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Forum Discussion
RandallChristopher
2 years agoHelpful | Level 6
How to make Dropbox not change "date modified"?
I do not use Dropbox for ONE reason. There is no way to upload a file to Dropbox without Dropbox CHANGING the "date modified." I always sort my files by date modified, so this change which happens ...
Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
2 years agoHi RandallChristopher, in general, if a file is uploaded directly to the Dropbox site, the modification and creation date are for that moment.
This is normal if you're uploading files to your account. The files are newly created on the Dropbox server, so their date will show the date that the file was created in Dropbox. This is the same as when you download a file from some website to your computer. The downloaded file will have the date and time of the download because the file is being newly created on your computer.
If you want to maintain the files' original modified date, you can use the Dropbox application on your computer and allow the files to sync to your account instead of manually uploading them.
In any case, I'll forward your feedback to the appropriate areas so we can continue to improve. Thanks!
RandallChristopher
2 years agoHelpful | Level 6
Megan wrote:The files are newly created on the Dropbox server, so their date will show the date that the file was created in Dropbox. This is the same as when you download a file from some website to your computer. The downloaded file will have the date and time of the download because the file is being newly created on your computer.
This analogy makes no sense. What do people use Dropbox for? Would you not say for BACKING UP FILES? What external hard drive changes the date of the files when you copy a file over to it? None. None do that. What thumb drive changes the date of the files when you copy them over? None. Google Drive does not do that. I can open google drive in a browser and just drag files from my computer over. Copied into the cloud. Exactly as it is. No date change. Microsoft One Drive also. If Dropbox would simply function like every other cloud storage / external hard drive / thumb drive I would use it for sure.
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