends on how they were created. Acrobat will set the modified date when creating a file, other tools might not (although they should).

JR Boulay
Community Expert
January 22, 2021

Yes, when a file is first created the created and modified dates are the same, until there is a change followed by a save.

Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
try67
Community Expert
January 22, 2021

Yes, when a file is first created the created and modified dates are the same. However, these values mean absolutely nothing. It's very easy to manipulate them to any date ones wishes them to display.