Datei-Datums-Änderer (DDA)

changes filedate and timestamp

Version history
-------------------------------
v1.0: The Datei-Datums-Änderer is born. You can change the
filedate of one file at once. There are bugs when altering
write-protected files. The info-window is of light blue.

v1.1: The bug while altering write-protected files has been
removed. You can tell the DDA how to handle these files.

Furthermore you can let the DDA "remember" the
filedates of several files located in one directory,
and save all the dates back by just a click.

v1.2: Now it's possible to change the filedate of a couple of files in
one single step. If you want to, the time stamp is incremented for each
new file, so you can easily sort them by date then.
At startup, the input fields now contain actual date and time.

v1.3: As a new feature, DDA allows you to increase/decrease the original
time stamps of multiple files. The time difference input form now has
fields for seconds, minutes, hours, days and years. Oversized values
(such as 60 seconds) are converted automatically, negative values are
supported as well.

v1.4: Finally, DDA can handle directories recursively, and now even
directory time stamps are supported. Drag & drop allows for opening
single files quickly, while keyboard shortcuts give you access to all
DDA functions. The user interface now has the Windows XP look-and-feel.
Using input parameters, you may integrate DDA into Windows Explorer
(e.g. by using the "Open with..." menu).

v1.4.1: When increasing/decreasing time stamps, the sum of all increase
values (i.e. seconds, minutes etc.) needed to be different from 0 - this
has been fixed.
Note: This version has been added to CHIP.de download archive on
29-Sep-2010.

v1.5 (11-Aug-2013): DDA now utilizes the Windows API to modify all
available timestamps (creation date, modified date, access date), you
may choose the source and target dates independly. Even EXIF data in
.jpg files is supported by now (based on dEXIF 1.03d, thanks to Gerry
McGuire!), so you may correct the timestamps of your digital photos, or
copy the timestamps from EXIF to the filesystem or vice versa.
Date and time input has improved, you may also select to only change one
of both, and the problem loading/saving odd seconds has gone. All
settings may be saved as default or to separate settings files, so you
may store different settings for your common tasks.
The software icon has been redrawn and is now available in a higher
resolution. Last but not least, the GUI may be switched from German to
English (based on GNU gettext / dxgettext), and the sourcecode has been
cleaned up and documented (doxygen).

v1.6 (01-Feb-2014): The tools menu got a new function which allows you to
set directory dates according to the latest file contained within.
Advanced settings within the tools menu are now declared as such, and a
warning message will appear if you call any function which may alter
multiple files.
When increasing timestamps, a wizard now helps you to calculate the time
difference between the actual value and the desired one.
Within the options menu, you may choose between different conversion
algorithms for file dates (starting from Windows 7, Windows Explorer uses
a new algorithm to convert file times to the local time zone, especially
respecting daylight saving time on NTFS formatted volumes).
Under some circumstances, German users only got to see the English help
text if the language was set to "system default" - this has been fixed.
Note: This version has been added to CHIP.de download archive on
09-Apr-2015, and to GIGA.de download archive on 10-Mar-2016.

v1.7 (14-Aug-2016): When editing multiple files, you will now see a progress
window. This shows the current file in progress, as well as the number of
already processed files (and directories) and the current memory usage.
Long-lasting operations may be cancelled, and an undo function allows you to
reset the edited dates to the state before your edit.
A user asked for the ability to set the directory date to the oldest file
contained within (alternatively to the newest file) - this lets you
reconstruct the creation date after copying files, for example.
Another user suggested to add an export/import function for CSV files, so
you can easily edit data with external programs.
However, there have also been some bugfixes: All recursive functions may now
also edit hidden or system files. The option to additionally set the creation
date for directories now only operates on directories (and not files anymore).
And when forgetting remembered file dates, the used memory will now be freed
completely (there was a memory leak before).
Note: This version has been added to GIGA.de download archive on 17-Aug-2016.

v1.7.1 (19-Jul-2022): Up to now, it was only possible to recursively copy the
file dates from one directory to another if both directories had the same
directory structure. On demand of a user, a new function was added which does
this regardless of the directory structure, comparing only the filename and
file size.

DDA.exe has been built by the free "Borland Delphi 6 Personal Edition"
and then has been compressed using "UPX" (the "Ultimate
Packer for eXecutables").


Future
-----------------
For further automation, a future version of DDA shall support even more
command line parameters.
Importing/exporting dates as CSV files is planned.

In DDA 2.0, the main window shall become more understandable and intuitive.
You may add files to a file list and process the files in desired order.
As source or target you may also use a CSV file. You will be asked to select
the source and target date.

A directory browser may allow to navigate through directories without changing
the "last access" date, and show all desired file dates as a table. Searching
for files using custom criteria may become possible.

A demo mode as well as an undo function may allow newbies to first try the DDA
functions before actually applying the desired changes.

Comparison with other tools (as of June 2018, sorted by relevance)

The following table gives an overview of similar software tools and their features.