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Forum Discussion
Preserving time-date stamps when uploading from Photos on Mac or iPhone
Hi - I am compiling photos from a family reunion. 14 people will be uploading photos. I would like the date-time stamp of when they were taken to be preserved, so all photos from all people are organized in date-time order. Is this possible? When I just uploaded several of my photos as a test, the date-time listed is that of the upload, not of the date-time taken. I am on a Mac desktop using the web version of Dropbox, but most of my family will be uploading directly from their iPhone or Android devices, so I hope to send them a link for uploading. Thanks.
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- Rich
Super User II
jpisunyer wrote:
When I just uploaded several of my photos as a test, the date-time listed is that of the upload, not of the date-time taken. I am on a Mac desktop using the web version of Dropbox ...
When using the Dropbox application installed on a computer and placing the files in the local Dropbox folder to sync, the date and time stamps are preserved. If you're uploading through the Dropbox website, the file is being newly created on the Dropbox servers so it gets a new creation date and time. There's no way to change this.
Thank you for this response. Could you recommend which DropBox app(s) to download for iPhone, Android and Mac ios? Since I have multiple people with different types of devices, I want to be sure I am telling them the right one to use. And a related question - if I share the folder with them, will they see it via the app and will be able to transfer their photo files, rather than upload them?
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi jpisunyer, the issue you will experience, with multiple people uploading files, is that depending on their method of doing so, the files will lose their original date the photo was taken.
File requests can be used to gather photos from anyone, even without a Dropbox account, and the files will upload to your account, with the current date and time.
However, it might be possible, after the files are collected, to use the automation feature to rename the files using the 'date captured' field (if the original image had this).
Jay - thank you! I did not know about File Requests. Just tried it out and it might work well for me. I should select File Automation/Set Naming Conventions and select Date Captured, right? And should I check this below it? "You can check the box next to Replace with existing dates detected in filenames, or change the date format with the dropdown." Since not all the files I upload will have the date in them, should I leave that check blank? Thank you.
- Jay
Yes, I'd recommend leaving it blank since you might not receive files with the correct time and date in the filename, if at all.
- Has this changed? Saving my photos for business was the reason we went with dropbox but if the meta-data is lost, what am i paying you for? I have to be able to maintain these photos and your saying dropbox can’t.
