Date and Time Rule

Photos missing date info? File names with inconsistent date formats? Add timestamps or unify date formats in one click.

What This Can Help You With

• Photo Organization: Camera exports don't have date info, want to add shoot time for easy chronological sorting
• Document Archiving: Scanned documents or meeting notes need processing date, like contract.pdf → contract_2024-01-15.pdf
• Unified Format: Mixed date formats in file names (2024-01-15 and 2024年1月15日 together), want to standardize to one format
• Batch Marking: Batch processed files need unified timestamp to distinguish different batches

Quick Start (3 Steps)

1. Click "Add Rule" button → Select "Date and Time"
2. Choose what to do:
   • Add Date: Add time to file name (using current time or specified time)
   • Replace Date Format: Change existing date in file name to another format
3. Click Preview first to see the effect, apply only if it looks good to avoid mistakes

Concrete Examples

Example 1: Add Current Date to Photos

❌ Original files: photo.jpg、image.jpg、pic.jpg... 😫 Problem: Photos have no date info, want to add today's date for archiving

✅ Operation:

• Select: Add Date
• Time: Use Current Time
• Format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2024-01-15)
• Position: Prefix

✅ Result: 2024-01-15_photo.jpg、2024-01-15_image.jpg、2024-01-15_pic.jpg...

Why this setting: "Use Current Time" automatically uses today's date without manual selection; placing it as prefix makes files sort chronologically by name.

---

Example 2: Unify Date Format

❌ Original files: meeting_notes_2024-01-15.docx、report_2024-02-20.docx 😫 Problem: File names have English format dates, want to change to Chinese format 2024年01月15日 for better readability

✅ Operation:

• Select: Replace Date Format
• Original Date Format: YYYY-MM-DD
• Target Format: YYYY年MM月DD日

✅ Result: meeting_notes_2024年01月15日.docx、report_2024年02月20日.docx

Why this setting: "Original Date Format" must match the date in file name exactly to be recognized and converted correctly.

---

Example 3: Add Specified Time (Fill Missing Fields)

❌ Original files: log_0115.txt、log_0116.txt 😫 Problem: File names only have month-day (0115 means Jan 15), want to change to full date 2024-01-15

✅ Operation:

• Select: Replace Date Format
• Original Date Format: MMDD
• Target Format: YYYY-MM-DD
• Fill Missing Fields: Year 2024 (original format has no year, target format needs it, so manual input required)

✅ Result: log_2024-01-15.txt、log_2024-01-16.txt

Why this setting: Target format has YYYY (year) but original only has MMDD (month-day), so you need to fill in year in "Fill Missing Fields".

What to Fill In

Basic Settings

• What to Do Select "Add Date" or "Replace Date Format"
  • Add Date: Add timestamp to file name
  • Replace Date Format: Change existing date in file name to another format

If You Select "Add Date"

• Time Select "Use Current Time" or "Specify Time"

  • Use Current Time: Automatically uses current date and time, always latest on each execution
  • Specify Time: Manually select a fixed date and time, all files use this same time

• Date Format Enter desired date format, for example:

  • YYYY-MM-DD (2024-01-15)
  • YYYY年MM月DD日 (2024年01月15日)
  • YYYYMMDD (20240115)
  • YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss (2024-01-15 14:30:00, with hours:minutes:seconds)

  💡 Format Symbol Guide: YYYY=year, MM=month, DD=day, HH=hour, mm=minute, ss=second (case-sensitive!)

• Insert Position Select where to place the date in file name:

  • Prefix: Add at the beginning, like 2024-01-15_filename.txt
  • Suffix: Add at the end (before extension), like filename_2024-01-15.txt
  • Replace Filename: Replace entire file name with date
  • Absolute Position: Insert at specific character position
  • Before Specific Text: Insert before specific text
  • After Specific Text: Insert after specific text
  • Replace Text: Replace specific text in file name with date

If You Select "Replace Date Format"

• Original Date Format Current date format in file name, like YYYY-MM-DD (Must match date in file name exactly, otherwise won't be recognized)

• Target Format Desired format, like YYYY年MM月DD日

• Fill Missing Fields (Only needed when target format has fields original format doesn't) If target format includes parts original doesn't have, fill manually:

  • Year: For example, original only has MMDD, target needs YYYY-MM-DD, fill in 2024
  • Month: Fill in month (1-12)
  • Day: Fill in day (1-31)
  • Hour/Minute/Second: If adding time, fill these too

Advanced Options (Optional, defaults usually sufficient)

• Ignore Extension Default enabled, only changes file name, leaves .jpg, .txt and other suffixes alone. Can uncheck if you really need to change extension content.

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ Why does it say "Please Select Date"?

If you selected "Specify Time", you must select a specific date and time in the date picker.

Solution:

• Either click the calendar icon to select a date
• Or switch to "Use Current Time" (no date selection needed, automatically uses current time)

❓ Date format not working?

Most common reason: Format symbols written wrong or case sensitivity incorrect.

Check these points:

• YYYY is year, MM is month, DD is day (must be uppercase)
• HH is hour, mm is minute, ss is second (hour uppercase, minute and second lowercase)
• ❌ Wrong: yyyy-mm-dd (lowercase yyyy dd don't work)
• ✅ Correct: YYYY-MM-DD

❓ Getting "Missing Fields" error when converting format?

Target format has fields that original format doesn't have, you need to fill them manually.

Example:

• Original format: MMDD (only month-day, like 0115 means Jan 15)
• Target format: YYYY-MM-DD (needs year)
• Solution: In "Fill Missing Fields", fill year field with 2024

❓ Replace format not working?

Reason: "Original Date Format" doesn't match date in file name.

Solution:

1. Copy the date part from file name, like 2024-01-15
2. Check if "Original Date Format" is YYYY-MM-DD (matching copied format)
3. Format symbols' case and separators (- / _) must match exactly

Advanced Techniques

• ✅ Combined with "Find and Replace": First use find and replace to remove old timestamps, then use date rule to add new standardized date
• ✅ Combined with "Sequence Generator": Use date to mark batches, sequence to mark order within batch, like 2024-01-15_document_001.pdf
• ✅ Combined with "Insert Text": First use date rule to add timestamp, then use insert text to add other identifiers (like project name)

What to Look at Next?

• Sequence Generator: Combine with date batch marking to add sequence numbers to files
• Insert Text: Add more identifying info based on date
• Find and Replace: Clean up or unify old time markers in file names