# Set Date

Here you can change the date and time of files and folders. Each file & folder contains three dates: created, last modified & last accessed. All three can be changed using this function.

- Source - Here you select from where to obtain the new date & time:
  - Enter below - This is the default mode. Simply enter the desired new date & time in the input boxes underneath the source dropdown list.
  - Get from Exif tag - Most images taken with digital cameras have an Exif tag with useful information about the image. Flash Renamer can extract the date contained in this tag and use it to set the date & time of the file.
    Tip! This also works on folders. In this case, Flash Renamer will look for the first image in that folder and use its Exif date!
  - Use created date - This will use each files' created date & time as source.
  - Use accessed date - This will use each files' accessed date & time as source.
  - Use modified date - This will use each files' modified date & time as source.
  - Start of rename - The source date & time will be when the rename button was pressed.
  - Add interval - This will read the current date and add a number of units (eg days or hours) to it.
  - Subtract interval - This will read the current date and subtract a number of units (eg days or hours) from it.
  - Get from filename - This allows you to extract dates from filenames by settings up correctly to tell Flash Renamer where to find the dates. It's a bit tricky to use, but follow these steps and you'll be fine:
    - Open the part setup and configure the parts to match as follows:
      - `<%4>` - Year
      - `<%5>` - Month
      - `<%6>` - Day
      - `<%7>` - Hour
      - `<%8>` - Minute
      - `<%9>` - Second
    - For example, if your file is named `My File 2000-12-31.txt` you would setup parts as follows: `<%1> <%2> <%4>-<%5>-<%6>`. Note that `<%1>` and `<%2>` will not be used, but it is needed to separate the various parts of the filename.
    - Once this is done, use the set date function as usual.
- Change - The filter section allows you to choose what dates you want to modify:

  - Created / Accessed / Modifed - Each file and folder keeps track of three different dates. These checkboxes allow you to choose which ones to modify.

  - Year / Month / Day / Hour / Minute / Second - These filters allow you to choose exactly what parts of each date to change. You can for example choose to only change the hour, and leave the rest unchanged.

  Note: The date format displayed depends on your system settings.

  Note: Setting the last accessed time is only supported on NTFS filesystems. FAT/FAT32 does not keep track of last accessed time, only last accessed date.

  Note: Changing the time and date of folders is only supported on NT systems (NT/2000/XP and above).

  Note: Please be aware that the Windows filesystem has limitations when it comes file dates. Currently the dates are limited to be in between January 1st 1980 to December 31st 2099. If you try to set the date outside these limits, an error will occur. (Since this limit lies within the filesystem, it is possible that other filesystems allow dates outside this limit, although this has not been tested with Flash Renamer in any way.)

  Problem: After editing your digital camera pictures with your image editor, the modified date of the files has been changed, and now the picture won't sort correctly. Solution: Use the "Set Date" function and have "Exif Date" as source. Uncheck "created" and "accessed" so that only the "modified" date is changed. Problem, continued: Unfortunately the digital camera was not correctly configured, and the date stored in the Exif tag did not have the correct year. All other dates where luckily correct though. Solution: Use the "Set Date" function again, and this time manually set the correct year using the input boxes below "Source". Uncheck all filters, except for "Year" and "Modified".