How to Change File Dates

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: May 23, 2025

When a file is created on a computer, it is automatically given a set of attributes. These attributes include the date, size and file format. However, file dates may occasionally need to be changed. Windows 8, Windows 10 and Mac are the most popular platforms for PCs today.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Changing "Date Created" and "Date Modified" for Files in Windows 8 and 10

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This utility program enables you to create lists of Windows files and change their attributes.
When the main menu appears, click File and then Add Files.

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It will show up as an entry on a list.
You can just check the boxes on the menu for what you want to modify. You can add a specific amount to the current times on the file or even copy time from one file to another to make them match.
The files will now reflect the new "Date Created" and "Date Modified" times you created.^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Changing a File Date on a Mac Running OS X

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Pull down the "Applications" menu, then click on "Utilities", then launch Terminal.
Drag and drop the file onto the Terminal window, and Terminal will provide the file path at the command prompt. The file path can then be copied.^{[2]
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This will change the modification date. This sends a command to the touch utility (which sets the modification and access times of files) to set the new date and time. NOTE: YYYY means the year, MM the month, DD the day, hh the hour, mm the minute, ss the second of the target time.
This will change the access date.
This will change the creation date, unfortunately, only if the target time is before the original creation time. If your target time is after the original creation time, see the citation for the solution.^{[3]
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Is there a way to do this (on Windows) without downloading any software?

Arrogance

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Yes. You can do it with PowerShell commands: (Get-Item "file.txt").CreationTime=("01 April 2038 00:00:00") (Get-Item "file.txt").LastWriteTime=("01 January 1995 12:00:00") (Get-Item "file.txt").LastAccessTime=("5 May 6667 17:00:00"). Replace "file.txt" with the name of the file.

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