If you have ever wondered what’s the difference between the various date attributes such as date created, date added, and date modified on Mac, you are in the right place. In this tutorial, you will learn what action affects which date attributes.
When I switched to Mac a couple of years ago, I found myself puzzled by the various date attributes attached to my files. As someone who likes to keep their digital life organized, understanding ‘date created’, ‘date modified’, ‘date last opened’, and ‘date added’ became unexpectedly important.
At first, I couldn’t quite figure out which actions affected which dates, or why. As I download lots of files (with weird names) in my day-to-day workflow, it is important for me to know which file was downloaded or accessed when.
So, I went ahead and learned everything about these attributes.
In this post, I’ll break down the differences between these attributes and look at some common scenarios where they come into play. Let’s get started!
1. Date Created:
This is when the file or folder first came into existence on your Mac. It might be when you downloaded it, copied it from another location, or created it from scratch. This date usually stays the same, even if you make changes to the file later on.
Suppose you’re sorting through old photos and want to know when you first took or imported a particular photo. The “Date Created” will tell you when the image was first saved on your Mac, which can be helpful when organizing memories by when they happened.
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You can sort your files with ‘date created’ attribute to see them in the order of newest to oldest.
2. Date Modified:
This tracks the last time you actually made changes to the file’s content. So, if you open the file and edit or save it, the “Modified” date will update. It doesn’t get affected just by moving or copying the file somewhere else; the actual content needs to change.
If the file has never been edited, this date might match the “Created” date, but they diverge once any edits are made. (A folder is considered modified when you change its contents i.e. add or remove a file, modify a file or rename a file within it.)
This attribute can be useful when you’re working on a report and want to double-check when you last edited it. The “Date Modified” will give you a clear timestamp of your last changes, even if you didn’t make any new edits recently. Sorting files with the ‘date modified’ attribute will put your recently edited files before the unedited files.
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3. Date Added:
This one can be a bit confusing because it specifically tracks when the file was added to a particular location, like a folder or the system itself. For example, if you copy or move a file from Downloads to the Desktop, the “Date Added” will reflect when it was placed in the Desktop folder.
Even if the file was created or modified earlier, “Date Added” focuses on when it showed up in that current location.
Let’s say you’ve reorganized files across different folders or drives. You might not remember when exactly you added a file to a new folder. The “Date Added” will help you track when the file was placed in its current spot.
4. Date last opened:
This shows the last time the file was opened, whether you made changes or not. Just viewing or previewing the file (like opening a document or photo without saving any edits) will update the “Last Opened” timestamp.
When you modify a file, usually, its “date last opened” also gets updated since you can’t make changes without opening a file.
Suppose you’ve been reviewing old projects, and you want to see which documents you’ve already looked at versus those you still need to go through. The “Date Last Opened” helps by showing when you last accessed each file.
Now let’s talk about what happens when you perform certain actions with files on your Mac:
1. File Creation/Download
When you create or download a file, all four attributes get set up:
When you download a file, most of the time all four date attributes get updated. But, every now and then, the date modified might stay the same as when it was last changed or created on the server.
2. File Moved/Copied to a new folder
When you move or copy a file to a new folder, its ‘date added’ gets updated.
3. File contents modified:
When you modify the contents of a file, its ‘date modified’ and ‘date last opened’ gets updated.
Note that renaming a file doesn’t count as a modification, so renaming action doesn’t modify any of the date attributes.
Which date attribute should you use?
For most people, organizing files by the ‘Date Modified’ attribute tends to be the most practical option.
Here’s how this fits in my use case— In my day-to-day workflow, I download a ton of files from various sources, which turns my downloads folder into a chaotic mix of files. To keep things under control, I rely on grouping files by ‘Date Modified.’ This way, the most recently downloaded files are automatically moved to the top of the folder, making them easy to find and access.
On top of that, if I make any changes to other files or folders in the directory, they get bumped to the top as well. This method keeps everything I’ve recently interacted with right within reach.
In short, it’s an efficient way to keep both new and updated files organized and easy to access.
If your use case is different, you might tinker with grouping by other date attributes.
So, that’s all from my side about the various date attributes on MacOS. Hope you learned a thing or two from this article. If you did, don’t forget to share it with me on Twitter (X).