When saving Photoshop Elements files, Date created keeps being updated to today's date. Why?

[nathann93385955]

Hello,

I am a relatively new Adobe Photoshop Elements user who recently found out that when I save a file created using Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Elements will update the Date modified metadata to the current day and time / date AND, for one reason or another, also update the Date created metadata to the current date, for example, 24th September 2023 at whatever time.

On 24th September 2023 (around that date), I opened one of my Photoshop Elements files to import and edit a photo. Then, I pressed the Ctrl and S hotkeys to open the Save or Save As window, located my opened file in the Save As window, left every setting as they were such as Layers and ICC, hit Save, and finally checked the Date modified and Date created metadata for my Photoshop Elements file in Windows File Explorer.

Normally, what happens is that Photoshop Elements only changes Date modified. Date created stays the same as it should. Praise the Lord.

But, this time, both Date modified AND Date created got updated to 24th September 2023 at whatever time. I repeated this process again on 26th September 2023 at 9:16pm and took screenshots of the process. If anyone is interested, they are welcome to see my screenshots uploaded with this Adobe community post.

If anyone is still confused about my problem, I would like to know why Photoshop Elements now overwrites both Date modified AND Date created when saving a file, new or old.

Other things I missed and did not mention:

(1) I reset Photoshop Elements at least once on 26th September 2023.

(2) I found the actual and correct Date created, which is sometime in 2022, by going to File > File Info > Basic > Scroll down to Creation Date.

[Greg_S.]

There are a number of factors at issue in what you describe.  I suggest you read this discussion. Although it relates to Lightroom, I believe it provides a good explanation of what is going on in Elements.  And here is another article specific to how Elements uses dates.

One of the things that jumps out at me in your situation is that you are saving the file as a .psd.  Your screenshot No. 1 shows that it is a very large file, so I'm guessing that the original file did not come from a camera.  I believe that if the file started off with another format e.g. a jpeg or tiff and was saved as a .psd, the creation date will be the date/time you started working on the file in the Elements Editor.  At that point, a temporary .psd file is created which will be earlier than the date/time of the Save As creation.  Or possibly, that date created entry will be from when you first hit Ctrl+S because if your photo was a jpeg, the Save command will save it as a .psd, and that will be the Created Date of the .psd file.

Another issue to consider is that your File>Info dialog is showing the Basic information tab.  You may see other data in the other tabs.

Since you haven't indicated whether you are using the Organizer, I highly recommend that you try it out.  The Information panel provides a wealth of information:

[nathann93385955]

Hello Greg, thank you for your ideas,

In response to the things that jumped out at you, for example (1) saving files as a .psd file which I think is the Adobe Photoshop file format and also (2) finding the Creation Date in File > File Info > Basic:

(1) Whether my Photoshop Elements files have images such as .jpg or .png images OR they have visual graphics made using the Shape tool, Clipping Mask and other features for my album artwork, I normally save my Photoshop Elements files as .psd files so I can make edits or changes to photos or visual graphics later.

(2) I found the right creation date for two files I saved recently in the Basic information tab, which was what Windows File Explorer overwrote. All I wanted to figure out was why does Photoshop Elements overwrite the actual creation date with the current date, for example, overwriting the actual creation date of 5 December 2022 and showing 26 September 2023 instead.

I might look at the Lightroom reference you posted later tonight (9:02pm right now in the Southern Hemisphere).

Also, about Elements Organiser, based on the titles of community posts I skim-read yesterday or whenever I did this, Organiser appears to change the creation date of photos as well, which is my problem in the first place but for .psd files in my case. Also, I do not want my photos to be stored on Elements Organiser.

Thank you for helping so far.

[nathann93385955]

Hello Greg,

I just skim-read the two webpages you included in your post. I felt like I am being forced to use Elements Organiser in order to show the Date created metadata for my .psd files correctly in Windows File Explorer.

Earlier today, I also double-checked saving Photoshop Elements .psd files with photos added and the problem keeps happening. The actual Date created was 27 September 2023 but Photoshop Elements, or actually, Windows File Explorer updated Date created to today's date (28 September 2023).

In my screenshot attached in this post, you can see 27-September-2023 in the file's name.

[MichelBParis]

hI @nathann93385955 

The important info given by Greg is that what you are looking at is the description dialog of the files properties  shown by the Windows Explorer. The important item is not the 'creation or modification date, it's the 'date_taken' (in my French Windows it's date de prise de vue) which is shown in the 'details' tab with a dozen of other date flavours.

The Explorer needs to manage file descriptions for its own use (think about backups...) and also to allow photo descriptions to be used mainly by photo editors.

- The only relevant item is the 'date_taken' used everywhere in the editor and the organizer.

- About the organizer: it is built around a powerful database in catalogs. Catalogs don't contain any file, only links to the information about the location and properties on the disks coming from camera exif or user tagging. Those info are provided to the organizer by the Windows Explorer routines.

- So, when file properties (not photographic properties) are changed, that's the explorer which requires and operates the changes, not the editor, the organizer, Lightroom or any third party editor which dictate that the creation date must be changed.

- Back to the catalog database. The only pertinent date appearing in the organizer (or in the files properties of the editor) is the date_taken. It is used in many kinds of indexes for super fast searches. The date created alone is not even mentioned in the database, except for a combined index allowing finding 'import batches', a useful feature for searching duplicates.

When you are seeing information such as creation date in the organizer information section, the data is not read from the catalog, it is read from the file metadata section itself.

My question now is: why bother about about items like creation date which are only for the use of the operationg system (the Explorer) and which are really confusing as you have found out?

[nathann93385955]

Hi Michel,

I am bothered about Photoshop Elements, or actually Windows File Explorer, changing the date and time that shows up on the Date created tag because I would like to see the actual date and time at which I created .psd files in Photoshop Elements displayed on what you called the description panel provided by Windows File Explorer.

It seems that every other user who has replied to my community post does not see my problem from my viewpoint. I discovered this 'problem' recently, around 24th September 2023, and I have tried to stop Photoshop Elements from updating or changing the Date created tag to show today's date every single time I save a .psd file.

I now accept that Photoshop Elements will update the Date created tag for .psd files to today's date, and if I want to find the correct Date created, I just click on File > File Info > Basic. I will then scroll down to Creation Date and see the correct and actual Date created.

Thank you for your reply.

[MichelBParis]

Hi Michel,

I am bothered about Photoshop Elements, or actually Windows File Explorer, changing the date and time that shows up on the Date created tag because I would like to see the actual date and time at which I created .psd files in Photoshop Elements displayed on what you called the description panel provided by Windows File Explorer.

...................................................................

I now accept that Photoshop Elements will update the Date created tag for .psd files to today's date, and if I want to find the correct Date created, I just click on File > File Info > Basic. I will then scroll down to Creation Date and see the correct and actual Date created.

Thank you for your reply.

By @nathann93385955

What is confusing in the way the organizer displays the dates data in what I call the information panel in the right is that the top section shows info read from the media files metadata section while most other are coming from the catalog itself.

The simple rule for pse users should be to ignore completely the "creation or modification" dates and only concentrate on the "date_taken" which is common to the data in the file itsef and the explorer as well as in the catalog database.

My guess is that if Adobe did not show those types of dates, many users would still wonder about the lack of those comon data...

I also understand that many users don't trust (understand?)  the organizer purpose and prefer to use the Explorer. For them, your question makes sense.