File explorer and date created/modified change when copying files/folders.

"Microsoft will continue to make improvements to serve you better."

Yeah, that doesn't instill confidence in those of us who wish that Microsoft would leave well enough alone. Whose bright idea was it to have the DATE/TIME of a file change when copying or moving them to another location...especially when trying to copy/move several of them at a time?

Like magic, ALL of the files now have the DATE/TIME that the drag and drop was done and NOT the date that they have had since their inception.  That is extremely frustrating for people who REQUIRE precise DATES/TIMES that original files were created, like with security camera clips or other evidentiary files.

Luis' post WAS eloquent, and the post expressed exactly what I have been feeling about this subject.  Am I wrong in feeling that your response is a flippant slap in the face?  That sounds a lot like "we are aware of the problem, you hurt my feelings, and we are never going to fix it".

Personally, I want my Windows 7 back.  It is my belief that my computer was taken out during a Windows 7 'Update'.  I was thereby forced to purchase a new computer with Windows 8.  Each new iteration of Windows has been inferior to the previous one since then, and I cannot help but think that is intentional.  So just know that I have no respect for your response to Luis, nor for this product.

IF you could tell me how to get the 'Date created' column in Windows File Explorer to actually show the date each file was created, I might have some respect.

Hello, Lui Lui the 3rd

Welcome to the Microsoft community.

Your eloquently woven tale of temporal displacement within the realms of Windows File Explorer has reached the ears of us mere mortals tending the vast digital libraries at Microsoft.

We understand your frustration, Thank you for your feedback, and Microsoft will continue to make improvements to serve you better.

Best Regards,

Aaron- MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Clarification needed.

The Date Modified for files should never change due to moving or copying. If it is changing for you, please provide details of the scenario with screenshots.

The Date Modified of a folder will always change to reflect the date of the copy or any change within the main level of the folder.

Date Created does not mean the Date you created the content. It means the date the file was first created on a given volume. People are always wanting it to mean the date the content was created, but that's not what that property is meant to represent. It's important that it continue to work as it always has for forensic and backward compatibility purposes. Of course, software, such as the aforementioned RoboCopy, can subvert its intended purpose by "preserving" the Date Created when copying files from one volume to another.

Many file types have specific metadata fields to represent when the content was created. For JPG images, there's the "Date Taken" property and for Microsoft Office files there's the "Content Created" property. It's best to use one of those properties whenever possible, rather than relying on Date Created.

IF you could tell me how to get the 'Date created' column in Windows File Explorer to actually show the date each file was created, I might have some respect.

Please see my previous reply:

"Date Created does not mean the Date you created the content. It means the date the file was first created on a given volume. People are always wanting it to mean the date the content was created, but that's not what that property is meant to represent. It's important that it continue to work as it always has for forensic and backward compatibility purposes. Of course, software, such as the aforementioned RoboCopy, can subvert its intended purpose by "preserving" the Date Created when copying files from one volume to another."

Date created has always worked as described above. It was no different in Windows 7.

For some file types, there are other properties that will reliably track when the content was created. For example, for photos (JPG files), there is a "Date taken" property that is stored as part of the file.

What file types are you working with? Maybe there is a property that will work better than Date created. If not, then you will need to use a tool such as RoboCopy or FastCopy to keep the original Date created when copying to another volume.

Update: If you install TeraCopy and configure it to replace Explorer's copy function, then any copied files will keep their original Date created. Here's a screenshot of the TeraCopy preferences:

https://www.codesector.com/teracopy