iCloud vs Other Cloud Storage to Preserve Date Modified Settings

[Dickie.Dunn]

I have a folder, about 45 GB in size, with documents dating back to 2008. I’d like to get that in the cloud so I can sync them between my main desktop MBP and my laptop.

I upgraded my iCloud storage to the 2TB level and copied the folder to my iCloud Drive. Unfortunately it changed all of the “Date Modified” metadata to today which completely messes up how I’m used to viewing the files. For better or worse, I tend to organize my documents by the date modified.

I haven’t had that issue with Box.com or I think Dropbox. Has anyone had this issue? Is there a way I can get iCloud Drive to preserve the date modified meta data? I was thinking maybe if I coped to a disc image or some other hack? If not, can anyone recommend a good cloud storage provider that will maintain the data modified metadata? I’d prefer to stick with iCloud Drive, but if it’s problematic, I may need to look for another syncing solution.

Thanks for any advice.

[Synchronicity]

@Dickie.Dunn

Unfortunately it changed all of the “Date Modified” metadata to today which completely messes up how I’m used to viewing the files. For better or worse, I tend to organize my documents by the date modified.

As you’ve discovered, the date modified info you see in a file manager is notoriously unstable and a poor choice for organizing files. At best it’s a short term convenience when looking at a list of recently opened files.

If you want to organize files by date in a way that will sort correctly in file systems and be robust enough to survive moving files around, consider prepending the ISO-8601 date (yyyy-mm-dd) to the file name. Unfortunately, I’m not aware of a way to make this reflect the latest date modified (vs date created) except to change the file name manually each time you modify the file.

Sorry, I’m sure this isn’t what you were hoping to hear.

[DrJJWMac]

@Dickie.Dunn

I upgraded my iCloud storage to the 2TB level and copied the folder to my iCloud Drive. Unfortunately it changed all of the “Date Modified” …

I can reproduce this with folders. However, the files inside the folder keep their original date modified.

As noted by @Synchronicity, one option is to append a suffix with the date of interest to the folder.

–
JJW

[pantulis]

@DrJJWMac

As noted by @Synchronicity, one option is to append a suffix with the date of interest to the folder.

All my files have a YYYYMMDD prefix only for this reason. I think the old rule of thumb was that file creation date was reset anytime a file crossed a volume or filesystem boundary, but with iCloud Drive anything can happen.