How to export and sort by Original Date created and NOT by date of export

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
April 16, 2017
3 replies
5774 views

I am trying to create a folder by exporting a selection of photos. However when I do, there doesn't seem to be a way to sort/view them by the date they were originally created

When exporting I have tried various options including 'all except camera and camera raw" but they still end up being sorted by the date I exported them - 'today's date in effect.

Help please - I want to be able to view them sequentially ...in date taken order

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J

joachims25232702

Inspiring

I use one of two methods:

I assume the photos are sorted in LR before exporting

1 Rename on export. You can add a sequence number as first file name entry. Start with 100 or 1000 if your TV does alphabetic sort, otherwise 2 beats 100.

2 Do the same renaming your files with a sequence number within LR. The original file name is stored in the EXIF data, so you can go back. Renaming files is a destructive operations and things can go wrong on your PC doing that, so only do that if you have a stable system. And be careful if the same photo resides in two catalogs, renaming can cause trouble in the other catalog.

D

dj_paige

Legend

I'm not having this problem. When I export, I select All Metadata and the capture date is shown in Windows.

johnrellis

Legend

To build on dj_paige's reply: When LR exports a photo, it stores the capture date inside the photo's metadata. Windows File Explorer reads that field and shows it in the "Date taken" column.

But the Mac's Finder doesn't know how to read and display the metadata capture date. If you're on Mac, one workaround is to get a third-party file browser to use instead of Finder. Another workaround is to sort the photos in LR by capture time and then export them using a file-naming template that assigns sequential numbers -- then Finder will show the photos in capture-date order when you sort the files alphabetically.

Just Shoot Me

Legend

These are photos that have been exported from Lightroom into a folder on my desktop and then loaded onto a memory stick to display on a TV.

When I displayed them on the TV I realised they were in 'alphabetical' order which seems to be how they were exported into the folder.

Within LR there is no problem re sorting by original Capture time - just seems to be when exporting them that the issue arises. The act of Exporting seems to reset the date to Date Modified and all are listed as whatever day the action was enacted.

No way of changing it seems....even by selecting Arrange and a different option.

If this is an issue with Finder, is there an alternative File Manager extension/app that prevents this issue please?

I suggest in the future you stop Renaming images either on import or export. The camera will assign a file name progressively, 1, 2, 3, and so on, and will always be in order by either capture time or file name.

Your current problem is caused by either the TV, how it reads and displays images, or from Renaming them in some order not associated with either the capture time or original file name. This can happen in the LR import dialog if you have that dialog Sort: order set to anything other than Capture Time. LR will pick and chose which image to import next instead of in order as they were shot. Which will assign file names is totally random order.