Previously, DropBox renamed camera uploads based on the photos creation date (EXIF: Date/Time Original). This makes sense because you want the photos to be name-sorted based on when they were taken. Now DropBox renames camera uploads based on the modification date (EXIT: File/Modification Date/Time). This makes no sense because the files are now out of chronological order when sorted by name.

Thank you so much for confirming that I am not alone in noticing this change in DropBox Camera Uploads behavior. It is quite annoying. If you are at all command line capable, then you can use the following one liner to change the file name back to matching the EXIF create date. I'm sure there are GUI tools that can do the same thing. You will need to install exiftool. The file names will look like this: 2021-09-29-104154-000.heic exiftool -d '%Y-%m-%d-%H%M%S%%-03.c.%%e' '-filename<CreateDate' ~/Dropbox/Camera\ Uploads

@Michael N.28, I know exactly what you mean, you explained the problem 100% clear. And it is quite stupid that your question is not understood. I have exactly the same issue. Yesterday, I started taking pictured at 13:15 I made several pictures from a location I visited for my work. I use these pictures for presentations. I know what time I was where. But all my pictures in dropbox are renamed2021-10-13 19.46.06-12021-10-13 19.46.06-22021-10-13 19.46.06-32021-10-13 19.46.06-42021-10-13 19.46.06-5 and so on 19.46 is 7 hours later that I actually took them. All my settings are set right! It has always worked out perfectly. Dropbox changed the way files are being renamed. There is no question about that!

Jay Each image is uploaded only once. That is, when I hit the "Photos" button in the DropBox iOS app. There is no automatic upload. If I have edited the image before uploading, then DropBox names it using the file modification date. If I have not edited the image before uploading, then the creation date is the same as the modification date. I'm assuming that DropBox always uses the file modification date. I think that's the wrong thing to do. DropBox should rename photos using the EXIF CreateDate or, if there is no EXIF data (like a screenshot or other non-camera image) then DropBox should use the file creation date. Here's an example. In this case DropBox set the file name to: 2021-10-06 14.14.19.heic If you look at the EXIF date data below, you will see that the creation date is: 2021:10:06 14:13:39 I edited the file on the iPhone using the Photos app at: 2021:10:06 14:14:19+07:00. That's the date DropBox used to rename the file. What follows is the date info from the EXIF file: MrMuscle:Camera Uploads mnewman$ exiftool "/Users/mnewman/Dropbox/Camera Uploads/2021-10-06 14.14.19.heic" | grep "Date"File Modification Date/Time : 2021:10:06 14:14:19+07:00File Access Date/Time : 2021:10:06 17:21:26+07:00File Inode Change Date/Time : 2021:10:06 17:21:24+07:00Date/Time Original : 2021:10:06 14:13:39Create Date : 2021:10:06 14:13:39Modify Date : 2021:10:06 14:13:39Date Created : 2021:10:06 14:13:39

Thanks. I already used that tool to fix the issue. It is really strange that no other user is reporting this problem. I assume a lot of users use this to organise the photo. Just to complete my info:Device: iPhone 12 Pro MaxIOS: 15.0.1Account Dropbox PlusApp version 254.2.12

The images are modified on the camera roll. These are normal photos. I often edit photos before uploading via DropBox. (I do the upload manually since giving DropBox access to location services all the time ended up being a huge battery hog.) To the best of my recollection, DropBox used to rename the photos based on creation date. But recently I began to notice that photos edited on the phone were out of creation date order in the Camera Uploads directory. The assigned name was the modification date. Here's an example. This photo was edited on the camera. EXIF: Create Date: 2021:10:05 09:00:04EXIF: File Modification Date/Time: 2021:10:05 18:05:22+07:00Name Assigned by DropBox Camera Uploads: 2021-10-05 18.05.22.heic As you can see, the assigned name is nine hours later than the creation date. What I've done now to "fix" this is write a shell script that includes the following exiftool statement which renames the files based on create date: exiftool -d '%Y-%m-%d-%H%M%S%%-03.c.%%e' '-filename<CreateDate' ~/Dropbox/Camera\ Uploads I shouldn't have to do that.

