Is there a way to edit/alter a file but leave the 'time' stamp unchanged?

Is there anyway to alter a file (i.e. powerpoint/word doc/excel
spreadsheet) but make it appear that the file was altered on any given
day (e.g. 1 Jan 2000).

I want to know how to do this on a PC


I am also curious to know if this is possible on a mac (i have a
copied this to a mac group)


thanks

James

 

wrote in @e9g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

Yes, it is not only possible but easy. There are any number of programs
that will let you change a file or folder's attributes, of which the
date/time is one (or, on NTFS, three: Created, Modified, Last Accessed).
Some of these are free but my personal favorite isn't: Attribute Magic
Pro (there is also a scaled down free version).

Even the free one can change FAT/NTFS timestamps, etc. but the Pro
version can also change *internal* timestamps in Word, Excel, etc.

If you are working with MS Office files there are a number of programs
which manipulate/erase the metadata it stores *internally* which can be a
real embarrassment in some circumstances (just ask Tony Blair!). As a
minimum get the free "Remove Hidden Data" tool from Microsoft itself, but
I recommend getting the non-free "Document Trace Remover" as well.

Regards,

PS Incidentally, one tool I love is Directory Opus which besides being
the premier replacement for Explorer also lets you change file date/time
attributes. One feature I especially LOVE about it is that if you copy
an NTFS folder between drives it will automatically put the old
directory's timestamp on the new one (and it lets you diddle with
created, modified, last accessed, too). This is extremely convenient
when moving whole directory trees (perhaps your music collection?) while
preserving timestamps for sorting, etc..

 

<http://www.jddesign.f2s.com/touchpro.htm>

Used it for a few years now and it is excellent.

As far as I know nothing like TouchPro but it is worth looking at the
Terminal touch command.
--
Cheers,

Steve

The reply-to email address is a spam trap.
Email steve 'at' shodgson 'dot' org 'dot' uk

 

This is operating system dependent, not cpu chip dependent. The answer is
yes. Under linux do
man touch

 

What about just changing the date setting on the machine, modifying
the file, and then changing the date back.
OR
On any machine with good old fashioned (MS)DOS there should be an
"attrib" command - the syntax can vary.
Geoff

 

You hacker, you. ; )

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JR

 

Changing the system time typically requires administrative privileges that
he might not own. Yes, even on Unix-like systems the filestamps are derived
from system time and not the per-user time.

The "attrib" command changes file attributes, not file timestamps. What
about using "touch" from GnuWin32 or UnxUtils instead? Heck, even in the
Windows Resource Kit you'll find a tool "vfi.exe" which provides the "touch"
functionality.

 

Mac reply: Change the file, let the OS stamp the file, then restamp it
yourself to whatever timestamp your want using the 'touch' command. 'man
touch' for more information.

Simon.

 

You can, but then people like me get paid to find out that you have done
it and to prepare notes for the prosecution. So I'd think very carefully
about *why* you would want to do this.

 

There are any number of file utilities that'll do the job the GUI way,
too.

But if I were you, I'd think about what Steve Firth had to say. For
once, he's made a post that is worth paying very careful attention to.

The OP is clearly wanting to perpetrate some sort of fraud - the way the
question was asked shows that, I reckon. But just 'cos you can change
the time stamp doesn't mean you won't be caught out.

Best to be honest unless you're very clever and devious; or enjoy bad
food seasoned with the bodily fluids of prison wardens.

Rowland.

 

(Rowland McDonnell) wrote in

Uhh, do you usually jump to conclusions on the basis of wild speculation
and no evidence? The OP said NOTHING about *why* he wanted to change the
timestamp, only that he wanted to know *how* to do it.

Regards,

 

If you'd read my post, you would understand that the manner in which the
question was asked indicated what I remarked upon.

That is, to my perception, there is indeed some evidence and no
speculation (wild or otherwise) is involved. I'm surprised that you
failed to understand this point from my post.

Rowland.

 

Er, what's that line about not feeding the trolls... ;o)

Sarah

 

(Rowland McDonnell) wrote in

Oh dear, another fellow prepared the defend the indefensible.

No, the OP said absolutely NOTHING about why he might want to change the
date on a file, whether for good or ill. It was only your fertile
imagination that supplied the surmise that it was to defraud someone.

And then you went on to put towers and minarets on your castle in the air
blithering on about him being found out, and even going to jail!

And all this based on nothing more than his question about the mechanics
of going about changing a timestamp.

Hell, given your propensity for wild speculation, anyone who owns a copy
of "touch" should be arrested forthwith!

