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juliannz
Inspiring
October 4, 2019
Question

Creation dates

  • October 4, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 6499 views

I managed to change the creation date of an indesign doc. However, when I exported it as a PDf file, the creation date changes didn't carry through to the PDF file.  So annoying.  Does anyone know how to do this so that the indesign creation date and the PDF file sync / match? 

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    4 replies

    Dave Creamer of IDEAS
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 5, 2019

    You could do a Save As on both files--if it happens fast enough, they will have the same info (although the seconds may be different).

     

    Do you by any chance want the modification date rather than the creation date? The only reason I could think of wanting the creating date would be if someone was checking up on when I created a file--but usually it is the modification date that really needs to be checked.

     

    You could use a text variable in InDesign with the date you prefer. The variable could contain the creation date, the modification date, or any custom date you want.

    David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
    Participating Frequently
    April 17, 2023

    How do I use a text variable or whatever I need to do to show the modification date when opening and placing files in InDesign 2023 for Mac?

     

    Participating Frequently
    April 17, 2023
    Legend
    October 5, 2019

    Setting the creation fate of the PDF to anything different to what it is would be misusing the metadata. It has a specific meaning: when the PDF itself was created (the file made, not designed or approved). It isn’t for arbitrary setting of dates to match a project or similar. 

    Dov Isaacs
    Legend
    October 5, 2019

    You cannot hide the PDF file's creation date.

     

               - Dov

    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    Dov Isaacs
    Legend
    October 4, 2019

    The PDF file creation and modification dates are not “informational” fields that can be arbitrarily set. Thus you cannot synchronize the InDesign file's creation time stamp with that of a PDF file created from same.

     

                - Dov

    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    juliannz
    juliannzAuthor
    Inspiring
    October 4, 2019
    Thanks...how do I hide the creation date please?