Why does DropBox rename photos based on modification date rather than creation date?

26 Replies

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Hyoga79
Explorer | Level 4
4 years ago
As you can see in the screenshot, some photos are uploaded with the date they were taken (as has always happened to me) and others with the date they are uploaded. Why do some go up like this and others the other way?
Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
4 years ago
Hi there, Hyoga79, sorry to jump in.

Have you tried to clear the app's cache, to see if that helps?

To do that, open the Dropbox app, tap on 'account', then on the gear icon and then on 'clear cache'.
JenniferDH
New member | Level 2
3 years ago
I'm just getting to this thread now -- I'm sorry you gave up -- I completely understand what your issue is -- I have the same one right now. I will keep scrolling... maybe I'll find a solution.
JenniferDH
New member | Level 2
3 years ago
Wow, that's a slick (read: intimidating) code. I really want to do that with my images.... but definitely would need more help or step detail on that installation and code line. Anyone up to help me?
infinimac
Helpful | Level 5
3 years ago
It's months later, but this is very good information! Thanks! It does explain a few things I didn't catch onto. If have it straight, I have to COPY or MOVE or UPLOAD photos onto my DESKTOP/LAPTOP hard drive FIRST (and no other kind of device), which my computer considers a move, not a modification, (but DB would consider a modification if I didn't make this pit stop first and went straight from Photos to DB), then I can MOVE them from the hard drive to the DropBox local folder or to the Dropbox folder on the web via my computer browser, preserving the creation date.

Problem had been: If I MOVE / COPY / UPLOAD photos directly from my iPhone or iPad directly into a Dropbox local folder or onto a Dropbox online/web folder anywhere (desktop or laptop via local DB folder or browser to DB online, iPhone/iPad DB folder via the app, iPhone/iPad DB folder via a browser), the date is not preserved because DB sees all these as "copies" and thus as modified. To reiterate: BUT when I COPY or UPLOAD or MOVE photos from my iPHONE/iPAD to my DESKTOP/LAPTOP hard drive file folder FIRST, the creation date is preserved; then when I MOVE them from there to the local Dropbox folder located on my hard drive (and then synced with the DB cloud server), the creation date is preserved.

Remaining question I don't dare test: If I MOVE photos (not copy) from a computer hard drive desktop folder to a DB file opened on the WEB via a BROWSER on my computer, does DB once again consider them to be COPIED, not MOVED, and thus MODIFIED with the upload date? One day I'll test that.

Meantime, thanks for the explanation.
bobalucci
New member | Level 2
2 years ago
This is a continuation of this thread, but not of the last comment...
What exactly is the information element that is used to create the dropbox filename? It doesn't appear to be consistent with anything listed in the exif information stored in DropBox. For instance I have this file with the following exif fields:

2022-12-10 10.03.37-2.jpg
File Modification Date/Time : 2022:12:10 10:03:36+01:00
File Inode Change Date/Time : 2022:12:10 10:03:36+01:00
Date/Time Original : 2022:12:10 10:03:37
Create Date : 2022:12:10 10:03:37

and this file with its associated exif fields:
2022-12-10 10.03.38.jpg
File Modification Date/Time : 2022:12:10 10:03:38+01:00
File Inode Change Date/Time : 2022:12:10 10:03:38+01:00
Date/Time Original : 2022:12:10 10:03:39
Create Date : 2022:12:10 10:03:39

In one case it seems to follow the File modification time, in the other it seems to follow the Creation date field.
(only difference is the seconds)
This is important to me because I am exporting the files via another app and trying to check that everything is properly backed up, but that is difficult to do because the filenames differ (slightly)
Files are being backed up automatically from an iphone 11 using the dropbox app on the iphone.

What data field does the dropbox app actually use, because it doesn't seem to be consistent with what is in the metadata associated with the file.

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Why does DropBox rename photos based on modification date rather than creation date?

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