Regards,

 

[snip lunacy]

I must say that's quite an impressive pile of wild invention you've
managed to create. I can't come up with any rational processes that
could lead from my remarks to your bogus and absurd interpretation of
about what I was on about - quite amazing.

Is this how you get your entertainment, inventing this madness?

Or is it the case that your ability to comprehend plain English really
is that poor?

Rowland.
(genuinely curious)

P.S. The poster who wants to change the time stamp is up to no good, as
anyone with any understanding of human nature can tell from reading the
original post - why do you think Firth made his remarks about going to
court?

Obviously, you do not have any understanding of human nature. I don't
suppose you'll ever learn, but what that chap's up to in broad terms is
crystal clear to those of us who do understand people.

If you change a time stamp to indicate that a file has been changed at a
time when it's not been changed, and then present that to someone as
evidence of when it was changed, that's misrepresentation and if you're
doing for particular reasons (speak to a lawyer), it's fraud. You don't
have to be ripping off de Beers for it to be fraud.

 

that's absurd. there is absolutely no evidence one way or the other
about the original poster's motives. assuming he is up to no good is
nothing but speculation, and in fact, can even be considered libel.

there are plenty of reasons why one might want to change the time stamp
that are totally legitimate.

it is best to not assume everyone is a criminal.

 

[snip][

Indeed - but you won't ask the way the OP asked if you are legit, as
anyone who knows about human nature could tell you.

You have no evidence to suggest that anyone in this thread assumes
everyone in a criminal, so I'm puzzled as to why you would make such a
comment.

I knocked over a parked motorcycle by accident the other day - that made
me a criminal. I've got the crime recorded against me even though it
was purely accidental, I contacted the owner and told him what I'd done,
and have repaired the bike at my expense.

Almost everyone in the UK /is/ a criminal - it's very hard to avoid
being a criminal these days, what with all the malicious and unjust laws
that Bliar's New Labour and the almost but not quite equally vile Tories
before them gave us.

Rowland.

 

It is not I who has gone beyond what the OP said in his one and only post
in this thread. He said, verbatim and its entirety:
____

Is there anyway to alter a file (i.e. powerpoint/word doc/excel
spreadsheet) but make it appear that the file was altered on any given
day (e.g. 1 Jan 2000).

I want to know how to do this on a PC

I am also curious to know if this is possible on a mac (i have a
copied this to a mac group)

thanks

James
____

No mention whatsoever why he might want to do this. No mention of any
other person. No mention of fraud or any other purpose, good or bad.
Nope, just a simple question about the mechanics of changing the
datestamp.

From there it is you who has gone on to surmise, to speculate, to
conjecture on his motives, to infer his intentions are mischievous, and
to hector him about fraud and jail. All this on no evidence whatsoever.
There's not a word from the OP on why he wants to know.

Ah, a Hobbesian convinced that all mankind is inherently base. And who
therefore attributes evil motives to the original poster despite the
total absence of one word by him, one way or the other, as to why he
might want to change the date on files.

Either that or you're just another garden variety moron, who reads what
isn't there.

Regards,

 

Honest is as honest does. Sometimes the operating system's default
action is effectively dishonest.

Example 1: I ran a disk recovery utility after my root directory got
trashed by a hardware fault. I got all my files back, but the 'honest'
utility set them all to the same date, the date of recovery. That really
screwed up my photo library and my software change control records.
Fortunately all the important stuff was also backed up by a 'dishonest'
utility - PKZIP - that restores the directory entries too.

Example 2: I designed a system that takes physical measurements for
standards certification. The operator runs the measurement which takes
a long time, and may fill in the rest of the certificate details (client
name, client sample identification, etc), before, during or afterwards.
However it is important that the time on the certificate file reflects
the time of test completion so that it can be matched up against the
instrument's own log for legal traceability. So the certificate print
program has to set the 'wrong' time on the certificate file.

Example 3: I had all my historical account files stored in MS Excel
format. I decided I to change my system to OpenDocument format, and in
order to be able to do annual returns, aged balances etc, had to convert
some of the old files to the new format. Needless to say, changing the
date on the files was the last thing I wanted. Sure the files have the
right date *inside* but I can spend a long time opening a directory full
of monthly files all called "sales" and all with the same date, to find
the one for August 2005.

So the OP can have perfectly reasonable and honest cause to want to
override the modification date. Perhaps he even just wants to know how
well he can trust this information, to decide whether this sort of fraud
has been perpetrated on him.


Tim Jackson

 

The reason *I* would want to do it is to put the date of a picture
taking on a JPG file, instead of the date I 'cropped' the file. Is there
a way to do that?