I would like to suggest adding somewhat revolutionary feature to the Mp3tag: ability to change dates of files. I am thinking here especially about the %_file_mod_date% parameter
This function is already there. Under the File > Options > Tags > Tags there is this checkbox "Preserve file modification time when saving tags". So Mp3tag has that ability and gives the user the choice to preserve or actualize the time stamp of a file. How about if the user would want to change it on purpose- but to a selected date and / or time; to antedate?
I personally preserve %_file_mod_date% parameter intact but I also antedate every couple of days few files; because I use certain dates for distinction between certain files. I tells me vital information if the file is from before 2014 or after 2016 etc.; but sometimes I have to "cheat" so that my system would not fell apart with non unified or false data, even if it would be just a single file. And in order to do that I have to use third party software like the free FileDate Changer [by Nir Sofer]- and then to be sure also check in the Mp3tag if the changed did really occur and without errors on behalf of the user. And that is a lot of additional clicking
Mp3tag could simply allow to write the needed data in form YYYY-MM-DD and / or HH:MM:SS [or whatever order a given OS uses], both in Tag Panel and Column and as well with actions. And that would be the restriction: data would have to fit such masks [are they called?] in order to be accepted. Typing of illegal signs or other errors would end up user simply without any change taking place. This could be some sort of advanced setting, that would need to be first turned on in the Options- just like the current preservation of modification time or its lack of via the that aforementioned check box
There are utilities around like "touch" that allow you to modify more or less any of the dates of a file and I am sure that you can this utility as a tool from within MP3tag.
Please note that the OS is in charge of the file properties.
MP3tag's design is open enough to cater for your special need: create a tool entry.
There has even been a German thread that deals with it. Look out for DetlevD's vbs script. You will recognize the tag field where to put the desired date. File-Datum zuweisen / aus Tag generieren
Well for me this Export.VBS.20140805.SetFileModDateTime.1.1 does nothing. I just cannot see any change- and no wonder as it tells me, it has processed 0 files of whatever number of them I had selected. Of course I tried replacing in the MTE file the LAST_FILE_MOD_DATETIME with _FILE_MOD_DATE, but the [lack of] results was the same
As for the 20120622.SetFileModDateTime.1.0, it does change the date: to the year taken from the YEAR tag field; and the 1st of January of that year. I tried replacing that with some other field, to which I would write YYYYMMDD or YYYY-MM-DD [and also wiping out the TRACK field out from the code], but I failed. Plus it always open afterward Windows Explorer with the location of the Computer
It would have to be that simple in order to save me time and clicks: I write a [specific] date somewhere [possibly without the HH-MM-SS], save it and apply it by executing of whatever has to run; and then just reload the file in Mp3ag to check, if it is correct
Yup, I frequently use DetlevD's script to touch files. One important thing to keep in mind is if you need to change the date to one not stored in the file's current timestamps it requires storing the desired timestamp in the tracks themselves first using custom tags (the tags of which match those in the script).
In my case I set up an Action to store the last modified timestamp at the time of tagging in a custom tag which I then name match in the script. Once you know the correct timestamp format you can then easily create arbitrary timestamp values.